West Prairie/Southeastern scored on its very first play from scrimmage and never looked back as the Cyclones went on to a 46-8 victory over Bushnell-Prairie City in the annual Battle for the Iron Spike last Friday evening.
WP/SE improved to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the I8FA 8-Man West Division while the Spartans fell to 1-6 for the season and 1-4 in conference play.
The win returned the Iron Spike to the Cyclones after the Spartans captured it last season with a 36-8 victory at Baumann Field.
Since the series started in 2021, WP/SE now has a 3-2 lead.
After recovering an onside kick near midfield to start the game, the Cyclones struck quickly as running back Austin Nelson broke through the B-PC defense and sprinted 53 yards for a touchdown with 11:50 on the clock.
Bryson Tanner ran in the twopoint conversion to put WP/SE up 8-0.
B-PC turned the ball over on a fumble a short time later and the Cyclones needed only three plays to increase their lead as Tanner scooted 30 yards for a touchdown with 9:10 to go in the first quarter.
The two-point conversion failed leaving it a 14-0 score.
The Spartans would turn the ball over again when Nelson picked off a B-PC pass to give the Cyclones the ball at the Spartans’ 43.
Tanner capped the five-play drive by breaking loose for a 35-yard touchdown run with 6:16 left in the quarter to make it 20-0.
WP/SE increased its lead to 26-0 when Nelson ran it in from 31 yards out on the opening play of the second quarter.
The B-PC offense stalled on its next possession and following a 47-yard punt by Jonavan Harrell, the Cyclones would march 90 yards. Quarterback Tristen Hester capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run with 6:04 left in the half. Hester then hit Cade Chambers in the back of the endzone for the two-point conversion to make it 34-0.
Another turnover by B-PC gave the ball back to WP/SE in Spartans’ territory and the Cyclones capitalized when Nelson scored on a 31-yard run with only 44 seconds left in the first half to give WP/SE a 40-0 lead.
“(WP/SE) kept their foot on the gas and we just couldn’t hang with them,” said B-PC head coach Jacob Schisler. “Starter-wise, we’ve got a lot of freshmen out there and a lot of sophomores out there. But, you’ve got to play with the guys you’ve got. No matter who we’ve got, we’ve got to compete.”
Running back Keith Szabo would get into the scoring column for WP/SE with a 45-yard touchdown run at the 4:32 mark of the third quarter. The two-point attempt failed leaving the score at 46-0.
The Spartans finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Harrell broke several tackles and scampered 35-yards for a touchdown with 11:44 to go. Harrell also added the two-point conversion to account for the final score.
“B-PC is a pretty young team and they had some guys down with some injuries,” said WP/SE head coach John McCormick. “Fortunately, we’re healthy and our kids came to play.”
“I feel like we played for four quarters and its a credit to our kids for showing up prepared,” he added.
Nelson led the Cyclones’ ground attack with 190 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns.
Tanner finished with 137 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns while Szabo (82 yards on eight carries) and Hester (62 yards on nine carries) each added a touchdown apiece.
Harrell paced the Spartans with 136 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown while also completing one pass for 20 yards.
“For a sophomore, he’s awesome,” said Schisler of Harrell. “I’m glad we have him for a couple of more years. This whole group... we’re only losing four seniors so we’re returning a lot of guys which is great.”
WP/SE heads back on the road Friday night to take on Amboy/ LaMoille/Ohio (6-1, 5-0) at 7 p.m. in Amboy.
Meanwhile, it will be the home finale for B-PC as the Spartans will host Biggsville West Central (6-1, 5-0) Friday night with kickoff at 7 p.m.
