Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

It was an inauspicious start for the Western Boone football team on Friday night when they traveled to Crawfordsville. Just like the end of their loss to Lebanon, the Stars got flagged for having two guys in motion at the snap, eventually forcing them to punt on their opening possession. But after that, WeBo rolled and picked up their first win of the season, 57-24 over the Athenians. “I was like ‘oh, boy,’ and I didn’t know what was going to happen, but we regrouped and made some big plays like our kids can,” Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. “Our defense gave up 10 points tonight, we gave up a pick-6 in a two-minute drill and had a blocked field goal for a touchdown – so I was really happy with how our defense came out.” Playing against two strong offenses in Tri-West and Lebanon in the opening two weeks, it hadn’t been the easiest start for the WeBo defense this year. And while they gave up some plays in the passing game, they took away everyting the Athenians wanted to do in the rushing game, holding Crawfordsville to -48 yards rushing in the game. “We did a lot of really good things tonight, especially defensively,” Pelley said. “It was nice to see our defensive lineman – Mason Foster, Connor Palmer, Maddox Amich – they saw the success tonight and they needed that. When you get beat down a couple weeks in a row, you have to find some success, and with the crazy schedule week you never know how you are going to come out, and we did way more good things than bad tonight.” The Stars also were clicking offensively, especially in the running game. WeBo had 12 different kids carry the ball, carrying 38 times for 283 yards (7.4 yards a carry) and five touchdowns. Jack Mallory had nine carries for 114 yards and a score. Rolen Shue had seven carries for 40 yards. “We had so many guys filling in, because we had to with the heat,” Pelley said. “We had to fill in with some younger guys. Jack Mallory is a difference maker for us. Both our quarterbacks were good tonight, they were 7 of 10 with a couple of touchdowns. If we can score points like that, it takes a lot of pressure off our defense.” Western Boone travels to Greencastle next week to resume Monon Athletic Conference play. Pelley said there are a few things he wants the Stars to focus on. “I think it’s the mental part of the game,” Pelley said. “We talked this week, the game is 90% mental, 10% physical and that showed tonight. We have to put a full game together. To score 57 points and not feeling like we played our best football is a good thing.” Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on X @Will_Willems.