For the second time in as many games against Canton, the West Central Trojans were stopped at the goalline by the C-Hawks defense.  This time the stop came in the semifinals of the 11A playoffs in Canton on Friday, November 6th, preserving a 14-6 win for the C-Hawks.

Canton had stopped West Central on the goalline in the last game of the regular season on Thursday, October 22nd.  That stop then led to a 99-yard game-winning drive by Canton for a 12-7 victory.

On Friday night the Trojans trailed 14-6 late in the game and had a first and goal from the Canton one-yard line needing a score and two-point conversion to tie the game.  The first two attempts by West Central were on successful.  On third down, however, the Justin Zirpel and the Trojans thought Zirpel crossed the goalline prior to Zach Richardson of Canton forcing a fumble.  After the officials deliberated, the call was a fumble recovered by the C-Hawks in the endzone with just over a minute to play in the game.

West Central did force Canton to punt, but the Trojans were unable to to get a last second score to tie the game, and the Canton C-Hawks advanced to the championship game.

The game was another strong defensive battle between the two teams.  Canton scored late in the first quarter, but West Central held them the remainder of the first half.  The Trojans’ lone touchdown came on a Zirpel run in the third quarter.  Canton responded with a scoring drive of their own immediately after the Trojan touchdown.

Zirpel finished the game 2-6 passing for 34 yards along with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown.  Ryan Healy added 78 rushing yards.

West Central has their season come to an end with an overall record of 6-5.

For the second year in a row the West Central Trojans and the Dell Rapids Quarriers met in the quarterfinals of the 11A playoffs.  Last year the Trojans traveled to Dell Rapids, but this year, the Trojans hosted the Quarriers on Thursday, October 29th.

Derek Eidsness hit the game-winning field goal in 2019 with a second left on the clock to help advance the Trojans to the semifinals.  It was another late score for West Central that gave the Trojans a 16-14 win over Dell Rapids and send them to semifinals again this year.

West Central defeated the Quarriers 34-0 less than two weeks ago on October 16th, but the Trojans didn’t plan on this game being anything like the one earlier this year.

“We knew it was not going to be like the first time we played Dells. They are such a well-coached team, and their kids play so hard all the time. I have nothing but respect for their players, coaches, and program,” said head coach Vincent Benedetto.

The Trojans electrified the home crowd on the opening drive of the game.  After getting the kickoff to start the game, West Central was in the endzone two plays later.  Justin Zirpel had a 49-yard run, and Ryan Healy followed with a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead just thirty-eight seconds into the game.  The offense didn’t come quite as easily the rest of the game.  After Dell Rapids tied the game with 3:03 to play in the second quarter, the Trojans were able to get a scoring drive together prior to halftime.  Eidsness made a 20-yard field goal with :09 to go in the second quarter to give the Trojans a 10-7 lead heading into halftime.

Dell Rapids seemed to find some momentum in the second half.  The Quarriers got the ball to start the third quarter and had an almost seven-minute opening drive that resulted in touchdown to give them a 14-10 lead.  Both defenses continued to play strong in the second half, but the Quarriers looked to be making a move in the fourth quarter.  They had the ball on the Trojan 40 yard-line with just over eight minutes to go in the game after a big run by Landon Ruesink.  The Trojan defense, however, did not break.  West Central was able to force a turnover on downs and took possession with 7:24 to play in the game.

“It was battle against a really good opponent. When we needed to, we made plays. We had not made those plays in previous games this season in our close losses to Dakota Valley and Canton,” said Benedetto.

The Trojan offense put together a 10-play, 66-yard drive that lasted five minutes and thirty-five seconds.  Zirpel scored on a quarterback sneak from the Quarrier one-yard line with 1:49 to play.  The extra point was no good, but West Central regained the lead 16-14.  The last drive by the Quarriers was another turnover on downs as the West Central defense held strong for the win.

“This win is a testament to the character of our players- the hard work they put in during the off-season and season showed on the field tonight. I am very proud to be a part of this team, we have a special group of kids,” added Benedetto.

The two teams ended with nearly identical stats for the game.   West Central had 231 yards of total offense, while the Quarriers had 227 yards.  Neither team had a turnover in the game.  Both teams punted four times, committed three penalties, had 11 first downs, and finished with a sack.

Zirpel had 20 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown in the game.  Healy finished with 14 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.  Healy and Carter Sandholm both had eight tackles in the game.  Brayden Traub-Jensen and Logan Maras both finished with seven tackles each.

West Central (6-4) will travel to play Canton in the semifinals on Friday, November 6th with a trip to the championship game on the line.

The West Central Trojan football team had their three-game winning streak come to an end in the final regular season game on Thursday, October 22nd.  The Trojans lost on the road to the Canton C-Hawks 12-7.

Canton scored on their opening possession of the game that lasted four and a half minutes.  Seth Peterson threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Payton Eben with 7:38 to play in the opening quarter.  The extra point was no good, and Canton led 6-0.

The Trojans took a small lead in the second quarter.  Justin Zirpel scored on a four-yard touchdown run.  The extra point was good, and West Central led 7-6.  The score remained 7-6 at halftime.  Neither team would score in the third quarter as well, and the Trojans maintained a 7-6 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Trojans looked as if they were going to put the game out of reach as they had the ball inside the Canton 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter.  Canton’s defense was able to make a goal-line stand and forced a turnover on downs on their own one-yard line with about two minutes to go in the game.  The C-Hawks were able to convert on a fourth down on the ensuing offensive drive to keep hopes alive.  With :19 to go in the game, Peterson and Eben connected again on a touchdown pass to get the come-from-behind win.

Zirpel was 2-2 passing for 53 yards.  Derek Eidsness had both of those catches.  Zirpel also had 20 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown.  Ryan Healy had 21 carries for 81 yards.  Eidsness also had nine carries for 53 yards.

West Central finishes the regular season with a 5-4 record.  The Trojans will be the #3 seed in the 11A playoffs and will host the #6 Dell Rapids Quarriers on Thursday, October 29th.