West Prairie/Southeastern’s season opener against Ashton-Franklin Center was a tale of two halves.
Unfortunately for the Cyclones, they came out on the short end of both as the visiting Raiders pulled out a 28-18 victory over the hosts Friday night at Baumann Field.
The victory broke a 15-game losing streak for A-FC (1-0) while WP/SE fell to 0-1.
“This is a game we can learn a lot from,” said WP/ SE head coach John McCormick.
“You can learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. I felt in the first half, we were a little sluggish. In the second half, we had a lot more going for us.”
A-FC took the opening kickoff and ran almost 10 minutes off the clock before the WP/SE defense stopped the Raiders on downs at the Cyclones’ 30 with 2:15 left in the opening quarter.
WP/SE responded by driving downfield to the A-FC 36 before Austin Nelson was tackled short of the first down marker on a fake punt attempt early in the second quarter.
The Cyclone defense continued to bend but not break after an 11-play drive by the Raiders was stopped on downs again at the WP/ SE 37 with 3:32 remaining in the first half.
The Cyclones’ offense struggled to move the ball on its ensuing possession but Nelson launched a 54-yard punt to pin A-FC back at its own 16 with just under two minutes left in the half.
After the Raiders had moved the ball into WP/SE territory, A-FC quarterback Chase Near broke loose and scampered into the endzone for a 47-yard touchdown with only two seconds left in the first half.
Running back Kyler Willstead ran in the twopoint conversion to give the Raiders an 8-0 lead at intermission.
“I think in the first half, our (defensive) line was getting handled a little bit, but (A-FC) has got some pretty good-sized kids,” said McCormick. “In the second half, we rose up and made some plays and we got after it a little bit.”
The game opened up in the second half, thanks in part, to several big plays from both offenses.
WP/SE was forced to punt on its initial possession of the third quarter as Nelson’s 50-yard punt landed at the A-FC two-yard line.
But the Raiders only needed four plays to march 98 yards on a drive that was capped by a 79-yard scoring strike from Near to tight end Noah Lester with 6:40 to go in the third quarter.
Near ran in the two-point conversion to extend the A-FC lead to 16-0.
WP/SE would respond quickly on its next possession as the Cyclones needed only three plays to go 55 yards.
Nelson broke free down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown run with 6:19 to go in the period. The twopoint attempt failed leaving WP/SE down 16-6.
After the Cyclones’ defense stopped the Raiders on downs at their own 10-yard line, WP/SE capitalized quickly as Nelson found the endzone once again with a two-yard gallop at the 3:54 mark.
But the two-point conversion attempt failed again to leave the score at 16-12.
A-FC wasted no time extending its advantage as Zac Rockwood took a short toss from Near and sprinted 56 yards into the endzone with 3:39 to go in the third quarter. The Raiders failed on the two-point attempt to carry the 22-12 lead into the final stanza.
The Cyclones’ defense came up big early in the fourth quarter when Eli DeCounter pounced on a fumble by Near at the WP/ SE 15-yard line to stop a potential scoring drive.
Following an interception of a pass by WP/SE quarterback Tristan Hester by Near at the Cyclones’ 44, the Raiders needed only five plays to hit paydirt as Willstead rambled for a 35-yard touchdown run with 8:28 to go to make it 28-12.
WP/SE refused to go away as the Cyclones’ marched 72 yards in 10 plays as Nelson capped the drive with his third touchdown of the game, this time on a 19-yard run with 5:52 remaining.
WP/SE could not make it a one possession game though after another failed conversion attempt kept the score at 28-18.
The Cyclones would not be able to get any closer down the stretch as A-FC would run out the clock at the end for the victory.
Nelson led all rushers with 21 carries for 173 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Cyclones.
A-FC amassed 232 yards rushing as Near led the ground attack with 17 carries for 134 yards and one touchdown while Willstead added 102 yards on 21 carries.
Near also completed 7-of-16 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the loss, McCormick remained optimistic with his squad.
“I thought we got tougher in the second half,” said McCormick. “We’re learning that a little bit with some guys. You’ve got to be on the field when we need them there and that’s all part of the learning process when you’re young.”
WP/SE will travel to Savanna, next Friday night to take on West Carroll. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Thunder opened their season last week with a 42-0 victory over West Central at Biggsville.
