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No. 9 WACO wallops Central City in season opener
Warrior shutout Wildcats in two quarters for Week 0 win
WAYLAND — While much of the state will have to wait until Friday to see its high school football team in action, folks in Wayland got to see their WACO Warriors a week early.
To kick off the 2024 fall season, the No. 9 Warriors battled with the Wildcats of Central City.
In a game that ended looking a lot closer than it actually was, WACO (1-0) walked away with a 51-36 victory over Central City (0-1).
“It feels amazing,” WACO running back Louden Huisenga said. “I was a little nervous coming in. We got some new guys, but we put our trust in each other and we won. That’s all we can ask for.”
It was Central City who got things going in the Week 0 matchup.
The Wildcats asserted the offense early, scoring twice on each of their first two drives.
However, WACO did the same with Huisenga rushing in a pair on those two drives. Huisenga had a big game for the Warriors, rushing for 73 yards and three touchdowns.
By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors held just a two-point lead, 14-12.
Things began to shift into the Warriors favor from then on out. The Wildcats ensuing drive was plagued with four penalty’s and then WACO got the ball back after the ball was snapped over the Wildcat quarterbacks’ head.
The Warriors were forced to punt on their next drive, but they would score on their next three drives to the end of the half all while holding the Wildcats scoreless.
After an interception by Isaac Rich put the Warriors at the Central City 24 yard line, it took just three plays for the WACO to find pay dirt as Clayton Miller rewarded Rich with a touchdown pass to put the Warriors up 21-12.
That was just the start of what was a 157 yard three touchdown game for Miller undercenter.
“We have really fast guys,” Miller said. “We know we can beat anyone on the edge. We’re really good wether we’re running a slant or deep. We’re just a lot more confident.”
WACO’s defense was near flawless in the second quarter. Central City was forced to punt and turned the ball over on downs in its last two drives.
“I think we started to get more physical,” Huisenga said. “We started to realize we got to hit them and wrap up. I think we were tougher mentally.”
On the contrary, the Warriors continued to tack it on. Following the Wildcat punt, all WACO needed was one play. Miller struck Gage Samo down the sideline for a 36 yard touchdown. Following the extra point, the Warriors lead jumped to 28-12.
“We can run and pass,” Samo said. “I love passing, I love receiving, but we also have to run the ball to open everything up.”
WACO got the ball back with 1:26 remaining in the first half, but had to settle for a field goal despite getting down to the Central City seven yard line. Niles Reichenbach knocked it through to make it 31-12 at the half.
Things continued to favor WACO into the final half.
After a punt by both teams to start the second half, Huisenga struck once again. On the Warriors first play on their second drive, Huisenga broke a handful of Wildcat tackle and took it 60 yards to the house to give them a 38-12 lead.
Central City punted once again and WACO delivered with yet another Miller touchdown pass, this time to Hayden Shelman to extend the advantage to 45-12. That was more than enough to get the job done.
WACO scored once more in the fourth quarter when Shelman took a kick return back for a touchdown.
Central City rattled off 24 points in the fourth quarter with much of the Warriors starters off the field, but it made no difference.
Leading WACO in receiving was Samo with 70 yards. Huisenga finished with 38 yards. Niles Reichenbach also had 20 yards.
Huisenga also led WACO with 12.5 total tackles.
WACO will be in action again on Saturday, Aug. 31 when they take on Coon Rapids-Bayard at Valley Stadium in Des Moines.
