Despite a school record setting 350 yard rushing performance from senior Jahsiah Galvan, the West Liberty High School Football team fell in a nail biter Friday night in Camanche to open District play. The teams traded blows throughout the duration but an interception returned for touchdown spelt doom for the Comets, falling 44-36 in the shootout.
The quick-footed senior running back carried the ball 30 times and scored four touchdowns as he broke a four-year old record set by Joe Kelly at 345 yards, also against Camanche.
“Our offensive linemen and receivers were blocking really well for him all night,” said Comet coach Jason Iske.
Galvan led a charge that simply outplayed the hosts everywhere but on the scoreboard in the high scoring affair that lead to West Liberty’s fourth straight loss to open the season and first loss in district play.
The newly-named Storm received the opening kickoff and wasted no time taking the ball down field. The 76-yard drive was capped off as quarterback Mike Denzel connected with Garrett Schultz for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The ensuing two-point conversion was no good.
The Opening Comet drive resulted in more points for the Storm, as Garrett Schultz took an interception for a touchdown to give Camanche a 14-0 lead.
The Comets found a spark on the following drive as senior quarterback Caleb Wulf connected with Joshua Zeman on a 24-yard reception to bring the Comets back within a score.
“I was extremely proud of our resiliency,” said Iske after the game. “Going down 14-0 after the way our first three games had gone, it would have been easy for us to have lost all confidence, but these guys don't give up.”
“Even in those earlier games where we were getting beat pretty badly, we have a core of leaders who refuse to stop playing hard and I think that mentality is contagious,” the coach continued. “These boys fought hard through the good and the bad Friday night and I think they deserve a lot of credit for that.”
The Comets followed the offense with sound defense, forcing the Storm to punt. After trading punts, the Comets set up their next scoring drive from their own 19-yard-line. Galvan took the pitch from Wulf and flew by Storm defenders carrying the ball into the end zone and drawing the game even at 14 all. The Storm regained the lead late in the half, scoring with nine seconds left.
The Comets received the second half kickoff, and following an outstanding return from Drake Collins, aided by a 15-yard penalty, Galvan found his way to the end zone from 40 yards out to recapture the lead, 22-20 after a failed two-point conversion.
Looking for their second win in four outings, the Storm would not be silenced for long, driving the ball down the field and scoring as Denzel connected with Schultz for another passing touchdown. The Comets followed up driving the ball down the field and capping off the drive with a Bryan Martinez field goal.
After forcing a three and out, the Comets took to offense again. Galvan showcased his athleticism again, going 45 yards for this third score of the night. The Storm closed the third quarter on a 60 yard pass play for Denzel to Schultz to take a 36-30 lead.
The silence of the fourth quarter was broken as Galvan broke free from the storm once again, driving the ball down to the 14 yard line. He continued by pushing the ball into the end zone from one yard out, the Martinez extra point was blocked and the teams found themselves tied at 36.
After all that, both defenses dug in for a fight. Neither team broke and they traded punts.
The most pivotal moment came late in the game. With just under five minutes to play, facing a fourth down, the Storm rolled the dice and tried to convert. It backfired as Ty Jones snapped the ball and forced the turnover for the Comets.
From the shadow of their own goalposts the Comets were unable to get the drive going, ultimately ending in a third down pass that was intercepted and taken for the Storms’ second pick-six of the night. The Comets were unable to convert on what would be the final drive of the night, falling 44-36.
The West Liberty coach said there were simply a handful of “fluky plays” that led to the Comet demise. “If you look at the numbers, we outperformed Camanche in every facet of the game from a total yards and per/play perspective. We had three turnovers to their one and two of ours went of touchdowns for them, so from just a wide view you could look at those as the difference, however, I think you would be missing out on the dynamics of the game.”
He said Wulf was nearly on target on both pick-six interceptions. “The two interception TDs both just barely missed their mark and each time a defender just happened to be behind the receiver to make the catch and score. They had five or six catches where our defenders were in perfect position and the ball found its way into our opponents' hands,” Iske said.
“Really, they only had one big play against our defense in which we weren't where we were supposed to be and gave them a wide-open score,” the coach added. “I know having your opponent score 44 points looks bad on your defense, but we didn't play poorly on defense at all. We just lost on all of the 50/50 plays.”
Iske said he was happy with some of his defensive players. “I thought Felipe Molina and Josh Zeman stood out for their play even if they might not have stuffed the stat sheets,” he said.
The coach said Camanche seems to be turning into a big rivalry. “I think the biggest reasons are that we seem to get paired in the same district every year and we've both had good teams lately,” Iske said. “For the past three years, we have battled it out for the district title and had some competitive games.”
The Comets sit at 0-4 and 0-1 in conference play. They will host Maquoketa Friday at Memorial Field in West Liberty beginning at 7 p.m.
Iske said Monticello will be another big test for his team. “They have a potent passing attack on offense and on defense they are pretty stingy. We will have our work cut out for us,” the coach said.
“I feel really good about our team despite our record,” Iske said. “Anyone can look at 0-4 and come to whatever conclusions they want to and that's fine, but I have never been one to look at a team's record as what defines them. Don't get me wrong, you always want to win and give everything in order to win, but not every win and not every loss is the same.”
“Many things go into wins and losses and I have seen many times where a team with a better record is beaten by a team with a worse record,” the coach added. “So in short, yes we feel really good about our team, the improvements that we are making, and where we are headed going forward.”