Known for its triple-option attack that has been used towards quite a lot of success in recent years, Waubonsie Valley has had one hard nut to crack.
Admitting to going about attacking District 204 rival Neuqua Valley differently at times, even if it sometimes means going away from its bread-and-butter, Waubonsie Valley has continually been on the lookout for the right recipe to tame the Wildcats.
Turns out Zack Bennema’s right arm can be used as one heck of a hammer.
The Warriors’ senior quarterback accounted for all five Waubonsie Valley touchdowns, including three touchdown passes, as Waubonsie Valley vaulted itself into a tie atop the Upstate Eight Valley after coming away with a 35-28 win over No. 23 Neuqua Valley Friday night at North Central College’s Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.
With the game see-sawing back-and-forth throughout the second half, Bennema’s 32-yard TD pass to a streaking Keaton Casey down the left sideline with 1:18 left in regulation put the Warriors up for good as they snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
“Hitch-and-go. We were hitting the hitch multiple times (and) faked them out one time,” said Casey, who had eight receptions for 138 yards and two TDs, of his eventual game-winning touchdown.
Bennema’s 260 passing yards marked a season high while his 335 total yards and five touchdowns has just been par for the course as the senior continues to run Murphy’s offensive attack efficiently.
Waubonsie Valley (7-1, 5-1) rebounded nicely from its upset loss at home to West Aurora in double overtime a week ago by posting 447 total yards on offense on 63 plays, a sharp contrast from the 39 plays it ran against the Blackhawks.
“We knew, at the beginning of the week, that teams could pass against them. We knew that they weren’t going to game plan for me passing very much,” Bennema said. “We knew we could catch them by surprise and we did that.”
Meanwhile, with its five-game winning streak now gone, Neuqua Valley (5-3, 5-1) must now win at Metea Valley next week in order to officially qualify for the Class 8A postseason.
The Wildcats’ senior QB, Broc Rutter, found his rhythm to lead the Wildcats to a pair of third-quarter touchdown drives, allowing the Wildcats to take their first and only lead of the game at 28-21 near the end of the third.
Neuqua Valley couldn’t build on that lead as the Warriors kept it off the scoreboard in the game’s final 12 minutes, speaking to what Neuqua Valley couldn’t do consistently for much of the game: move the chains.
“We got beat. We just got flat-out beat. We didn’t make plays when we needed to, couldn’t get stops when we needed to, couldn’t get stops when we needed to,” Rutter said. “We just got outplayed from the start.”
The Indiana State-bound Rutter tossed a pair of touchdown passes in Evan Moore’s direction while throwing for 244 yards and three touchdowns despite only completing around 50 percent of his passes.
But not being able to find enough answers for Bennema and the Warriors’ passing game proved too much for the Wildcats to overcome, despite churning out 331 yards of total offense.
“I mean, I think you stop Waubonsie Valley by stopping the triple option and then they came out and threw the ball a little bit. Had some big plays throwing the football,” Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus said. “But, still, the bottom line is you got to stop the option and we gave up some big plays (Friday) night. Disappointed in that, but I know the character of this team and I know how they battle.”
Three big third-down conversations in the first half led to a pair of scores for the Warriors.
After holding the Wildcats on downs deep in Warriors’ territory on the first possession of the game, Bennema’s 34-yard TD run up the gut of the Wildcats’ defense on third down got the Warriors on the board about midway through the first.
A pair of third-down pass conversions on the Warriors’ final scoring drive of the half, a 44-yard pass from Bennema to Jake Schroeder and a 12-yard TD pass from Bennema to Casey increased the Warriors’ lead to 21-7 with five minutes to play in the half.
“Tonight, (my playcalling) went according to hoyle,” said Murphy, who improved his record to 4-7 all-time against Neuqua Valley as Waubonsie Valley’s coach. “We got the down and distance I thought we were going to get and we were able to call the plays that we had planned on those down and distances.”
