Freshman bolsters W-MU at Homecoming

WINFIELD - And a child will lead them. A man-child.

With chants of 'Just a freshman, just a freshman,” serenading from the Winfield-Mount Union student section, Cam Buffington put on a show for his homecoming audience, scoring four times in an impressive 28-12 Class 8-man District 4 victory over Iowa Valley Friday.

The 6-foot-2 inch, 185-pound freshman punted, patrolled on defense, ran for 195 yards on 16 carries and even cleaned up equipment after the football game to assist a 3-1 start to W-MU's season.

'We really fought,” said Buffington, who sat out the first game with a broken finger. 'We have a really good line, and I have something good to run behind and that is good. Our defense really set us apart.”

After dodging a pair of momentum-starting efforts from Iowa Valley, Winfield-Mount Union took control. Iowa Valley took the opening kickoff deep into Wolves' territory, but the play was nullified by a penalty. Iowa Valley had a potential touchdown bomb dropped.

After punting, Buffington and partners took control and never relented.

Buffington ran around the right end and found a crease down the sideline on a 35-yard touchdown scamper. Fellow freshman Abram Edwards tacked on a two-point conversion as it became clear early that for the W-MU football program, the future is now.

W-MU coach Scott McCarty noted that while skill position players such as Buffington played well, the people who do the dirty work deserve attention.

'Cam is a dynamic athlete, but it is a tough play for him if we don't move anybody up front,” McCarty said. 'There were six kids who played offensive line, and those guys moved the line of scrimmage. We had a handful of negative plays, but I think they did a really nice job for us.”

While the freshmen served notice, it was clear that the battle in the trenches was being won by the Wolves' experienced defensive and offensive fronts.

'The D-line was incredible,” Buffington said. 'Our linebackers were barely getting tapped back here. That's why our linebackers were so good in stopping them.”

Iowa Valley rarely established a consistent running or passing attack. W-MU intercepted three throwing attempts from Iowa Valley's Brody Ward. The Wolves' Noah Sparrow collected two of those interceptions, while senior Chance Malone intercepted another. Malone garnered 9.5 tackles and led a swarming wolfpack of defenders with three sacks.

Winfield-Mount Union turned to Buffington again just before halftime, and the freshman did not disappoint. Buffington found some real estate on the left side of the offensive line and scampered 33 yards for a score. Buffington carried the ball six times for 71 yards in the first half, but more importantly gave W-MU a 14-0 cushion.

Buffington turned in his best performance of the evening when he swept around the left side on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Buffington broke a tackle, sprinted down the sideline and then swerved to a 45-degree angle and demonstrated sprinter speed to the right pylon, outrunning Ward to the end zone.

Winfield-Mount Union surrendered a score early in the fourth period as Ward reached on a short run. But Buffington sealed the victory with 9 minutes, 27 seconds remaining with a 25-yard scoring scamper.

'That last play, we were just trying to move the line of scrimmage,” McCarty said. 'But, he bounced out and did exactly what we needed and took it to the house.”

Malone led a balanced defensive attack with 10 tackles, while Buffington, Sparrow, Edwards and senior Jack Jennings all had seven stops apiece.

Winfield-Mount Union will travel to New London this Friday. The Tigers defeated Lone Tree easily, and both teams boast 3-1 records.