Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

The final installment - for now - of the Western Boone-Sheridan football story ended on a good note for the visiting Stars. After a close first-half battle, the Stars scored the final 21 points of the game to pull out a 35-14 win. "Their kids played hard and we knew it was going to be a dog fight," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "They had a lot of motivation - season opener, debuting a new turf field and playing for Coach Wright - and we really hope he is doing well. They made us change some things during the first half and we were able to get a few big plays." It was a little different feeling playing Sheridan, as legendary Sheridan head coach Bud Wright missed a game for the first time in 62 years after being injured on the sideline during last week's scrimmage against Crawfordsville and needing surgery that took place on Friday. Pelley said that did create some challenges in the Stars' game planning, but thought his team handled it well. "It is a little bit scary," Pelley said. "You kind of know what to expect when Coach Wright is calling plays, and with him not there there are some unknowns and you don't know if it will be different. On the other side, Coach Wright is the best coach we face in making halftime adjustments." The game turned in the Stars favor right before the half. Tied at 14, Western Boone had the ball on their own 28 with 40 seconds left in the half. After a bubble screen went for two yards, the Stars got a big 45 yard pass play from Brandon Potter to Dylan Sheets. Two plays later, Potter connected with Marcus Fortner for a touchdown, giving the Stars a seven-point lead into the break. "That was a huge drive," Pelley said. "That is something we practice a lot, but don't get to us it all that often. That was a big play to Dylan down the sideline to get us going, then Brandon made a nice throw to Marcus for the score. That was big going into the half up a score." The drive also showed some of the growth of Potter this off-season. He was 5-of-14 yards for 128 yards and two scores, and added a career-best 95 yards on the ground. "There is still a long way to go, but he made some good throws and he showed that he has added to his game by rushing for 95 yards. He has added a lot of strength and speed and was able to put some things on tape for other teams to have to game plan for." Coming out in the second half, the Stars added another big play to really put the game away. With Sheridan near midfield, Marco Velazquez intercepted a pass and returned it inside the Sheridan 10. Jacob Smith than ran it in to make it a two-score game. "That was a big play and really took away their momentum," Pelley said. "They got the ball coming out in the second half, and that interception really changed the rest of the game. Then running it inside the 10 and scoring. Marco did a good job on defense tonight, then went 5-for-5 on extra points - it was great." The Stars finished off the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Potter to Sheets. Early on, the teams were trading scores. Western Boone went up 7-0 on the first drive of the game, scoring on a touchdown run by Dylan Sheets. Sheridan responded on their opening drive, but Western Boone quickly retook the lead on a 59-yard touchdown run from Brandon Potter. Sheridan came back to tie the game at 14, and it looked like the teams were set to go into the locker room tied before WeBo's quick scoring drive. Sheets caught two passes for 85 yards and scored two touchdowns. Fortner had three catches for 43 yards. Jacob Smith had 35 yards rushing on eight carries. The Stars have their home opener next Friday, hosting Western. The Panthers fell to Tri-West 43-7 on Friday night. "We still are figuring out where everyone goes and the right spot to put some kids," Pelley said. "We played a lot of guys tonight and have a lot of guys moving around. We played a lot of sophomores and younger guys, so it is just finding the right spots for them to be effective." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.