PHILIPSBURG — The Philipsburg-Osceola football team simply did not have enough big plays in its stockpile to keep up with the West Branch Warriors.
Squaring off in the opening contest for both teams Aug. 26 at Memorial Field in Philipsburg, the two teams marched up and down the field and traded touchdowns throughout the night.
With all said, West Branch had too many answers to the challenges thrown down by the Mounties, and the Warriors pulled away after halftime for a 54-28 victory in this neighborhood rivalry.
West Branch quarterback Kyle Myers threw touchdown passes of 31 yards to Dylan Confer and 89 yards to Cameron Lytle. Lytle also returned a kickoff 87 yards for another score, and safety Justin Rothrock iced the game for the Warriors with a 41-yard, fourth-quarter pick-6.
In all, West Branch racked up 347 yards of total offense, including 220 through the air. Myers completed 75 percent of his passes in the game and averaged more than 27 yards per completion.
“I’m not sure on the stat sheet, but I think five or six of our skill kids scored,” West Branch coach Kevin Hubler said. “All of our receivers, tailback, quarterback, we definitely spread the wealth. We got some skill kids. We’re solid up front. We’re happy with what we did.”
Even so, West Branch needed it all to put away Philipsburg-Osceola.
Losing streak or not, P-O was in contention the entire game until Rothrock’s interception put the Warriors up by four scores midway through the fourth quarter.
“It was a game of big plays,” P-O coach Mike Mann said, “but we have to take some positives away from the game. We put up more points than we have in a long time and more offense than we have in a long time. So I’m pleased with a lot of things but the mental mistakes. We have to quit making those.”
The Mounties scored first in the game on their third possession in the first quarter. Quarterback Dan Slogosky found Emarion Wallace in the left corner of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown and a 6-0 P-O lead.
West Branch, as it will do time and again in the game, answered immediately. Myers engineered a four-play, 66-yard drive that ended when he snuck it over from the 2-yard line for a 7-6 lead.
Myers followed that with two long touchdown passes that put WB in temporary control of the game. The first was the 31-yarder to Confer that made it 14-6 just as the second quarter began.
Then, on a third-and-long from the 11-yard line, Myers connected with Lytle breaking past three P-O defenders, and Lytle took it the distance for a 21-6 WB lead.
Undeterred, the Mounties climbed right back with a patient, 13-play, 60-yard drive that ended when Levi Hughes caught a 6-yard Slogosky touchdown pass.
With just 1:26 to play in the half, P-O was contemplating going into the locker room with just a manageable nine-point, 21-12, deficit.
West Branch’s Lytle had other ideas though. He took the Philipsburg kickoff and drove straight up the middle of the field, broke a tackle and then outraced the P-O defenders 87 yards into the end zone.
West Branch missed the extra point, but the runback put the Warriors ahead 27-12.
“It seemed like they (the P-O players) let their heads down there and lost their composure,” Mann said.
Up against it again, the Mounties responded again. P-O kicked off to begin the second half and held West Branch to a three-and-out.
The Warriors lined up to punt from their own 32, but P-O’s Luke Smallwood broke through the formation, blocked the punt and then took it in for a 26-yard touchdown. Brandon Anderson ran for a two-point conversion, and suddenly it was a 27-20 game.
Threatened once more, West Branch refused to blink. Myers guided a seven-play, 55-yard drive for a 34-20 advantage, then after a punt by P-O, Myers took his team another 45 yards on five plays to go ahead 41-20 early in the fourth quarter.
Rothrock essentially put the game away in the Mounties’ next possession. He stepped cleanly in front of a Slogosky pass on the left sideline and sprinted untouched 41 yards into the end zone. The score put WB firmly in control with a 48-20 lead with just over eight minutes to play.
Both teams scored late touchdowns to account for the 54-28 final score.
Myers finished with eight completions in 12 attempts for 220 yards and two touchdowns, while Creighton Coble led the Warriors in rushing with 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Slogosky was 12 for 27 for 102 yards and two scores. Hughes and Anderson led the runners for P-O with 46 and 44 yards respectively.
“I told the kids they can hold their heads up,” Mann said. “It was a back-and-forth game. We had some mental mistakes, but we put more points on the board that we have in a long time. So we have to take some positives away.”
