The West Central Trojans held off a third quarter rally by the Madison Bulldogs and won their final home game of the season on Friday, October 9th.  The Trojans defeated the Bulldogs 33-14.

The first half of the game belonged to the Trojans.  West Central scored 17 straight points in the first two quarters.  Derek Eidsness made a 33-yard field goal with 2:17 to play in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead.  The first touchdown came on a four-yard run by Justin Zirpel with 7:15 to play in the second quarter.  Ryan Healy added a four-yard touchdown run of his own with 5:55 to play in the half.  West Central led 17-0 at halftime.

Madison put together a rally in the third quarter.  Nate Ricke connected with Carter Bergheim on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 9:19 to play in the third quarter.  Ricke then had a five-yard touchdown run with 7:24 to go in the quarter to pull the Bulldogs within three points at 17-14.  The score remained 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Eidsness led the Trojans in the fourth quarter to keep them in front.  Eidsness made field goals of 31 yards, 33 yards, and 35 yards all in the fourth quarter to give the Trojans a 26-14 lead.  Eidsness then put the game out of reach when he intercepted a pass by Ricke and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown with 1:28 to play in the game.

West Central finished the game with 301 yards of total offense, 253 rushing yards and 48 passing yards.  Madison was held to just 168 yards of offense, 116 rushing yards and 52 passing yards.  The Trojans also had three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in the game.

Zirpel was 2-4 passing for 48 yards and an interception.  Seth Gabbert had a catch for 30 yards, and Braden Dierickx had a catch for 18 yards.  Healy finished with 26 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown.  Zirpel had 28 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown.  Eidsness had seven rushes for 35 yards.  Logan Maras had six tackles in the game.  Healy and Eidsness both had four tackles.  Jacob Krempges had two interceptions.

West Central (4-3) will travel to Dell Rapids on Friday, October 16th.

The West Central Trojans football team bounced back a week after a tough loss to beat the Vermillion Tanagers 35-19 in Vermillion on Friday, October 2nd.

The Trojans held a slim one-point lead after the first quarter 7-6.  Vermillion took the lead by halftime with two scores in the second quarter.  The Tanagers lead 19-15 at the half.  West Central regained the lead in third quarter with a touchdown to make the score 22-19.  The Trojans added a couple of more scores to put the game away in the fourth quarter.

West Central had 350 yards of total offense, 325 rushing yards and 25 passing yards.  Vermillion finished with 401 yards of offense, 388 passing yards and 13 rushing yards.

Justin Zirpel was 1-2 passing for 25 yards and a touchdown.  Derek Eidsness had the 25-yard touchdown reception.  Zirpel also had 22 carries for 214 yards and two touchdowns.  Zirpel’s touchdown runs were of 66 and 47 yards.  Eidsness had eight carries for 59 yards and a touchdown.  Ryan Healy had 14 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Eidsness also had an interception in the game.  Mason Berens also had an interception.  Healy finished with two sacks.  Tommy Berg, Jacob Loger, and Jaxon Skinner all had a sack.  Berg also had a fumble recovery.

West Central (3-3) will host Madison in their final home game of the season on Friday, October 9th.

The Dakota Valley Panthers stole a win away from West Central on the Trojans homecoming game on Friday, September 25th.  The Panthers won the game by a score of 15-14.

The Trojan defense held the Panthers to just 205 rushing yards and 16 passing yards, but Dakota Valley scored on the first and last drives of the game.  West Central’s offense had 326 yards, but turned the ball over six times in the game.

Justin Zirpel had 25 carries for 199 yards and a touchdown.  Ryan Healy added 19 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown.

“We played a great game with the exception of the first and last drive on defense and six plays on offense when we turned the football over. We cannot expect to win big football games making the amount of mistakes that we made Friday night. Our kids and coaches took the loss hard; we are not satisfied with playing close. We expect to win and did not do that. There are positives to build off of, and we need to make corrections to accomplish what we set out to accomplish this season.  Our kids work hard, and as a coach that is what continues to drive our optimism for this season. This group is capable of being very good team, but that means nothing if we do not prove it on Friday nights. Excited for an opportunity this Friday night at Vermillion,” said head coach Vincent Benedetto.

West Central (2-3) will be on the road at Vermillion on Friday, October 2nd.