HAMILTON, Ill. — West Hancock took full advantage of the chance to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2018 Friday with a 48-20 win against Bureau Valley High School.
The Titans were firing on all cylinders, scoring a touchdown on each and every possession.
A scoreless first quarter was followed by four Titan touchdowns for a 28-0 halftime score.
The first drive for the Storm took nearly 9 minutes off the clock.
“So once we got the ball we wanted to get it to our playmakers,” Dorothy said. “Our defense played a really good game.”
The Storm had 246 yards of offense all on the ground. The Titans had 480 yards.
Chandler Dadant 80-yard jaunt 40 seconds into the third quarter made it a 36-0 score. Dadant ran the ball 19 times for 197 yards. He would score a second touchdown later in the quarter after the Storm got an 81-yard TD run.
“I would say the team was the most focused they have been,” Dorothy said. “We had the mindset all week that we needed to take care of business and do whatever it took to go 1-0.”
Brayden Carter was 14-of-19 for 248 yards and four touchdowns.
Hunter Froman had eight catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Froman scored the Titans second touchdown on a quick out pass to the left sideline, avoided a tackle, juked another opponent and headed back to the right, picking up blockers and turned the corner to go down the near sideline for a 52-yard touchdown.
Jess Scott rushed for the first Titan score and added another when he caught a pass with 13 seconds remaining before halftime. He ran three times for 19 yards and caught three passes for 39 yards.
Jordan Crowley had three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.
The Titans could be 6-3 with a win next week but would still most likely get a road game for the first round of the playoffs.
“Our focus is on Walther Christian and finishing the week 1-0,” Dorothy said. “The things that we did really well last week was limit the opponents’ big plays on offense, focused on turnovers. We also played a great offensive game with no turnovers and limited our penalties.”
Dadant had 13 tackles and three tackles for loss. Layton Conkright and Scott had eight tackles each.
“I would say we are getting things going and headed towards our peak,” Dorothy said. “I wouldn’t say we are quite there yet but we have been playing some good football right now. The kids are having fun, digging into the film, and preparation has been solid.”