Galva got big plays from its offense, defense, and special teams in the fourth quarter Friday night to break open a close game and down West Prairie/ Southeastern 50-12 in an Illinois 8-Man Football Association Central West contest in Colchester.
The loss spoiled homecoming night for the Cyclones who fell to 0-6 for the year and 0-4 in the Central West while the win upped the Wildcats’ record to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Central West.
WP/SE took the opening kickoff from its own 25 and marched all the way down to the Galva 31 before MJ Louck picked off a Hayden Wilcox pass to stop the drive at the Wildcats’ 10.
Galva’s offense appeared to be stopped a few plays later, but facing a third-and 25 from its own 30, quarterback Tommy Funke connected with Reid Harris for a 70-yard touchdown pass with 4:16 left in the opening quarter.
Braxton Hulstrom caught the twopoint pass to make it an 8-0 lead for the visitors.
The Cyclones were forced to punt on their next possession as Galva took over near midfield. Four straight running plays by the Wildcats moved the ball to the WP/SE 15 as the first quarter ended.
On the first play of the second quarter, Drayce Powe ran it in for a three-yard touchdown at the 11:57 mark. Hulstrom ran in the two-point conversion to give the Wildcats a 16-0 advantage.
The WP/SE offense drove the ball downfield once again on its next series before an incomplete fourth down pass ended the drive at the Galva 20.
The Cyclones’ defense stopped the Wildcats on downs near midfield with just over one minute remaining in the first half.
The WP/SE offense capitalized a short time later by reaching into its bag of tricks and getting on the scoreboard as Wilcox passed to Ruger Olson near the sideline where Olson then lateraled the ball to a trailing Clarence Billingsley on the ‘hook-and-ladder’ play. Billingsley sprinted into the endzone to complete the 45-yard scoring play with only 25 seconds to go until halftime.
The two-point attempt failed, but the Cyclones cut the deficit to 16-6 and brought some life back into the home crowd.
WP/SE head coach Mark Benson said that was a play brought in to help create a little fun for his team.
“We’ve tried to expand the passing game a little bit because we’ve had a rough start to the season,” said the Cyclones’ first-year head coach. “We look for ways to have fun in practice and do some things to make the kids smile a little bit. That was something we’ve worked on.”
“You know, we thought this might be a spark and it sure was,” Benson continued. “It got us rolling. So, it’s one of those things that we’ll probably have a few more coming up... It was pretty fun.”
Galva was forced to punt on its first drive of the second half as WP/SE took over at its own 39. But the Cyclones’ offense was stopped on downs near midfield to give the ball back to the Wildcats.
Starting at its own 43, Galva’s offense needed only six plays to increase the lead as Harlem Young capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run with just 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The two-point attempt was no good to give the Wildcats a 22-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.
WP/SE was driving near midfield early in the final period, but facing a fourth-and-2 at the 46, a Wilcox pass was intercepted by Harris who returned it 58 yards for a touchdown with 10:58 left. Hulstrom ran in the two-point conversion to put Galva up 30-6 lead.
The Cyclones got the ball back following the kickoff and Wilcox ran the ball on four consecutive plays that covered 34 yards to get down to the Galva 20. But, Harris picked off another Wilcox pass to give the Wildcats the ball at their own 24.
A 21-yard run by Powe followed by a 45-yard gallop from Funke put the ball into WP/SE territory at the five-yard line.
On second-and-goal at the seven, Funke found Harris in the endzone for a seven-yard scoring strike with 6:05 left in the contest. Funke ran in the two-point attempt to increase the Galva lead to 38-6.
The Cyclones responded quickly on its first play following the kickoff when quarterback Peyton Totten connected with Olson for an electrifying 60-yard touchdown pass at the 5:46 mark. The two-point pass attempt was incomplete to keep it 38-12.
But, the Wildcats answered just as quickly when Blaiden Brose broke loose and returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to make it 44-12 with 5:32 left.
Galva’s defense got the ball right back when Totten was sacked at the WP/SE 35 and fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Wildcats at the Cyclones’ 27.
Brose would cap the scoring for the night when he scampered for a 27-yard touchdown run with 5:09 to go to make it 50-12.
WP/SE would turn the ball over on downs on its next drive and Galva would run out the clock for the victory.
“We played a pretty good first half, but when your juniors and seniors are hurt and you don’t have a lot of depth, that clearly made a difference,” said Benson. “It made it really hard to get anything going in the second half. It was one of those games where again we’re learning.”
WP/SE amassed 291 yards of total offense with 148 yards coming through the air and accounting for both touchdowns.
Wilcox ran for 101 yards on 21 carries and completed 3-of-8 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown to go with three interceptions. Totten was 1-for-2 for 60 yards and a touchdown with one interception while Olson accounted for 65 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Galva recorded 405 yards of total offense with 253 yards coming on the ground.
Young led the Wildcats with 15 carries for 86 yards and one touchdown while Powe finished with eight carries for 71 yards and Brose added four carries for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Funke completed 6-of-11 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns while Harris caught two passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite their start, Benson does see some growth with his young team as they head into the final three weeks of the season.
“I think they’re starting to understand the tempo and pressures of the game,” Benson said. “It’s about growing into it, especially when you’re young... it takes experience.”
The Cyclones will take to the road this Friday night when they travel to Biggsville to face Central West leader West Central (5-0, 3-0). The Heat put a season-high 72 points on the board last week in a 72-64 win over Bushnell- Prairie City.
