Bears capture another district crown

ALBURNETT - Another year, another district title.

Ho hum? Hardly.

'Each one of them is special, and that's how I feel about this team,” West Branch Coach Butch Pedersen said after the third-ranked Bears wrapped up the Class 1A District 5 crown Friday night, 24-14, over Alburnett.

'I said at the start of the season, if we improve 1 percent every day, we're going to be a pretty good football team. We're a pretty good football team.”

The Bears (9-0 overall, 6-0 district) are better than pretty good.

Luke Lenoch ran for 190 yards on 38 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. And he intercepted a pass with about 2 minutes left to end the last hope for the Pirates (7-2, 4-2).

Both teams are playoff qualifiers (Alburnett finished third in the district). Playoff assignments will be released early Saturday morning, and the first round is Wednesday.

'The sky is the limit right now,” Lenoch said. 'We have a lot of heart, a lot of talent.”

West Branch will host a fourth-place team from an adjoining district. The Pirates will go on the road for the first round; Friday's game was the finale at the Pirates' present field. Next year, they will play at the Martin Complex south of town.

They'll hit the road knowing they can compete.

'We came in here thinking we could play with West Branch,” Pirates Coach Ken Kasper said. 'We're going to face more teams of this caliber coming up.”

West Branch racked up 218 yards and 14 first downs in the first half on the way to a 21-7 advantage at the break.

The big moment came with the Bears facing second-and-26 at the Alburnett 30 in a 7-7 tie. Bears quarterback Cooper Koenig, who had opened 0-for-5, connected with John Shawver for the tie-breaking touchdown.

West Branch extended it to 21-7 on its final drive of the half, marching 65 yards in 11 plays, with Lenoch finishing it off with a 2-yard run.

Lenoch scored the Bears' first touchdown, a 5-yarder, then Alburnett answered with Dillon Caves' 1-yard plunge. Caves' touchdown was made possible by a 64-yard pass from Caves to Bryce Paul.

After a scoreless third quarter, Devin Kindon lined home a 24-yard field goal to extend the Bears' advantage to 24-7 with 10:21 to play. Alburnett's Connor Shulista ran for a 3-yard TD with 6:21 left to cap the scoring.

Lenoch upped his season rushing total to 1,526 yards and 22 touchdowns.

'He's one of the best running backs ever to play at West Branch,” Pedersen said. 'And he's only a junior.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com