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Trojans reject Beckman’s comeback

By Ross Thede 6 min read

STATE CENTER -- The sheer force of the changes in direction was enough to cause whiplash.

The West Marshall football team stood strong, kept its head and stayed the course.

The Trojans led seventh-ranked Beckman Catholic by 15 points going into the fourth quarter, fell behind with four minutes left, but rallied to win 28-25 in Friday's Class 1A state football playoff second-round game.

Blayk Hart's fourth rushing touchdown of the night, and Wilson Buckley's unsung point-after kick, put West Marshall (8-2) in front 28-25 with 1:43 left to play. The visiting Blazers (8-2), who scored 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, couldn't come up with another go-ahead score.

The Trojans advance to face third-ranked Aplington-Parkersburg (10-0) on Friday, Nov. 6, at Ed Thomas Field in Parkersburg in hopes of getting to the UNI-Dome for the state semifinals for the first time since 2011. Friday's triumph was the Trojans' first quarterfinal victory since 2021.

"You get up a couple scores and then sometimes you think it might be out of reach and it wasn't," said West Marshall head coach Cody Hackett. "They're a good team. That's one of the top-10 teams in the state and they just kept battling. I'll give them their props for continuing to keep grinding and fighting when you're down by a couple scores going into the fourth quarter.

"We dealt with a little bit of adversity there and got down but we didn't hang our heads. We kept fighting, we kept battling, and we got a big play there at the end. At the end of the day, we had more points on the board than they did, and I'm super happy."

West Marshall capitalized on a pair of short fields to start the second half, converting Teegun Edler's 80-yard interception return into a 14-6 lead. The Trojans thwarted Beckman's fake punt attempt on the next possession, taking over at the Blazers' 32-yard-line and scoring four plays later for a 21-6 advantage.

"We just got into that scramble drill for that interception, I just go to any guy near me," Edler said. "That's how I got it. At halftime we talked about trying to keep that quarterback contained because he's fast, and then try to stay with those receivers the whole time."

With all the momentum on the home team's sideline, the Blazers about-faced quickly toward the end zone with a prolific passing attack powering them. Quarterback Noah Kluesner was 5-for-5 on the drive, gaining 63 yards before scoring on a 4-yard run to cut the deficit to 21-13 with 10:42 to play.

Beckman forced a three-and-out on the Trojans' next possession and needed just three plays to reach paydirt, with Kluesner hitting Jack Wessels for a 55-yard touchdown pass to bring the Blazers within 21-19 with 7:26 left.

West Marshall reached back and tried for the finishing blow instead of leaning on its punishing ground game, but the strategy backfired. Hart was hit trying to throw long and fumbled the ball, and Beckman recovered at the Trojans' 21.

The continued momentum shift made the Blazers' ensuing drive a breeze, and Mason Smith scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Beckman the lead, 25-21, with 4:08 remaining.

West Marshall learned what it needed to when Hart was forced to fumble, and the Trojans' offensive line gave him enough time on the callback. On their second play of the ensuing drive, Hart connected with Turner DeRossett for a 60-yard pass play that set the Trojans up at the Beckman 12 and plenty of time. Four Hart runs later, and West Marshall was into the end zone with the eventual game-winning touchdown.

It was Hart's only completion in seven attempts, and one of the many impactful plays of the game.

"Turner's a guy on our team that's fast, and we know we've got to get him some opportunities to get the ball because he's a very good athlete," said Hackett. "She's a special player, he's hard-nosed, and that play worked really well at the end. We just put it in this week, and I told them the time was going to come, and he executed it very well."

The Blazers took over at their own 31 with 1:35 left, but a holding penalty negated a 47-yard pass play that would have set them up at the 1-yard-line. Instead, the Trojan defense held strong on fourth-and-5 as Kluesner's final pass fell incomplete as time expired.

The West Marshall offense was outgained 332-216 by a Blazers offense that averaged 40 points per game this season, but field position and special teams played an important role. Wessels missed Beckman's first point-after field goal and the Blazers failed on both of their two-point conversion attempts. Buckley, who last week matched the school record for career field goals (10), was 4-for-4 on point-after kicks.

"We played very hard in all three phases of the game," Hackett said. "We made some big plays here and there, we had some mishaps here and there, but I'm just super proud of the guys."

Hart finished with 39 carries for 159 of West Marshall's 216 yards from scrimmage. Dalton Eldridge led the Trojan defense with 14 tackles, including three for loss, and one quarterback sack. DeRossett totaled eight tackles while Joe Kielman and Connor Yakel chipped in four tackles apiece.

"It's a grind, we've been together for so long, and I truly feel this is a team that meshes very well together," said Hackett. "They're super happy for one another, they play for one another, and when you get down there like that in those tight games, I just think the seniors wanted it and all the young guys wanted it for them."

Kluesner finished 15-for-23 passing for 186 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also scrambled for a team-leading 71 yards, while Kramer added 60 yards out of the backfield. Wessels had three receptions for 67 yards and a TD, and Tate Ries added six grabs for 59 yards.

West Marshall 28, Beckman Catholic 25

Score by Quarter

BECKMAN 6 0 0 19 -- 25

WM 0 7 14 7 -- 28

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

BC -- Jude Kramer 16 run (kick failed), 2:59.

Second Quarter

WM -- Blayk Hart 2 run (Wilson Buckley kick), 4:36.

Third Quarter

WM -- Hart 2 run (Buckley kick), 5:00.

WM -- Hart 7 run (Buckley kick), 1:36.

Fourth Quarter

BC -- Noah Kluesner 4 run (Jack Wessels kick), 10:42.

BC -- Wessels 55 pass from Kluesner (run failed), 7:26.

BC -- Mason Smith 4 run (pass failed), 4:08.

WM -- Hart 1 run (Buckley kick), 1:43.

TEAM STATISTICS

BC WM

First downs 13 10

Rushes-yards 29-146 43-156

Passing yards 186 60

Comp-Att-Int 15-23-1 1-7-0

Total offense 52-332 50-216

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-yards 4-28 4-30

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING -- DB: Kluesner 11-71, Kramer 14-60, Smith 2-10, Luke Kruse 1-6, Wessels 1-(minus-1); WM: Hart 39-159, TEAM 1-(minus-1), Joe Kielman 3-(minus-2).

PASSING -- DB: Kluesner 15-23-186-1; WM: Hart 1-7-60-0.

RECEIVING -- DB: Wessels 3-67, Tate Ries 6-59, Kruse 2-30, Brayden White 3-24, Kramer 1-6; WM: Turner DeRossett 1-60.

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