KENTON — Van Wert rolled to a 61-7 first half lead, then rested the starters during the last 24 minutes in a 77-20 rout of Kenton Friday night. The Cougars are now 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the WBL. The Wildcats are 1-7 and 1-6.
Stat keeping on Van Wert was difficult with the fast-moving offense, but unofficially the Cougs rolled up 432 yards in the first half alone — 259 on the ground and 173 through the air.
Senior running back Brylen Parker had 19 first half carries, 189 yards, and five touchdowns. Senior quarterback Aidan Pratt hit on 20 of 25 passes for 173 yards and two TD’s. Neither Parker nor Pratt played in the second half.
Kenton couldn’t muster much of an offense in the first 24 minutes, although a 33-yard pass from junior quarterback Luke Leffer to senior Tyson Lawrence took the Cats to the Van Wert two, and Leffer ran it in two plays later. In fact, Leffer accounted for nearly all of Kenton’s first half offense — running and passing.
There was a running clock throughout the second half, which kept the scoring down considerably. Each team managed to score two touchdowns in the last 24 minutes, the Cougars’ two scores coming on 20- and 52-yard sweeps around the right end by sophomore backup quarterback Briston Wise.
Scoring summary
Kenton 0 7 0 13 - 20
Van Wert 27 34 0 16 - 77
1st quarter
Brylen Parker (VW) — 2-yard run. PAT kick failed. 0-6.
Parker — 19-yard run. PAT kick by Damon McCracken. 0-13.
Garett Gunter (VW) — 26-yard pass from Aidan Pratt. PAT kick by McCracken. 0-20.
Parker — 1-yard run. PAT kick by McCracken. 0-27.
2nd quarter
Pratt — 5-yard run. PAT kick by McCracken. 0-34.
Parker — 9-yard run. PAT kick by McCracken. 0-41.
Luke Leffer (K) — 1-yard run. PAT kick by Abi Temple. 7-41.
Maddix Crutchfield — 41-yard pass from Pratt. PAT kick failed. 7-47.
McCracken — 2-yard run. PAT kick by McCracken. 7-54.
Parker — 12-yard run. PAT kick by McCracken. 7-61.
3rd quarter
Leffer — 9-yard run. PAT kick by Temple. 14-61.
4th quarter
Briston Wise (VW) — 20-yard run. 2-point PAT good — pass from Wise to Keldyn Bill. 14-69.
Kade Smith (K) — 54-yard pass from Blaine Bushong. 2-point PAT failed. 20-69.
Wise — 52-yard run. 2-point PAT run by Kyle Eggleston. 20-77.
Unofficial team statistics
First Downs: VW 31, K 16
Rushing Att/Yds: VW 37/383, K 19/60
Passing Comp/Att/Int: VW 21/29/0, K 19/37/3
Passing Yds: VW 181, K 233
Total Yds: VW 564, K 293