The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The West Central Heat pitched a shut out at Bushnell-P.C. Saturday with a 38-0 score.
On a day marking the 20th anniversary of what is remembered as the 911 Terrorist Attack, the West Central Heat faced off against an undefeated opponent before a sunbaked crowd of fans.
Prior to the opening kickoff, School Board President, Brendan Schaley, delivered a touching request for a moment of silence to remember all those who sacrificed on that horrible day and beyond.
The Heat lost the coin toss and their defense went right to work and turned the ball over to the offense 77 yards away from the goal line.
First play from scrimmage produced a 77 yard dash by Junior Kaiden Droste and things looked very good for the home team after Droste plunged over the goal for the conversion and an 8-0 lead.
Things looked good at that point but it didn't last long because Droste injured his ankle on the first play after the kickoff. The Heat was already down one starter in the backfield due to Mason Carnes' ankle sprain and now they had lost their leading rusher.
But like they say, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" and that is exactly what happened Saturday.
Kolten Bell and Devin Shaw, behind the rugged offensive line, piled up 145 and 130 yards respectively and the Heat never looked back on their way to a 38 to 0 win.
Teams with lessor character may have folded but the determined Heat proved to have each others back.
Devin Shaw scored 3 TD's and Kolton Bell scored once along with Droste's TD to account for the Heat's 5 scores.
The offense produced over 400 yards on the ground and the defense earned the season's first shutout. Pretty good days work on a hot afternoon.
Parker Meldrum put in a productive defensive effort and recorded 6 solo tackles and 10 assists. Devin Shaw racked up 7 solos and Walker Conchas chipped in with 5 tackles.
One of the biggest hits of the afternoon was delivered by Zach Smith when he stopped an opponent to prevent a first down. That would be Bushnell-P,C.'s deepest penetration into Heat territory.
Next week the Heat will take their 3-0 record to Amboy for a Friday contest.