Boot Changes Ownership – Little Hawks Defeated

West High reclaimed the boot tonight with a (30-6) win, leaving the Little Hawks to stare down a (0-4) start to their season.

Dominic Balestrieri-Fox, Sports Editor

The game started with a brutal opening quarter for the Little Hawks, with the Trojans picking up an early field goal off of a long drive, followed not long after by a touchdown from West’s #8 WR Oliver Martin, PAT good.

Another touchdown came by way of #9 Donovan Doyle, and with the extra point good, the Trojans led (17-0).

A punted ball by City left the Trojans 1st and 10 on the 25 yard line. West’s #24 Yeshuwa Hicks sealed off the drive seven minutes later with a touchdown and another cleared PAT.

Things started picking up for the Little Hawks, with multiple carries by #15 QB Nate Wieland ’17, a significant pass to #88 WR Evan Grace ’15, followed by another air attack for a 1st down in the red-zone. West leads (24-0) at the end of the second quarter.

The Little Hawks made a push at the beginning of the 3rd quarter with a huge gain by #8 WR Will Noack ’16, but a second pass attempt sent Wieland scrambling, and the ball was intercepted last-second as he attempted to throw it out of bounds.

The Trojans pushed the ball to the 29 yard line, but the Little Hawk secondary applied pressure and the final pass was incomplete at 4th and 7, leaving the Little Hawks with the ball on their own 30 yard line.

A fake motion from #1 RB Bryson Runge ’15 gave #24 Mike Fredieu ’15 the chance to run the ball up the middle for a 1st down. Not long after a 10+ yards gain off of a keeper by Wieland, the Little Hawks found themselves at 1st and goal. A low snap turned into the Little Hawks’ first touchdown, but the two point conversion to follow would not materialize for the Little Hawks.

The Little Hawks appeared to be continuing their drive even on defense, shutting down the kickoff return on the Trojans’ 25 yard line and sending #6 defensive end DeJuan McKenny ’15 crashing through for a Trojan loss of yards.

A fake punt payed off for the Trojans, landing them 1st down at the end of the 3rd quarter on their own 38. Their drive continued, resulting in a touchdown, courtesy of #7 Tyler Eads. The extra point was wide.

An injured lineman, another interception, and another punt fake found the Little Hawks losing the boot (30-6).

City High head coach Dan Sabers says he could not attribute the loss to any one specific problem.

“We didn’t come out ready to play, they out executed us, the same problems we’ve been having continue to get us, and that’s something that we’ve got to get fixed,” he said. “We’ve got to invest more.”