At the end of Friday’s Class C1 Wild West shootout in Albion, Boone Central/Newman Grove was the team left standing, with a sigh of relief and an unbeaten early-season record.
It took all the bullets in the Cardinal arsenal to withstand the challenge from visiting Wayne and record an entertaining 41-37 victory in week two of the 2016 high school football season.
The two teams combined for more than 1,000 yards total offense, 42 first downs and 78 points in a game that kept fans on the edge of their seats – and on their feet – throughout a seesaw second half.
The old adage in such high-scoring contests is, “it will come down to whoever has the ball last.” Which, ultimately, proved true. After Wayne had closed the gap to four points on Beau Bowers 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Pecena with 1:27 to play, BC/NG recovered an onside kick attempt, then was able to gain a final first down that allowed the Cardinals to run out the clock.
With 1:13 remaining, and facing a crucial third-and-six at the Blue Devil 48-yard line, BC/NG QB Dylan Gentrup drew Wayne offside with a hard count. Card junior FB Trey Schafer barreled two yards on the ensuing play to gain first down yardage and secure the win.
“We survived! Wayne has a good ball club and they played better than they showed the week before,” said Cardinal Coach Mark Hudson. “We were fortunate to get the jump on them early, and then the kids did a nice job of being disciplined and executing a few basic plays they were giving us the second half.
“Defensively, we have to shore up some assignments and tackling issues – hopefully we take a big step this week.”
Further details in Print & Online editions of Albion News
