PREP FOOTBALL: Westville loses in opening round

WESTVILLE — At the end of Saturday’s IHSA Class 2A opening round game, Westville coach Guy Goodlove specifically said that a Tigers’ 35-27 loss to Oregon was a team effort.“How many second and 20’s and third and 25’s and we allowed them to get a first down are we going to give up throughout the entire game?,” Goodlove said. “How many unsportsmanlike penalties or penalties that gave them first downs are we going to give them? We had them on the ropes in the first half and we continuously gave them life and to their credit they took advantage of them. When they got the momentum in the second half, it was tough to beat and they started to believe in themselves.”Penalties were one thing, but the lack of tackling was in play in the first quarter. The Tigers just went up 7-0 on a run by Liam Hughes, but on a third-down play, Oregon’s Jayden Berry spun out of a few Westville defenders for a big 50-yard run that would lead to the Hawks tying the game up and the first time the Tigers let Oregon off the hook.“We had six guys wrapped up and we hit him and he got 50 years and they scored a couple of plays later,” Goodlove said. “It is frustrating, I feel for this senior group but this is a game that we should have won, but let it slip away.”Seniors and injuriesThe game was the final one for senior players like quarterback Easton Bolin, who had two touchdown runs and a 48-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Chaz Alvarez, running back Conner Coon, wide receiver Tanner Haurez and linemen lilke Brandon Bennett, who had an fumble recovery in the game, Boston Carrell, Brennan Thompson, Trey Bowling, Braxton Barrett, Reig Smith, Brayden Lines and Emilano Noghrechi.Most of them also played for last year’s team, which went to the Class 2A quarterfinals last season.“Throughout their career, they have had a great run and they have been a good group of kids to coach,” Goodlove said. “We just dealt with an extraordinary amount of injuries throughout the year”The injuries made it tough for any consistency in the last part of the season leading up to Saturday’s game.“It seems after the Bismarck game, we were not healthy and there was always someone on the sideline and when they got healthy, someone else was on the sideline,” Goodlove said. “We had two players get injured this week in practice. I think there was four games when we had our whole team together and they were four wins. We were trying to put the puzzle together and have a team ready for Friday night. ... I will give credit to those guys who were here every Friday and manned up and played, but those injuries were an obstacle.”Fan supportGoodlove acknowledged the fans that showed up for Saturday’s game at Memorial Field, but wished that the outcome would have been different.“We didn’t give them a lot to cheer for,” Goodlove said “We always had great fan support and I am waiting for things to turn around, but it seemed every time we went forward we went two steps back and it is frustrating. We talk about being mentally tough, and we weren’t tough in all areas of the game and it cost us.”The Tigers end the season with a 6-4 record, while the Hawks are 4-6 and will travel to Maroa-Forsyth on Friday for a 7 p.m. first round game.