The West Central Trojans were able to hold off the Madison Bulldogs in the opening round of the 11A Playoffs on Thursday, October 30th. The Trojans defeated the Bulldogs 29-20 to advance to the semifinal round.
Carter Gross connected with Kolte Garry for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 1:26 to play in the opening quarter. The extra point was no good, but West Central led 6-0. The Bulldogs took the lead in the second quarter after an interception by Shane Veenhof that was returned for a touchdown. The extra point was good, and Madison led 7-6 with 7:59 to play in the second quarter. The Trojans took the lead right before halftime. Hayden Whiting had a 15-yard touchdown run, and Gross completed a pass to Tanner Wagner for the two-point conversion. The Trojans led 14-7 at halftime.
Whiting was able to find the end zone again on a one-yard run with 2:31 to play in the third quarter. Whiting also made the two-point conversion to give the Trojans a 22-7 advantage. The Bulldogs scored early in the fourth quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good, and with 11:42 to go, West Central held a 22-14 lead. Madison would score again with 7:44 left in the game on a five-yard pass to cut the lead to 22-20. The Bulldogs would try a two-point conversion pass, but the pass was interception by Wagner to keep the Trojans in front 22-20. Garry would ice the game by scoring on a one-yard run with 1:57 left in the game. Dominic Butts made the extra point to make the score 29-20.
The Trojans finished with 400 yards of offense, 305 rushing yards and 95 passing yards. Madison had 201 yards of offense, 144 passing yards and 57 rushing yards. Gross was 6-12 passing for 95 yards. Garry had a catch for 39 yards, and Hayden Heier had three catches for 38 yards. Whiting finished with 36 carries for 202 yards. Gross also had 15 carries for 95 yards. Ashton Gebhard led the defense with 7.5 tackles.
West Central will play Sioux Falls Christian for a trip to the dome on the line on Friday, November 7th.
