NORMAL – All football teams do some sort of “re-evaluation” of what their coaching staffs refer to as their team’s playing “system.” Sometimes, that re-evaluation comes before the season or a playoff to make adjustments. Then, there are some times where that re-evaluation comes in the middle of a game situation, and most likely, it’s a losing game situation.
Normal Community West High found themselves faced with the need for such a re-evaluation mid-way through their Big 12 Conference regular season finale against Champaign Centennial at Wildcat Field on Oct. 25. It was a re-evaluation that helped the Wildcats pull out a 41-32 victory in front of roughly 700 fans.
The contest started out on the right note almost from the start for West (7-1, 6-1 Big 12) as senior running back Dominique Stevenson sprinted 79 yards on the game’s second play from scrimmage, going in for the Wildcats first score, followed by senior kicker Zach Breen’s extra point, giving West a quick 7-0. It turned out to be the only score of the quarter.
Champaign Centennial (4-5, 3-5 Big 12) struck back at 9:29 in the second quarter on an 8 yard pass from junior quarterback Jimmy Fitzgerald to senior wide receiver Ryan Grizzard on a 34 yard touchdown pass. That cut West’s lead, 7-6, but when the Crusaders went for two, West’s defensive front line stopped them.
The Crusaders defense took advantage of a Wildcats mistake to earn their next points. Following the ensuing kickoff, with West starting their next drive from their own 18 yard line, Crusaders junior defensive lineman Kylan Dubose scooped up a West fumble and ran it back into the end zone for a touchdown. That was followed by a successful two-point conversion from Fitzgerald to junior wide receiver Kyree Sago, increasing Centennial’s lead, 14-7, with 9:13 left in the quarter.
Two Champaign possessions later, a blocked Centennial punt gave West the ball on Champaign’s 14 yard line. Senior running back Darin Bethke dashed past defenders to get into the end zone, followed by Breen’s next extra point, tying the game at 14-all, with 3:07 left until halftime.
But scores came quickly for both sides in the span of the remaining 2:50 until the halftime gun would sound, starting with the ensuing kickoff after West’s score. Junior running back Jeremiah Peoples took the return 99 yards for a touchdown, stunning and silencing the home crowd, and although the Crusaders botched the two-point conversion, they led, 20-14.
West scored on a 12 yard pass from sophomore quarterback Mitch Fairfield to junior running back Genia Fuss, at the 1:20 mark, putting West on top, 21-20, following Breen’s extra point. The centerpiece of the 4 play, 75 yard drive to that score was a 47 yard pass from Fairfield to senior receiver Philip Yuncker.
The ensuing kickoff resulted in a touchback putting the ball on Centennial’s 20 yard line. The Crusaders responded to West’s score with an 80-yard pass from Fitzgerald to junior wide receiver Steven Lee, giving the guests a 26-21 lead following another failed two-point conversion try.
West began their next drive after the ensuing kickoff at their own 30, and aided by a 32 yard run by Fuss, and a 26 yard pass from Fairfield to Yuncker, were able to get only to get close enough for a successful 31 yard field goal by Breen. That kick cut Centennial’s lead, 26-24, by the time the half ended.
“At half, we did a re-evaluation,” explained West head coach Darren Hess. “We needed to identify with something – either running or whatever. We told the team we had to have the right mindset going into the second half.”
Centennial received the ball following halftime, but West senior defensive back Cole Bumpus picked off a Fitzgerald pass and helped the Wildcats begin their first scoring drive of the second half from the Crusaders’ 30 yard line. A first play lost six yards for West, but senior running back Marquett Suggs ran 36 yards into the end zone on the drive’s second play, giving West a 31-26 lead following Breen’s next extra point.
Centennial and West, respectively, would each get another set of downs ending in a punt, but with West at their own 13, Breen’s punt to Centennial would fly high but not long, landing at West’s 42. One play later, Fitzgerald would connect for a touchdown pass with junior receiver Dominic Stampley, pushing the Crusaders in front again, 32-31, at the quarter’s 6:11 mark. Following a failed two-pass from Fitzgerald to junior receiver Christian Wade, that one-point lead, it turned out, would be the last one the guests would have as the fourth quarter opened.
West opted to keep the ball on the ground in the fourth quarter, handing the ball off to either Stevenson or Bethke during an 8 play, 80 yard march toward their next score – Bethke’s seven yard run into the end zone with 6:03 remaining in the contest, followed by Breen’s extra point. That allowed West to recapture the lead, 38-32.
Centennial’s next possession ended at their own 20, but the punt went high and not far, with West taking over at the guest’s 36. West rushers could only manage getting back to the 20 before opting for Breen to kick a 38 yard field goal, resulting in the final score.
Breen was 2-for-3 in field goal attempts on the night and was quick to pass success around to senior lineman Matt Rapp and his holder, senior receiver Ryan Frye. Breen said he had no concerns regarding his kicks because Rapp and Frye “both have done a great job all season of protecting and helping me.” He said the cold weather experienced at the game, with temps sliding into the mid-30s, forces him to kick the ball a little harder, giving it an extra push.
Hess said his team “did not have a good week of practice” but would not let either rain that limited it or working around having parent-teacher conferences during the week serve as excuses for how the team’s first half went.
“We knew this game was going to be back-and-forth,” said Champaign Centennial head coach Mike McDonnell. “It was one of those games where who has the ball last wins. It was just good old fashioned ‘here-we-come’ back and forth football.”