Visiting West Prairie/Southeastern battled Ridgewood (AlWood/Cambridge) to a scoreless first quarter before the hosts broke loose in the second period and the Spartans would pull away for a 46-0 victory over the Cyclones Friday night.
WP/SE forced two turnovers in the first quarter but failed to capitalize as the Cyclones’ deepest drive ended on downs at the Ridgewood 26.
The Spartans would get on the scoreboard on their second play of the second quarter when senior running back Hayden McCleary-Larson broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run.
Byron Catour ran in the two-point conversion to give Ridgewood an 8-0 lead.
After forcing WP/SE to punt from deep in its own end, the Spartans took over at their own 45 and extended their lead just three plays later.
McCleary-Larson scrambled into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:09 left in the first half. Crew Roberson ran in the two-point conversion to make it a 16-0 score.
The Cyclones’ offense failed to get untracked and had to punt away again, giving Ridgewood the ball back at its own 40.
On the very first play from scrimmage, McCleary-Larson took off on a 48-yard run before being tackled near the WP/ SE 12. After an incomplete pass, Roberson rambled around right end for a 12-yard touchdown with only 1:51 remaining before halftime.
The two-point attempt failed to make it 22-0 and that was how the first half would end.
Ridgewood received the opening kickoff of the second half and after starting at its own 45, the Spartans needed only two plays to extend their advantage.
Roberson scored his second touchdown of the game on a 54-yard run with 11:06 to go in the third quarter. Rob Sandberg ran in the two-point conversion to give the hosts a 30-0 lead.
A fumbled snap on a punt attempt by WP/SE a short time later allowed Ridgewood to take over at the Cyclones’ 34 to start its next drive.
But the WP/SE defense stiffened and stopped the Spartans on a fourth-and-12 after sacking quarterback Carson Hancock to get the ball back at the Cyclones’ 25.
The drive started out promising for WP/SE as quarterback Hayden Wilcox hit tight end Gannon Shipman on a 15-yard pass completion for a first down at the WP/SE 40. But the Cyclones would get no closer and Ruger Olson’s 32-yard punt ended up at the Ridgewood 39 with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Spartans would strike quickly again after McCleary-Lawson’s 15-yard run got the ball into WP/SE territory at the 46.
On the ensuing play, Sandberg took off on a 46-yard touchdown run with 2:14 to go and after Roberson ran in the two-point conversion, Ridgewood led 38-0.
The hosts would get the ball back right before the end of the period and with only 25 seconds left in the quarter, McCleary-Larson scored his third touchdown of the game on a 34-yard jaunt.
Sandberg added the two-point conversion to make it 46-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
With the continuous clock rule in effect, both teams traded possessions down the stretch before the Spartans would run out the clock at the end to get the victory.
Ridgewood improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the I8FA Central West while WP/SE dropped to 0-3 for the season and 0-1 in the Central West.
WP/SE finished with 23 yards rushing on 42 attempts. Keith Szabo recorded 34 yards on 13 carries, but the remainder of the team finished with minus 11 yards on 29 carries.
Quarterback Hayden Wilcox was 3-of-6 passing for 30 yards with Gannon Shipman recording all three receptions.
Defensively, Bryson Tanner recorded seven total tackles, including four solos. Eli DeCounter also recorded four solo stops.
The Cyclones return home this Friday night to host Bushnell- Prairie City (2-1, 1-0) in another Central West matchup.
WP/SE will be aiming to maintain control of the “Iron Spike” it captured last year after defeating B-PC 46-8 in Bushnell.
Since the “Iron Spike” series started in 2021, WP/SE has a 3-2 lead.
