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Mother Nature unleashed challenges of temperatures dipping to the low 40s, a heavy downpour of rain coupled with strong gusts of wind, and a muddy field at Milan High School Wednesday during Class 1 regional football playoff action.
Westran, the 8th-ranked team in the state, not only tamed their undefeated host but also the weather factors well enough to return home earning a convincing 39-0 victory against 9th-ranked Wildcats.
“Our team came out and played really well defensively, and especially at the line of scrimmage under sloppy playing conditions on the field and some horrendous weather. It was like a monsoon with cold hard rain falling on us, making the game pretty miserable,” said Westran football coach Curtis Jasper. “The conditions were so bad that both of knew running the football was pretty much the only option either one of us had in this game.”
Last night’s victory allows the Hornets (9-2) to move on, giving Westran the opportunity to avenge a regular season loss to fifth-ranked Salisbury (40-13 Week 9). Westran plays at the Panthers’ home turf Monday for sectionals.
Salisbury (11-0) took care of Marceline in their regional playoff game Wednesday by a 35-7 score.
“We are just excited to still be playing football. We’re a big family and are happy to get up (Thursday) morning knowing that we still get to practice knowing there is another opportunity out there to play Salisbury,” said Jasper. “Hopefully we can get a win this time so we can do it all again.”
Against Milan last night, senior quarterback Drake Buffington rushed for about 195 yards and scored four touchdowns to pace Westran’s offense that netted about 345 yards, all on the ground.
Senior running back Kalob Dale rushed for about 120 yards, all in the first half, including a 69-yard TD run. He also intercepted one of the few pass attempts in the game, returning it about 48 yards for a score.
However, Jasper said Dale suffered a shoulder injury before the half and would not play the rest of the game.
Milan (10-1) won the 2011 Tri-County Conference, finished with regular season with a perfect record for the first time in school history and reached the state playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
But the Wildcats had never met a team like Westran on the football field, and were forced to play under such harsh weather conditions before either.
Having the cold wind in their face certainly played a factor in the kicking game as well.
Mother Nature unleashed challenges of temperatures dipping to the low 40s, a heavy downpour of rain coupled with strong gusts of wind, and a muddy field at Milan High School Wednesday during Class 1 regional football playoff action.
Westran, the 8th-ranked team in the state, not only tamed their undefeated host but also the weather factors well enough to return home earning a convincing 39-0 victory against 9th-ranked Wildcats.
“Our team came out and played really well defensively, and especially at the line of scrimmage under sloppy playing conditions on the field and some horrendous weather. It was like a monsoon with cold hard rain falling on us, making the game pretty miserable,” said Westran football coach Curtis Jasper. “The conditions were so bad that both of knew running the football was pretty much the only option either one of us had in this game.”
Last night’s victory allows the Hornets (9-2) to move on, giving Westran the opportunity to avenge a regular season loss to fifth-ranked Salisbury (40-13 Week 9). Westran plays at the Panthers’ home turf Monday for sectionals.
Salisbury (11-0) took care of Marceline in their regional playoff game Wednesday by a 35-7 score.
“We are just excited to still be playing football. We’re a big family and are happy to get up (Thursday) morning knowing that we still get to practice knowing there is another opportunity out there to play Salisbury,” said Jasper. “Hopefully we can get a win this time so we can do it all again.”
Against Milan last night, senior quarterback Drake Buffington rushed for about 195 yards and scored four touchdowns to pace Westran’s offense that netted about 345 yards, all on the ground.
Senior running back Kalob Dale rushed for about 120 yards, all in the first half, including a 69-yard TD run. He also intercepted one of the few pass attempts in the game, returning it about 48 yards for a score.
However, Jasper said Dale suffered a shoulder injury before the half and would not play the rest of the game.
Milan (10-1) won the 2011 Tri-County Conference, finished with regular season with a perfect record for the first time in school history and reached the state playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
But the Wildcats had never met a team like Westran on the football field, and were forced to play under such harsh weather conditions before either.
Having the cold wind in their face certainly played a factor in the kicking game as well.
Three early punts traveled less than 20 yards, giving Westran a short field to work with to score points en route to a 33-0 halftime lead.
“I thought if we had the wind at our back to start the game, it would give us the advantage of winning providing that we put up some points and have our defense stop or limit what they did because the weather certainly was going to play a factor, and it did,” said coach Jasper. “Having the wind at our back in the first half, and especially us dominating the line of scrimmage were the keys to this win.”
“Our line just played really well. Offensively, they opened up things for our backs to run the football and defensively they made it very hard for Milan to run the ball.”
Running back Cooper Bankus of Milan was held to about 80 rushing yards and Aaron Richardson had about 65.
