Story by Prairie Communications Intern, Kadin Rogers.
In front of a packed April Zorn Memorial Stadium at the campus of Monmouth College, the West Central Heat took on the Clippers of the Amboy/LaMoille/Ohio high school coop. Fresh off a dramatic last second win at Polo on the back of a Kaiden Droste 26 yard touchdown run, West Central battled with the 4 seeded Clippers all night long, but won the back and fourth, outlasting Amboy 44-36 and completing their season with a perfect 13-0 record.
The beginning of the game was all West Central. They won the opening half coin toss and deferred, and the choice would pay off, as the Heat defense forced an early turnover on downs from the Clipper offense, and immediately capitalized on a 45 yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion from Droste. On the ensuing kickoff, Head Coach Jason Kirby reached into his bag of tricks and pulled off a successful onside kick, giving the ball back to West Central. They would eventually widen their lead to 16-0 on yet another touchdown and 2 pointer from Kaiden Droste.
In need of a score, Amboy found the endzone on the next drive. Scoring on a touchdown pass in the back of the endzone from quarterback Tucker Lindenmeyer to tight end Brennan Blaine. The successful 2-point conversion from Lindenmeyer would cut the West Central lead in half. A nice sustained drive from West Central would end in Droste reaching the endzone for the third time of the night, adding on to the Heat lead once again.
Amboy responded next drive with a long drive of their own, ending in a score on a quarterback keeper from 7 yards out, then Lindenmeyer connected with Blaine on the 2-point conversion to bring the score to 22-16. The Clippers pulled off an onside kick of their own to get the ball right back, but just as momentum was starting to shift in favor of Amboy, Kaiden Droste jumped Lindenmeyer’s pass and took it 65 yards the other way to push the lead back to two scores. Right before the half the Clippers got inside the Heat redzone, but fumbled the ball and Mason Carnes recovered, to send the game to half with a score of 28-16 in favor of West Central.
The Heat recovered the 2nd half onside kick attempt from Amboy, and drove down the field again, eventually scoring on a quarterback keeper from Carnes. The Kaiden Droste 2-point conversion would bring the lead to 36-16 early in the 3rd quarter. Amboy with their backs against the wall would fight back, scoring on a touchdown pass from Lindenmeyer to Blaine, then after forcing a turnover on downs, the Clippers would drive down the field again and score on a touchdown run from Leffleman. The failed 2-point conversion would bring the score to 36-30 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The final quarter of play would open with West Central driving inside the Amboy redzone. Facing a pivotal 4th down and 1 on the 5 yard line, Mason Carnes blasted through for a first down, then pushed his way into the endzone on the next run. Droste would walk in on the 2-point try to move the lead to 44-30. The Clippers offense needing a quick score to keep their hopes alive, drove down the field converting two important 4th downs on their way to a pivotal 7 yard touchdown from Whelchel. Amboy would not be able to convert the 2-point conversion, and the Heat would hold on to an 8 point lead with under 3 minutes to play. Amboy would try another onside kick, but West Central recovered. On 3rd and 3, Carnes pushed through the line and moved the chains one last time. Amboy could not stop the clock, West Central would kneel the game away, and seal their first state football championship in school history by the final score of 44-36.
In the statbook for the Heat, Droste rushed for 177 yards and 4 touchdowns while QB Mason Carnes added 2 touchdowns on the ground. Kaiden Droste finishes the season with well over 3,000 yards and over 60 total touchdowns. Head Coach Jason Kirby captures his first state championship at West Central in his 7th year of coaching the Heat. Congratulations to the West Central Heat!
For the full replay of the WMOI radio broadcast of the I8FA championship game, click HERE
