Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

Western Boone came into Friday night's Sagamore Conference opener against Crawfordsville 2-0, but didn't feel like they had played a complete, four-quarter game yet. That changed against the Athenians. The Stars executed well both offensively and defensively, and came away with a 41-0 win over host Crawfordsville. "We just needed to play four quarters of good football," Western Boone head coach Justin Pelley said. "We saw some good aggression and heart and that's what we preached all week. That's the effort we need to bring every Friday night, and more guys are starting to do that for us." A big reason for that was the play of running back Mason Amich. The senior carried the ball 22 times for 191 yards and five touchdowns. "He doesn't say too much, but he runs hard," Pelley said. "That sparks us on offense. Even if we aren't blocking everything right, he helps make it right by running through people, he just has that mentality." For the season Amich has 358 yards, increasing his production every week of the season. That is a testament to the work he put in to get ready for the year. "He worked really hard in the weight room this off-season and summer," Pelley said. "He comes to work every day and puts everything he has into it. He is very passionate about football." freestar As a team, Western Boone rushed for 329 yards, gaining more than seven yards a carry. Brandon Potter added 66 on the ground. He was also 6-of-11 for 113 yards passing, 42 coming on a pass to Amich. On the other side of the ball, Western Boone pitched a shutout for the second-straight game. It was the first time since early in the 2018 season that Western Boone had back to back shutouts on defense. Blake Wasson led the defense with eight tackles. Levi Adkins had two sacks and Chris Hall and Connor Williams each recovered fumbles. "We are starting just a couple of seniors, so a lot of people are new to Friday night football," Pelley said. "For them it's just having that motor and going, then finishing plays. That has been the big thing. If they can just make one or two big stops or plays, that sparks everything." The Stars will get a good test next week traveling to fellow unbeaten Tri-West. Pelley said it will be an excellent test to see where the Stars are at. "This is what we do this for," Pelley said. "We coach and play for big games. Tri-West is always a big game. We respect those guys a lot and they play a lot of good teams in the non-conference to get themselves ready for conference play and post-season." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.