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District champs! Bears down Tipton, 30-20
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · October 15, 2017
With a win on senior night, clinching the District 3 title and a couple more school records, West Branch made it a big Friday night overall with a 30-20 win over Tipton.
The host Bears used short fields to score three of their four touchdowns and, for the third time in four games, ended their opponents’ last possession with an interception, the second time by senior Ben Thompson.
Head Coach Butch Pedersen told the team in the post-game huddle that they “earned everything you got” to reach an 8-0, 6-0 record.
“Aug. 2, you said we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong, and you just did that,” he said. “A great, great effort on your part. Can we do better? Absolutely. But tonight, we had fun. It was a memorial night.”
The team gathered together and raised their helmets for a post-game breakdown, shouting “Champions!”
Senior and co-captain Jacob Graves called it a “great feeling” to clinch the District 3 title. Bellevue could finish the season with the same record if West Branch loses Friday, but Bellevue’s single loss this season came from West Branch.
“We’ve got a playoff spot and a No. 1 seed, most likely,” Graves said. “All we need to do now is to go to Clayton Ridge and get the win and go 9-0.”
Tipton Head Coach Joe Zeutenhorst said he was “disappointed” with the outcome. He said the Tigers practiced well and continues to improve.
“We probably played our best four quarters of football,” he said. “It was not always great, but best four quarters overall. I’m disappointed with the results, but happy with how we played.”
Pedersen called the win “really super gratifying for the senior class,” especially with only seven senior players and even more so when he looks back at how much those players improved since junior high, “a real life lesson.”
“All the coaches and players rallied around this senior class and helped them achieve,” the coach said, noting that at least one out-of-town news source predicted the Bears with only three or four wins by season’s end. “They were not going to be denied and they’ve done an excellent job.”
The Bears loaded up a 27-6 lead by halftime, but Tipton’s defense stepped up, held West Branch to just a field goal in the second half and the offense scored twice in a valiant effort to catch up. By the end of the game, West Branch collected 324 yards of total offense, with 176 in the air, compared to Tipton’s 272 yards.
Senior and co-captain Jacob Graves said the win was “the only thing that mattered.”
“We came out hot and did pretty well in the first half,” he said. “In the second half, we came out flat, but made some big plays near the end and got the win.”
The Bears coach said the team “lost focus” and Tipton took advantage of that.
“We weren’t really impressed on either side of the ball,” Pedersen said. “We’ve got to clean that up.”
He said the mantra of “perfect effort” does not equal a perfect game, “but if you can give perfect effort, then you’re a winner no matter what the scoreboard says.”
The Bears scored on their opening drive after getting the ball back on downs at the Tipton 33. It took only three plays for junior quarterback Beau Cornwell to find senior receiver Ben Thompson to cap off the drive from 29 yards away.
Two possessions later, West Branch started on the Tipton 39 and needed six plays to score on a Cornwell pass to junior receiver Brett Schiele from six yards out.
The Bears’ next possession started 76 yards away, and took eight plays before connecting on an eight-yard pass from Cornwell to Graves.
A minute later, West Branch scored again from 35 yards away on a two-play drive and another Cornwell-Graves connection, this time from 35 yards out.
Tipton brought a run-heavy offense and lots of misdirection and scored one touchdown in all but the third quarter.
Zeutenhorst said he “built the program” on toughness on the run.
“We got to impose our will at times, chipping away three to four yards at a time,” he said. “I’m really happy with the running game. We had some situations where we got down and had to go away from it … but, overall, it was pretty effective.”
Graves said the misdirection was the toughest part to defend.
“They would fake handoffs and then come right up the gut,” he said.
But the Bears “made some huge plays” to hold them back.
“Ben (Thompson) got a huge interception, Beau (Cornwell) made a field goal — he’s a great kicker — and he made some good throws,” Graves said.
Zeutenhorst said the Tigers found success switching to the pass, especially close to the end zone. Both of their second-half scores came from passes by senior quarterback Ben Emrich to freshman receiver Nile Schuett.
“When we throw, we’re looking to score,” Zeutenhorst said.
He blamed himself for calling the pass that ended up in Thompson’s arms, cutting short an 80-yard trip across the field to just a two-yard gain before the pick.
“But we were able to get some explosive plays down the field,” the Tigers coach said. “And that was all set up by our running game.”
Pedersen said that when the Bears stayed on their assignments, “we did a satisfactory job” against the Tipton defense.
“At times, we would freelance,” he said.
Tipton faced fourth down eight times that night and converted three of them on six attempts, which brought forth visions of “the coach who almost never punts” — Pulaski Academy High School Head Coach Kevin Kelley. One of the Tigers’ conversions paid off in the first quarter and led to a touchdown. The other two came during the same drive that reached the West Branch 29, which was deep enough to help the visitors hold the Bears, who went three-and-out.
Pedersen said the Bears made this strategy “not so effective” in the overall game. He said he finds more success with good field position and ball security.
“We want them to drive the ball 80 yards instead of 40 yards,” he said.
Junior quarterback Beau Cornwell continues to stretch West Branch High School passing records, not to mention leading state statistics as well. With Friday’s game, he tied West Branch’s single-season passing touchdown record, with 20, set by Caleb Walter in 2005.
Cornwell also surpassed the single-season passing yardage record set in 2015 by Cooper Koenig, who finished that year with 1,728 yards. Cornwell reached 1,803 yards.
Cornwell’s passing yardage is first in Class 1A and eighth in all classes across the state.
The West Branch coach said Cornwell continues an “outstanding” season and felt bad a broken collarbone took him out in 2016.
“But he’s met the task and continues to improve,” Pedersen said. “He’s a great basketball player, but now he could be a great football player, either at quarterback or kicker. It’s been a real eye-opening year and we’re already proud of him.”
He said the larger football family — including the assistant coaches, managers, cheerleaders, marching band, parents, the students section and other fans — have been so supportive that it is benefitting the players on the field.
Pedersen noted that at one point the Bears fans provided encouraging applause to a Tipton player who left the field after an injury.
“It shows a lot of class when fans do that,” he said.
Upperclassmen like seniors Jacob Barnhart, Andrew Black and Billy Friis, as well as junior John Hatfield, continue to lead the defense. However, underclassmen are making their mark as well. On Friday, three sophomores — Dakota Kaalberg with 7.5 tackles, Cameron Howsare with seven tackles and Dalyn Pedersen with 5.5 tackles — and freshman Jeff Bowie adding his fifth sack of the season, all contributed heavily in this win. Bowie is tied for eighth place in all of Iowa high school football for season sacks.
Pedersen said with only seven seniors on the team, underclassmen are filling spots more than ever before. Instead of one or two freshmen or sophomores, West Branch plays up to nine on varsity.
“They’ve played better than I thought they could play,” he said. “They’ve stepped up their game. They’re one of the major reasons we’re 8-0 right now. We should be extremely proud of those nine fresh-soph players — they have a bright future ahead of them.”
The game included a bit of confusion in the last several seconds before the first half. There appeared to be some confusion between the referees and the chain gang and somehow Tipton was able to run three more plays after the clock apparently ran out.
Tipton had possession on its own 33 and Tiger freshman John Stroup ran for a six-yard pickup that earned a first down. The clock ran out and players started walk off the field, but referees brought them back and called for the official clock to show 14 seconds left to play.
Announcer Jason Miller explained what happened from his view up in the press box: After getting the first down, the clock did not stop to allow the chain gang to reset the chains to the new spot. Then, the referees blew the whistle to restart play, yet the clock did not get reset to 14 seconds and run again, so the referees put Tipton back at first and 10 from their 39. The resulting two plays — that counted — included an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack delivered by West Branch senior Billy Friis.
Pedersen said it came down to “miscommunication” between the referees, chain gang and press box personnel. He said the chain gang did not get a signal from the referees to move the chains, so they rightly stayed in place until told to do so.
Lead running back Tanner Lukavsky returned to the field Friday, but only for special teams, not carrying the ball. Pedersen said Lukavsky’s full return “depends … on how his ankle holds up” during practice.
Clayton Ridge Eagles next
West Branch travels nearly 100 miles north and a bit east to Guttenberg, across the Mississippi River from Wisconsin.
Clayton Ridge comes off a road game to Durant, where the Wildcats delivered a 27-0 loss to the visiting Eagles.
The Eagles come in with a 3-5 overall record and have been outscored by opponents 213-114. They average 15.7 points per game compared to opponents’ 26.7 ppg.
However, in district competition that gap narrows. Clayton Ridge is 2-4 in District 3, outscored by opponents 113-94. That puts the Eagles’ points per game at 15.7 verses opponents 22.2 ppg.
West Branch, unbeaten and ranked No. 5 in Class 1A by the Des Moines Register, comes in averaging 37.3 points per game, outscoring opponents 298-138 in the first eight games. Opponents average 17.25 ppg against the Bears.
In DIstrict 3, West Branch outscored opponents 233-112, averaging 38.8 ppg over opponents’ 18.6 ppg.
Clayton Ridge had not updated its stats to include the Durant game as of this writing, but the first seven games show a strong emphasis on their running game. The Eagles are third in District 3 with rush attempts (252), fifth with rushing yards (1,148) and fourth with yards per carry (4.6).
West Branch stats, which include all eight games of the season, put it second in rushing attempts (269), third in rushing yards (1,321), and third in yards per carry (4.9).
On the passing side, Clayton Ridge features two quarterbacks, Josef Van Handorf and T.J. Wille. Handorf has 17 completions with a 47.2 percent completion rate, 18.4 yards per completion average and three touchdowns. Willie also has 17 completions, but a 37 percent completion rate, 9.8 yards per completion average and four touchdowns.
This is where West Branch far exceeds its next opponent. Junior quarterback Beau Cornwell has 139 completions, a 66.2 percent completion rate, 13 yards per completion average and 20 touchdowns.
“They give a lot of different looks” on offense, with 13 different formations, the Bears Coach said. “They’re very good athletes, and some of their kids who got hurt are coming back.”
Pedersen said it has been difficult to prepare for that in practice, but the team is determined.
The outcome of the game will not change West Branch’s opportunity to get into the playoffs, so the coach hopes fans will load up on playoff apparel to get ready for the boys of red and black to make its 25th post-season appearance following its 19th conference or district championship.
“That is unbelievable,” he said of the playoff appearances. “It’s a tremendous reflection of the stability of our program and work ethic.”
On a side note, he also praised the managers, who run water and towels to players throughout the game. (Disclosure: This reporter has two sons on the managing crew.)
“At the beginning of the year, they were rookies, but (parent volunteer) Jodee Culver has guided them to try and get them better,” the coach said. “They get (corrected) when they don’t do something right, but I’d like to give them credit as well.”
West Branch
Scoring
Tipton 6 0 7 7 20
West Branch 6 21 0 3 30
Tipton WB
First downs 18 18
Rush-pass-penalty 13-4-1 7-9-2
Rushing yards 174 148
Passing: Completions-Attempts 5-15 18-29
Passing yards 98 176
Passing: TD-Interceptions 2-1 4-1
Total plays 59 55
Offensive yards 272 324
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 4-55 2-18
Defensive sacks-yards lost 2-14 2-16
Time of possession 24:53 23:07
3rd down efficiency 3 of 11 3 of 8
4th down efficiency 3 of 6 1 of 3
Punts-average yards 2-30.5 1-31
First quarter
WB: Beau Cornwell 29-yard pass to Ben Thompson; 2-point conversion failed; 8:59
Tip: Quentin Mesick 1 run; 2-pt conversion fails; 3:42
Second quarter
WB: Cornwell 6 pass to Brett Schiele; Cornwell kick; 10:35
WB: Cornwell 8 pass to Jacob Graves; Cornwell kick; 2:02
WB: Cornwell 35 pass to Graves; Cornwell kick; 1:05
Third quarter
Tip: Mesick 3 pass to Nile Schuett; John Stroup kick; 9:52
Fourth quarter
Tip: Mesick 36 pass to Schuett; Stroup kick; 9:33
WB: Cornwell 42-yard field goal; 6:59
• • • • •
Passing — Beau Cornwell 18-176, 4 TDs; Brett Schiele 1-0
Rushing — Beau Cornwell 9-60; Jacob Graves 20-88
Receiving — Ben Thompson 3-50, 1 TD; Brady Lukavsky 1-14; Dakota Kaalberg 2-7; Brett Schiele 7-54, 1 TD; Jacob Graves 5-52, 2 TDs
Tackles (solos-assists-sacks) — Ben Thompson 1-2-0, 1 INT; Brady Lukavsky 1-0-0; Dakota Kaalberg 4-7-0; Brett Schiele 1-6-0; Jacob Graves 0-4-0; John Hatfield 3-6-0; Levi Kleinmeyer 1-1-0; Cameron Howsare 4-6-0; Dalyn Pederson 2-5-0; Javier Zamudio 0-1-0; Billy Friis 2-1-1; Andrew Black 6-7-0; Jeff Bowie 1-1-1; Jacob Barnhart 3-3-0
Kick returns: Brett Schiele 1-20; Jacob Graves 2-26
Punt returns-Yards: Jacob Graves 2-19
Punting: Beau Cornwell 1-31
Kickoffs: Javier Zamudio 6-313, 2 touchbacks
PATs: Beau Cornwell 3-3
FGs: Beau Cornwell 1-1
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