Late burst sends West Branch to quarterfinals

WEST BRANCH - In a game of big plays Hunter Wargo and Devin Kindon made the biggest. With the game tied and momentum in Pella Christian's back pocket, the two West Branch seniors scored two touchdowns within 50 seconds of each other to propel the No. 2-ranked Bears to a 42-27 victory over the Eagles.

'That was a great game, probably one of the best I've ever played in,” Kindon said. 'Pella Christian has a great football team.”

West Branch improved to 11-0 with the 1A second-round victory. Pella Christian finished 7-4.

The Eagles tied the game at 21 in the third quarter on an 86-yard drive and had outscored the Bears 14-8 in the second half. But Wargo broke through a hole on the ensuing kickoff, cut left and raced 90 yards for the go-ahead TD.

'It was incredible,” Wargo said. 'I came up and there was a huge hole. You could have driven a truck through that thing. They made it real easy on me.

'We really showed that we never sit down. We kept coming back.”

The Eagles took over after the kickoff on their own 26. Two plays later Kindon intercepted David Kacmarynski's pass and bolted 24 yards for the touchdown and a 35-21 lead.

'The guy ran out in my zone and I stepped in front of him,” Kindon said. The errant throw was at least partially caused by some pressure up the middle by the line.

It was a bit of redemption for Kindon who dropped a seemingly sure interception deep in PC territory in the first quarter after the Bears had built a 13-0 lead.

'I just kind of forgot about the first one and made sure the second time,” Kindon said.

In all West Branch intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles. The fumbles probably cost the Eagles 14 first-half points. Drew Finnegan, who has been out with injury since the first game of the year, recovered one at the Bear 16 with the Eagles driving.

Luke Lenoch recovered a fumble in the Bear end zone after the Eagles completed a pass to the 1-yard line, but receiver Levi Jungling was hit as he was about to score.