In the blink of an eye Friday’s matchup went from being tied 7-7 to Logan Elm going up 21-7 on the way to a 42-14 win over visiting Westfall.
“We have a lot of things to work on and a lot of things to get better on, but you’ll never hear me complain about 2-0,” LE coach Terry Holbert said Friday night. “Those last couple of minutes of the first half were huge in momentum and I was pleased with how we finished as well.”
The Mustangs had tied the game on a one-yard run from AJ Paudicz with 1:33 left in the first half when a good return and a facemask penalty set up LE at the Westfall 36.
Michael Bock had runs of 24, seven and five yards to put LE back on top.
The Mustangs were unable to get a first down on their next possession, and the Braves got the ball back with 30 seconds left.
A run by Bock with 15 yards added on from a penalty set up Aaron Walters to throw a 33-yard pass to Justin Marcum followed by an 11-yard pass to Joshua Hunter and then a nine-yard scoring pass to Hunter with one second on the clock.
Maggie Wilson connected on the third of the six extra points she would have on the night to give the Braves a 21-7 halftime lead.
LE started the second half with a drive to the red zone that ended when a fourth down pass was intercepted.
Westfall put together a nine-play drive that saw Joey Wright break off a 35-yard run only to be tackled at the one and then Jaden Towler went the final yard to close to 21-14.
“I think when a couple of errors start snow balling, it just becomes tough,” Westfall coach Logan Stepp said of the way the first half ended. “The goal was to come back and get it within seven by the end of the third quarter and we were close.
“Then the attrition of some of our players got to us. They have 16 seniors who are 18-year-old men and we don’t have that. I’m proud of our kids and how they respond, we’ve just got to finish games the way I want them and even finishing a half.”
LE wasted little time with its next possession.
Walters hit Tyler Bowlby for a 48-yard gain followed by a 14-yard run from Bock and then a nine-yard TD run from Walters.
After forcing a three-and-out, LE put together a nine-play drive that featured a 28-yard pass to Keegan Diehl, a 22-yard pass to Bock and a 15-yard run from Walters before Bock scored from three yards out.
Westfall hit four straight passes on its next possession and grabbed eight yards on a run but LE’s Cameron Drake intercepted the Mustangs’ pass on the next play.
After runs of 15 and 19 yards from Bock, Drake broke off a 34-yard scoring run to make it 42-14 with 7:37 left in the game.
Bock had 101 of his 186 yards in the second half as the Braves ran for 254 yards.
Walters was 16-21 passing for 242 yards.
Of the eight Braves who caught passes, Marcum caught five for 85 yards.
“We’ve got a lot of different playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. Aaron and our staff do a really good job getting all those guys involved,” Holbert said. “Michael has been huge for us the last two weeks and we know how important Aaron is. It starts with the guys up front.
“A guy like Cameron Drake came onto the scene tonight and that last touchdown run was a huge run for us after he had the interception.”
Stepp won’t be upset to see Bock and Walters graduate next spring.
“That’s a fast cat and they do a scheme for him — they run a lot of stretch, they run a lot of pitch and run a lot of things that help him get going. That kid is an athlete and I hope he’s a senior,” Stepp said of Bock. “Aaron Walters is a tremendous quarterback. He hurts you in ways you don’t notice with the boots and him rolling to his right and throwing to the left is like a freak thing. I’m glad I don’t have to play him ever again.”
Towler started at quarterback for the Mustangs and moved out to wide receiver when Paudicz came in to take snaps.
“We have two really good athletes right there playing at quarterback. It’s been a weird situation the last couple of weeks with throwing Jaden in and AJ not being able to play and now AJ is able to play,” Stepp said. “We were just trying to find the best way to win.”
Paudicz was Westfall’s top passer going 7-12 for 120 yards and Towler had four catches for 81 yards. Towler also had 22 yards passing and 22 rushing.
Wright led Westfall with 61 yards on the ground.
Westfall finished the night with 119 yards rushing as a team but had only 11 in the first half.
“Early on in the game, our defense has played very well,” Holbert said. “And, overall, our defense played really well tonight, and we’ve just got to work to get better.”
The Mustangs (1-1) will spend the next week preparing for their final non-league game as they travel to Circleville (2-0).
Logan Elm (2-0) hosts Miami Trace (1-1) next week. Traditionally the final week of non-league play for the Braves as well, the recent changes to the MSL Buckeye Division means LE has one more non-league game on the schedule with a Week 9 visit from Alexander.
Logan Elm 42, Westfall 14
By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Westfall 0 7 7 0 14
Logan Elm 7 14 7 14 42
First Quarter
LE — Michael Bock 1 run (Maggie Wilson kick), 8:50.
Second Quarter
WF — AJ Paudicz 1 run (Carson Deskins kick), 1:33.
LE — Michael Bock 5 run (Maggie Wilson kick).
LE — Joshua Hunter 9 pass from Aaron Walters (Maggie Wilson kick), 0:01.
Third Quarter
WF — Jaden Towler 1 run (Carson Deskins kick), 5:52.
LE — Aaron Walters 9 run (Maggie Wilson kick), 4:39.
Fourth Quarter
LE — Michael Bock 3 run (Maggie Wilson kick), 11:30.
LE — Cameron Drake 34 run (Maggie Wilson kick), 7:37.
TEAM STATISTICS
WF LE
First downs 15 22
Rushing yards 40-119 31-254
Passing yards 150 242
Comp.-Att.-Int 10-19-1 16-21-1
Total yards 269 496
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards 3-35 9-85
Punts-Ave 4-31 2-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Westfall — Jaden Towler 16-22, Joey Wright 11-61, AJ Paudicz 3-(-6), Quinn Eberly 3-6, Eli Wright 1-0, Vinny Gerlace 1-26, Landen Yang 1-7, Ayden Daniels 1-5, Mikey Haughey 1-(-5), Jason Ratliiff 1-7. Logan Elm — Michael Bock 23-186, Aaron Walters 3-25, Cameron Drake 2-34, Bryson Parish 3-9.
PASSING – Westfall — Jaden Towler 2-6-1-22, AJ Paudicz 7-12-0-120, Ayden Daniels 1-1-8. Logan Elm — Aaron Walters 16-21-1-242.
RECEIVING – Westfall — Jaden Towler 4-81, Joey Wright 2-16, Quinn Eberly 3-45, Creeson Humphrey 1-8. Logan Elm — Michael Bock 1-22, Justin Marcum 5-85, Keegan Diehl 2-34, Ne-Miah Waugh 1-2, Gavin Hoover 1-11, Joshua Hunter 4-35, Tyler Bowlby 1-48, Preston Piacentini 1-5.