The West Central Trojans hosted the Madison Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the 11A playoffs on Thursday, October 31st. The Trojans used two first half scores and a strong defense to help them to a 14-6 win.
Aiden Bartmann scored on a two-yard run a little over halfway through the first quarter. Jonathan Goehring made the extra point, and with 5:15 to play in the first quarter, West Central had a 7-0 lead. The score remained 7-0 until late in the second quarter. Keaton Vessells had a one-yard touchdown with 4:10 to go in the half. Goehring made the extra point for a 14-0 Trojan lead. The score remained 14-0 at halftime.
Neither team was able to find the endzone in the third quarter, and the Trojans continued to lead 14-0 going into the fourth quarter. Madison was able to get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. With 7:54 to play in the game, they scored on a big 90-yard run. The extra point was no good leaving the score 14-6. The Trojans were able to put together a sustained drive that allowed them to run out the clock to secure the win.
West Central finished with 262 yards of total offense, 249 rushing yards and 13 passing yards. Madison finished with 211 yards of offense, 132 rushing yards and 79 passing yards. Bartmann finished with 30 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown. Vessells had nine carries for 20 yards and a touchdown. Caden Alfson was 1-3 passing for 13 yards. Bennett Ingalls had the lone catch for 13 yards. CJ DenBoer had nine tackles on the night. Creighton Sandholm ended with five tackles. Vessells had two tackles with a sack. Carter Gross added two tackles and a fumble recovery. Karson Vessells also had a fumble recovery.
