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The West Prairie-La Harpe Cyclones squared off with the visiting West Hancock Titans Friday night in a pivotal West Central Conference gridiron clash. Both teams came in on two game win streaks and looking to take another big step in securing a play off berth. On this night it would be the Cyclones who would take that next big step.
After trading short drives and punts on their initial possession, the Cyclones would get on the board first on their 2nd possessions. A 63-yard run by senior quarterback Kevin Mershon, through the heart of the Titan defense, put WP-LH on the scoreboard first at the 3:09 mark of the first period. Matt Woolam added the PAT kick for an early 7-0 Cyclone advantage.
The teams went back and forth until late in the first half when the Cyclones forced West Hancock to punt from deep in their own end. Set up around midfield, WP-LH worked to score just before the break for a big momentum lift at the break. A quick fumble on the first play appeared to end that hope.
The Cyclone defense now faced a Titan offense at midfield with thoughts of gaining the momentum for themselves. With about 45 seconds left they swept left and found a host of Cyclone defenders waiting to stuff the play. As this was going on, sophomore safety, Skyler Pence, came in to strip the ball and recover the Titan fumble on a game changing play.
Working from their own 45 yard line with a little over half a minute to play the Cyclones found the momentum burst they were looking for. A 29 yard run by senior fullback, Eric Swank, took the ball down to the Titan 26 yard line on the first play. After a timeout, the 2nd play saw junior halfback run left on a counter, get outside, and race down the sideline to paydirt.
DeCounter's run behind good blocking by Randy Bray, Ryan Mullenix, J.D. Hobby, and Jacob Markey gave the Cyclones a huge lift. Woolam again added a successful PAT for a 14-0 halftime edge. Pence's defensive play and the ensuing touchdown would prove pivotal in this hard fought contest.
The Cyclones further solidified their advantage and the games outcome with their opening drive of the 2nd half. Using almost 8 minutes, the hosts ran 14 plays to cover the 70 yards to the end zone. The drive ended on a 6 yard dive by junior halfback Matt Woolam. Although the kick failed, the 20 point advantage was a lead that the Titans would find too overwhelming to overcome.
Playing with the 3 touchdown lead the Cyclone defense stepped up to secure the shutout win. A pair of interceptions by DeCounter and Mershon and a fumble recovery by Swank stopped Titan drives. The defense kept the Titans ground game bottled up, harassed their passer and receivers, and limited West Hancock to only 2 second half first downs. It would prove to be the best Cyclone defensive effort of the year.
The Cyclones outgained the Titans 351 total yards to 173. The WP-LH ground game picked up 329 yards on 47 attempts with Swank leading the way with 18 carries for 120 yards. Mershon added 8 carries for 96 yards, DeCounter picked up 77 yards on 12 attempts, and Butterfield and Woolam split 10 carries for 26 yards.
The passing game was not used a lot but did pick up key yardage on the big 3rd quarter drive. Mershon hit Swank twice for 22 yards during the TD possession. Mershon finished 2 of 3 overall passing.
The Cyclone tackle chart was led by Swank (12 tackles) and Mershon (10 tackles). Woolam and Butterfield also had good nights with 8 and 6 respectively. Others on the hit list were Jeremy McCoy (4 tackles), Justin Ward (3), DeCounter (4), Evan Wisely (3), Jacob Markey (4), John Bruns (4), Pence (2), Tyler Sharpe (4), Ryan Mullenix (2), Jesse Palmer (2), and Dustin Derry (1). Mershon, Sharpe, and Markey all recorded tackles for loss.
The Cyclones improved to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the West Central Conference. They return to action this Friday night when they travel to Mendon to face the Unity Mustangs. A sixth win would secure a play-off berth for the post season. Kick off is slated for 7:00 p.m.