The Galva Wildcats and senior Blake Stahl were just like Forrest Gump Friday night.
They just felt like running. Stahl and the Wildcats rolled up nearly 400 yards on the ground, along with seven touchdowns.
Throw in a passing TD, a kickoff return and an interception return for scores and it led to a 70-12 I8FA West Division over host Bushnell-Prairie City.
Galva evened its season record at 2-2 overall, 1-1 in West Division play. B-PC slipped to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in the division.
Stahl tallied 315 yards on 23 carries with scoring runs of eight, 47, 15, 90 and nine yards.
Quarterback Tommy Funke added 64 yards rushing and scoring runs of 35 and eight yards on five carries.
Both teams turned the ball over on fumbles in their opening possessions.
Galva started the game’s scoring on its next drive, covering 76 yards in nine plays.
Stahl’s eight-yard run, followed by Funke’s two-point conversion run gave the Wildcats an 8-0 lead at the 3:53 mark of the opening period.
The drive was doubly damaging for the Spartans as senior quarterback/ linebacker Parker Guppy suffered a leg injury and had to be helped off the field.
He did not return. B-PC’s next possession ended in a turnover on downs at its own 41.
Galva scored seven plays later as Funke connected with MJ Louck for a 23-yard score.
Stahl added the PAT run that upped the Wildcats lead to 16-0 11 seconds into the second quarter.
The Spartans needed just 28 seconds to answer as Jonavan Harrell broke free from the Galva defense on the way to a 60-yard scoring run.
Harrell inadvertently ran into an official at the Spartan 48, but was able to continue on his way to the endzone.
The PAT run failed, leaving Galva with a 16-6 lead.
But Stahl’s 47-yard score at the 10:34 mark gave the Wildcats a 22-6 lead.
The Spartans went three-and-out on its next possession and punted.
Galva took over at its own 47 and scored six plays later on Stahl’s 15-yard run. The PAT run failed, but the Wildcat lead was 28-6 with 4:35 remaining before halftime.
After the two teams traded possessions, B-PC took over at its own 42. On the seventh play of its following drive QB Thomas Anderson was intercepted by Braden Murphy at the Wildcat 10.
On the very next play, Stahl raced 90 yards for his fourth touchdown of the half, giving the Wildcats a 34-6 lead with just 24.3 seconds left before the intermission.
The Spartans scored in the opening minute of the second half, as Harrell’s 56-yard run closed the gap to 34-12 55 seconds into the third quarter.
But 11 seconds later, Louck returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a score that made it 40-12.
B-PC’s Keegan Gillette returned the next kickoff 83-yards for a TD. But a holding penalty wiped out the score and the Spartans eventually turned the ball over on downs after unsuccessfully attempting a fake punt.
Galva scored three plays later on Funke’s 35-yard run. Stahl added the PAT run that made the score 48-12 at the 8:01 mark of the third quarter.
The Spartans went three-and-out on its next possession and Galva scored two plays later on Stahl’s nine-yard run.
Cyrus Hurd added the PAT run, pushing the Wildcat lead to 56-12 at the 5:32 mark.
Galva’s final two scores came when Louck returned an interception 27 yards for a TD before Funke tacked on an eight-yard run with Ben Burris adding the PAT run to close out the game’s scoring.
Harrell rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
Anderson completed 2-of-12 passes for 33 yards with one interception.
On defense, Haydin Hart and Dylan King had five total tackles each, while Gillette and Guppy added four each.
The Spartans return to the home turf this week, hosting Peoria Heights (1-3, 1-1) in an I8FA West Division contest.
It will also be the Spartans homecoming contest.
The Patriots defeated West Prairie/ Southeastern last week 36-16 for their first win of the season.
