The West Fork football team, on Military Appreciation Night, defended their home field with a 21-6 win over rival North Butler on Friday. It was the Warhawks’ first win in the series since 2020.
After a scoreless first quarter, West Fork punched in the first score on a rushing touchdown by Zander Hansen to go up 6-0. That remained the score entering halftime. The Warhawks, after a scoreless third quarter, extended their advantage to 14-0 behind Hansen’s second rushing touchdown of the night. Tyler Fessler broke free for a 48-yard sprint to the house and put the Warhawks up 20-0. The Bearcats ended the shutout with a 59 yard strike by Brody Wangsness to Bryce Schroeder for a touchdown to conclude scoring. Warhawks Head Coach Dan Westhoff notes what a difference maker was for the team in the win.
“I thought our resiliency and our mental toughness is definitely at a higher level than it’s ever been since I’ve been here. That’s what we knew we needed to do, we preached it and preached it. Talking about it’s one thing, going out and doing it is entirely another thing. Our guys really stepped up. I think our guys got over the wall tonight and finished,” says Westhoff. “Being able to pay tribute to the military, the former and current people who serve our country was a really special opportunity. I’m really happy that we came out and played the way that we did.”
As part of the evening, the Warhawks carried out the American flag as part of their runout and wore National Guard style uniforms to honor those who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces.
Bearcats Head Coach Jordan Vanderloop on what’s needed for the team to bounce back.
“We started a little flat and it seemed like we couldn’t get things rolling. We had a couple of dropped passes and just missed a block here or there. We came out and we competed till the fourth quarter. Things got a little out of hand but the kids never stopped. That was good to see,” says Vanderloop. “Opening holes for the running backs. They’re using their vision to find the hole and take what we can get there. Sometimes we would try to kind of do our own thing and bounce it out when we wouldn’t necessarily need to. We’d miss a block here or there. It’s just little tweaks that we need to make.”
Wangsness passed for 160 yards. Tucker Pecha had 68 yards receiving. West Fork’s Dax Suntken rushed for 123 yards. Fessler rushed for 65 yards.
West Fork will be at BCLUW and North Butler will host South Winneshiek in Week 2.
