Hawks soar past Bobcats 42-20 in District 2 matchup

VAN HORNE — There was no looking ahead for West Delaware football.

With a district showdown looming next week at Class 3A No. 1 Clear Lake, the fourth-ranked Hawks gave Benton Community their undivided attention in a resounding 42-20 victory in a District 2 game on a rainy Friday night at Benton Community High School.

“It’s them, it really is,” second-year West Delaware Coach Ryan King said. “Our mantra is, ‘Let’s just get better and focus on getting better each week.’ Let’s focus on the team at hand. … Our guys knew that this was a really, really good football team.”

Senior quarterback Austin Schnieders ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns, including a tone-setting 50-yard scoring scamper on the third offensive play from scrimmage.

“We were going to come out here and play our best ball,” Schnieders said. “When I saw that hole open, I just went for it. I saw that safety slip and I saw green grass in front of me. I just went for it.”

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Senior tailback Jack Cantwell added 200 rushing yards and two scores for West Delaware (8-0, 4-0 District 2). Cantwell would have had a third, but the ball was stripped from him at the 1-yard line by the Benton defense, only to be recovered in the end zone by West Delaware lineman Jay Georgen for an unlikely score.

“Just putting a head on a head,” Cantwell said. “Coming out here, we knew the rain would help us because we are just so hard-nosed. It is just the linemen and the skill players just getting their guy and blocking for me.”

West Delaware piled up a whopping 447 rushing yards against Benton. Hawks’ senior tailback Macoy Roling added a late touchdown to join both Cantwell and Schnieders with 10 rushing scores apiece this season.

“Rainy, not ideal but we make it work,” Schnieders said. “We love to run the ball. We’re going to keep pounding it in their face.”

On defense, West Delaware forced two punts, recorded a pair of fourth-down stops and both Cantwell and senior Kyle Pasker intercepted Benton passes.

This is the best start to a season for West Delaware since the 2015 team won its first 12 games en route to a 3A state runner-up finish. The Hawks can lock up the district crown with a win next week at top-ranked Clear Lake (8-0, 4-0).

“They knew tonight we had to get one before we could go get the next one,” King said. “Now we put ourselves in that position to go play for a district title and get the chance to host (a playoff game) at Brown Field.”

Quarterback Carson Nolan ran for 128 yards and three scores for Benton (4-4, 2-2).

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