West Prairie/Southeastern managed to stay close for one quarter before Flanagan- Cornell/Woodland erupted in the second quarter to pull away for a 54-14 8-Man West Division victory over the Cyclones Friday night at Baumann Field.
The visiting Falcons got on the scoreboard in the opening minutes when quarterback Brezdyn Simons broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run with 8:31 to go in the first quarter.
Simons also ran in the two-point conversion to put F-C/W up 8-0.
WP/SE needed only three plays to respond as running back Austin Nelson sprinted through the Falcons’ defense for a 26-yard touchdown at the 7:04 mark.
The two-point attempt failed leaving the Cyclones down 8-6.
F-C/W wasted no time in extending its lead as the Falcons went 52 yards in a three play drive. Running back Logan Ruddy capped the drive with a 47-yard touchdown gallop with 5:36 left in the opening quarter.
Leelynd Durbin ran in the two-point attempt to make it 16-6.
After stopping the ensuing WP/SE drive on downs at its own 35, F-C/W made it 22-6 with 8:42 left in the first half when Ruddy sprinted 35 yards for his second touchdown.
The Cyclones’ offense went three-and-out on their next possession and punted the ball back to the Falcons.
F-C/W capped a nine-play drive with a 20-yard touchdown run by Simons with 1:49 remaining in the half.
Simons converted the two-point attempt to give the Falcons a 30-6 lead.
A long kickoff return by Bryson Tanner followed by a facemask penalty against F-C/W gave the Cyclones the ball at the Falcons’ 26.
WP/SE capitalized as Tanner scored on a 29-yard touchdown run with 1:10 left. Quarterback conversion to make it 30-14.
But, F-C/W needed only one play on its next possession to score as Simons found Ruddy for a 57-yard touchdown toss with 1:00 on the clock.
Simons added the two-point conversion to give the Falcons a 38-14 halftime lead.
F-C/W took the opening kickoff in the second half and went 54 yards to widen its lead as Durbin scored on a 10-yard run with 9:18 to go in the third quarter.
Simons added the two-point conversion to make it 46-14.
After stopping the Cyclones on downs at their own 14, the Falcons struck quickly as Durbin scored on a 14-yard run with 6:39 remaining in the quarter.
Simons two-point conversion made it 54-14.
Neither team threatened the rest of the way as WP/SE fell to 0-6 on the season and 0-4 in the division. F-C/W improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Nelson led WP/SE with 12 carries for 112 yards and one touchdown before getting injured late in the first half. He did not return.
Ruddy led all rushers with 179 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Simons finished with 95 yards on two carries and two touchdowns and Durbin added 68 yards on 11 carries and two scores.
“The first half, I thought, was very positive,” said WP/SE head coach John McCormick. “Austin (Nelson) went down in a questionable deal with the officials, but we got that worked out. But, when you lose your team leader you’re bound to deflate a little bit. And they’re a very good football team. I thought we played them pretty tough in the first half.”
It will be a battle for the Iron Spike this Friday night as WP/SE travels to Bushnell to take on the Spartans (1-5, 1-3) at 7 p.m.
“That’s always a fun game,” said McCormick. “Our kids look forward to it and I know their kids do, too.”
