Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

LIZTON - With his team down 3 with just under five minutes remaining, the message was simple from Western Boone quarterback Brandon Potter - "Believe." And with the game on the line, the Stars did just that. Western Boone 12-play, 69-yard drive, ending with a 7-yard pass from Potter to Marcus Fortner, giving the Class 2A No. 7 Stars a 21-17 win Class 3A No. 9 Tri-West on the Bruins homecoming. "There was one sole word for the last drive, and that was 'believe,'" Potter said. "Last night at our team dinner we talked about it, we are the only ones that can stop our momentum, we just had to go out there and get it done." The Stars had been their own worst enemy throughout the game, with penalties, turnovers, clock management and a missed field goal all haunting the Stars throughout the first three quarters. But when it mattered the most, they executed and improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2018. "Our seniors really wanted this one," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "They had this game marked and everybody has to have a game where they can kind of hand their hat on a little bit - and this was it. They have been looking for this for a long time." It was also the Stars first win over the Bruins since 2019. The last two meetings had been single score games, with the Bruins scoring last year with 32 seconds to play to get the win. This year, the shoe was on the other foot. "For me personally, and the other seniors, we really wanted this," Potter said. "We've never beat them before, and just to finally get over that hump and stay undefeated - it's amazing for our team." Tri-West connected on a field goal off the left upright with 4:50 to go to give themselves a 17-14 lead. Western Boone started the drive on their own 31, and quickly facing a third-and-4, Potter connected with Mason Amich with a 27-yard screen pass to move the ball into Tri-West territory. Two plays later, the Bruins were called for a roughing the passer penalty that moved the ball down to the Tri-West 27. Amich ran the ball on three of the next four plays to get the ball down to the Tri-West 7. After an incomplete pass on second down, Potter rolled to his left and found Fortner on the sideline and placed the ball in the perfect spot for Fortner to make a diving catch with his knee inbounds. "Marcus is one of the best athletes in the conference," Potter said. "I trust my guys and I am going to do everything I can, but at the end of the day, that's an amazing catch by Marcus." Potter was 10 of 14 for 110 yards and the score. Pelley said heading into the final drive he was confident the team could get the job down if they executed. "I just wanted him to get the ball to our 'guys,'" Pelley said. "Fortner is one of our guys and he put the ball in a spot where only he could catch it. He stood in there all night. He took some sots, but he our line did a great job pass protecting and (Potter did a great job)." Tri-West scored on their second drive of the game to go up 7-0. WeBo appeared to be marching for a score, but fumbled on the Bruin 31 to kill the drive. After the Western Boone defense forced a punt, the Stars went on a 68-yard drive, scoring on a 16-yard touchdown by Mason Amich. The Bruins scored on the ensuing drive and took a 14-7 lead into the locker room. A big kick-off return by Dylan Sheets set the Stars up on their next drive, but a missed field goal kept the Stars off the board. WeBo got the ball back with good field position, but Potter couldn't handle the snap and the Bruins recovered at midfield to keep it 14-7. "They didn't really stop us, we just hurt ourselves," Pelley said. "We got a little too predictable at times, but you have to manage the clock against them too because they are so dynamic." The Stars defense rose to the occasion again, and a blocked put gave WeBo good field position. Amich, who rushed for 155 yards, scored from six yards out to tie the game, before the go-ahead Tri-West field goal set up the Stars' winning drive. Western Boone hosts North Montgomery next Friday. "We have a tradition of winning some big games, but some of these younger guys weren't here for that," Pelley said. "Now they have seen they can compete with anyone. Tri-West is a good football team, they are a lot like us. They are disciplined and tonight both sides had some foolish penalties and mistakes. But that is how football is." Potter said the Stars know they have work to do, but are happy with where they are at. "There is definitely things to work on, but this is a big win for the program," Potter said. "Our confidence right now is in a good spot, especially heading into the big games we have in the next few weeks." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.