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The West Prairie-La Harpe Cyclones improved their 2005 record to 2-1 last Friday night with a convincing 43-14 victory over the visiting Pittsfield Saukees.
The Cyclones combined their pounding running game with five Saukees turnovers to secure the key West Central Conference win. The Cyclones benefited early from a pair of Saukees fumbles in the first quarter to put WP-LH on a short field.
The hosts quickly capitalized on a pair of short touchdowns by Joel DeCounter to grab the early edge. Successful P.A.T. kicks by Junior Matt Woolam staked the Cyclones to a quick 14-0 lead.
Following a long Pittsfield T.D. pass that cut WP-LH's lead to 14-8, the Cyclones came right back with a nice scoring drive. Mixing the power running of fullback Eric Swank, with slashing drives by halfbacks Brian Butterfield, Woolam, and DeCounter, WP-LH got on board again on a 19-yard dash by DeCounter. Butterfield converted with a drive for 2 points to set the Cyclone advantage 22-8.
Pittsfield put together a drive of their own on their next possession to close the gap to 22-14. West Prairie-La Harpe then responded with a time consuming 74 yard march to regain the momentum going into the half. The drive was kept alive by a strong run for a first down on a crucial fourth and two by Cyclone quarterback Kevin Mershon. Swank then capped the possession with 3-yard pounce into the endzone. Woolam's place kick was true for a 29-14 halftime lead.
The Cyclones then set the tone in the second half by taking the kick off and marching down the field for another score. Woolam finished this drive with a 15-yard scoring run and then added another P.A.T. kick for a 36-14 WP-LH advantage. Momentum was now squarely on the Cyclones sideline.
The Cyclones cemented their control of the game by shutting down the Saukees offenses for the remainder of the contest. The defense was spearheaded by a pair of interceptions by sophomore linebacker Skyler Pence and junior cornerback DeCounter. Pence returned his pick 71 yards to help WP-LH win the battle of field position.
WP-LH notched their final score early in the 4th period following a 26 yard punt return by Butterfield. Three plays later DeCounter muscled his way into the endzone for his 4th T.D. of the game. Woolam split the uprights on the P.A.T. kick to set the final score at 43-14 for the Cyclones.
The Cyclones picked up 322 yards of total offense with 307 coming on the ground. Eight players carried the ball for WP-LH with DeCounter leading the way with 17 carries for 109 yards. Swank added 65 years, while Woolam and Mershon each picked 44. Butterfield contributed 26 yards to the effort, Kevin Carpenter added 13, Jesse Parker picked up 5, and Blaine Harper had a single yard on one late gain attempt. Kevin Mershon was perfect in his only pass attempt, a 15-yard screen play to Swank.
The Saukees picked up 283 yards of offense, with 141 yards rushing. The Cyclone defensive effort was led by Eric Swank's 8 total tackles and the 7 stops produced by junior linebacker Tyler Sharpe.
Also included on the tackle chart were Dustin Derry, Justin Ward, Jason Coplan, Ryan Mullenix, John Bruns, J.D. Hobby, Jacob Markey, Jeremy McCoy, Evan Wisely, Derrick Daudelin, Jesse Palmer, Kevin Mershon, Joel DeCounter, Matt Woolam, Brian Butterfield, and Skyler Pence.
The Cyclones return to action this friday night when they travel to Rushville to take on the Rockets. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and is Homecoming for the Rocket's.