Nail-biters and blowouts in Week 1

It was an intense weekend of Union area football, which saw its share of both nail-biters and blowouts. Here is how the Union area small schools did in their first action of the fall.

Easton Valley 59, Winfield-Mount Union 22

Winfield-Mount Union got things rolling on Thursday night.

The Wolves scored on their first drive of the game, capitalizing on a long kick return, but couldn’t hold off a talented Easton Valley offense in an 8-Player battle.

Cody Milks threw for 175 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for one score in the loss. Max Edwards had 84 yards receiving and a score, and Nicholas Sparrow found the end zone on the ground.

WACO 49, Central City 0

WACO laid an absolute beat down on Central City, stuffing the Wildcats all night in a rare Class 8-Player shut out.

Quarterback Hayden Shelman made his presence felt, rushing for 93 yards and three touchdowns, and throwing for one.

Kellen Shelman had the biggest catch of the day, a 24-yard touchdown reception. He finished with two catches for 28 yards and a score. Raefe Davidson led the receivers with 46 yards through the air, and also led the team with 7.5 tackles. Harley Larrimore had one fumble recovery.

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New London 36, Cardinal 32

The Tigers and Comets gave the area a treat in the only small school battle between Union area schools, as New London held off Cardinal to win its first 11-man game since going back to Class A.

London Franklin rushed for a ridiculous 207 yards and four touchdowns in the win for New London. Logan Franklin ran for 106 yards and a score of his own, and Israel Lemley caught nine passes for 89 yards.

Defensively, Cale Westerbeck led New London with 7.5 tackles and one forced fumble. Overall, the Tigers had three fumble recoveries, one each by Logan Franklin, Liam Robinson and Nicholas Loyd.

Cardinal quarterback Alijah Frase went just 12-for-31 throwing the ball, but made those completions count, finishing the night with 277 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing no interceptions.

Treyton Hafele finished the night with four catches for 143 yards and three scores. Zack Luedtke and Bode Ferrell each found the end zone on the ground.

Pekin 40, Davis County 7

Pekin continued to pound on Southeast Iowa teams, picking up right where it left off last fall.

Riley Smith had a nice debut as starting quarterback, throwing for 147 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for one. Henry Adam had two touchdown catches, and Nolan Glick ran for 138 yards and a score.

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BGM 47, Columbus 14

The Wildcats were down by just five points at halftime but didn’t score again for the rest of the game, taking a non-district loss.

Despite the loss, Angel Ineichen had a nice game on the ground, rumbling for 122 yards and two scores. Trevor Phillips threw for 97 yards, and Lamar Ceant caught five passes for 58 yards.

Martensdale-St. Mary’s 13, Highland 0

Highland’s defense had a great night, but the offense couldn’t move the ball in the season opener in Riverside.

Aiden Yoder rushed for 45 yards in the loss for Highland. Caleb Wheeler finished the night with 10 tackles, and Hamilton Krotz had one fumble recovery.

Central Lee 28, Van Buren County 8

It took VBC too long to get started in a non-district showdown with neighborly rival Central lee.

The Golden Hawks scored the first 28 points of the game. The lone VBC touchdown came in the fourth, when Will Cocherell hit Ethan Cochenour on an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Cochenour had the only takeaway of the game for the Warriors, recovering a fumble and taking it 40 yards downfield. Kaimrin Ellingson forced that fumble.

No. 7 (2A) PCM 47, No. 8 (1A) Sigourney-Keota 18

The Cobras were within eight points at halftime, but couldn’t keep up with PCM in a ranked vs. ranked showdown.

Ike Molyneux led the Cobras with 50 yards on the ground in the loss.

Chase Clarahan completed one of his two pass attempts, a 63-yard touchdown recovery to John Berg. Berg also led the defense with 6.5 tackles.