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.