The West Fork football team rushed for 427 yards and took a defense stand in the second half to pull away for a 48-32 win over Belmond-Klemme in Class A District 2 action on Friday. It was also the Warhawks senior night, as they recognized eight seniors.
In the first quarter, Braden Dougherty opened scoring for B-K with a 19 yard touchdown reception. On the ensuing drive, West Fork answered as Dax Suntken punched in a goal line score to tie the game at 7. The Broncos sprinted back in front 13-7 with a 85 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jaime Steffensen late in the first quarter. In a second quarter shootout, the Warhawks outscored the Broncos 21-13 to take a 28-26 into the half. The Warhawks scored on a pair of Suntken rushing touchdowns from three and 40 yards out and a 17 yard touchdown reception by Ryker Reimers. The Broncos scored on a 38 yard touchdown reception by Kysen Lamb and a nine yard touchdown run by Wyatt Buseman. The Warhawks pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Broncos 20-6. The Warhawks scored twice in the third on a 38 yard sprint by Suntken and a 10 yard touchdown run by Tyler Fessler to build up a 42-26 lead. Each team found the endzone once in the final quarter, as the Warhawks scored on a two yard touchdown run by Wesley Scott and the Broncos got back on the board with a 24 yard touchdown by Blaze Paulsen. Warhawks Head Coach Dan Westhoff.
“I thought our seniors really led the charge, with their grit, determination, and toughness. I think the rest of our kids have really followed their lead. It was a great way to honor them on senior night,” says Westhoff. “Four of our offensive linemen are seniors and most of our defensive line, those guys are seniors as well, going both ways. Their work in the trenches really gives us our identity as a program. Proud and grateful to those kids for their investment in our program over the last four years since I’ve been here. It was great to get the win for them on senior night.”
Dax Suntken rushed for 255 yards and four touchdowns. Suntken also had a team leading 66 receiving yards for the Warhawks.
Broncos Head Coach Josh Faaborg.
“Hats off to West Fork. They executed a good game plan and played extremely physical and tough. They had more than double our offensive plays. They also managed the clock and time of possession,” says Faaborg. “We didn’t do some things that we needed to do, that we had a game plan for and didn’t execute at times. Passing output continues to be where it needs to be for us to be successful, but ultimately we need to run the ball a little bit better.”
Heifner threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Heifner also had a team leading 60 rushing yards. Lamb was a top receiving target with 130 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos.
West Fork (5-1, 3-1 A-2) will travel to #5 (A) West Hancock in district play. Belmond-Klemme (3-3, 3-2 A-2) will host Sioux Central in non-district in Week 7.
