Passing on by West

West Bend Daily News: Sept. 7, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor

Unfortunately for West Bend West, Oconomowoc quarterback Canton Larson is good running the ball, too.
Larson ad-libbed for a crucial 65-yard touchdown run late in the first half as part of a 35-point run by the visiting Raccoons on Friday night. Oconomowoc won 42-14.
"He's a great athlete," West coach Aaron Paulin said. "He's a smart player. He's fundamental, he's disciplined. He made plays and they were better than us."
Coming into the game, Paulin was worried about the Raccoons' passing game, led by Larson as he should've been. Coming into the game, Larson was the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference's leading passer with 437 yards passing.
In the passing game, Larson didn't disappoint. He was 13 for 19 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. At one point in the first half, he competed eight straight passes.
However, his 65-yard run was a crushing blow for the Spartans (0-3, 0-1). It came during a stretch where Oconomowoc (3-0, 1-0) scored on three straight possessions.
In addition, the play looked like it was going to go for a loss as a Spartans defender had a hand on the elusive quarterback in the backfield. Instead, Larson turned to his left, rushed across the field, turned the corner and picked up key block after key block to reach the end zone. The play made it 28-8 in favor of Oconomowoc with 1:30 left in the first half.
"That was huge," Oconomowoc coach Ryan McMillen said. "He's got some athleticism. He can do some nice things at the quarterback (position). He's a dual threat kid.
"No doubt it was a huge play. He just made that happen."
Larson finished with 77 yards rushing on six carries.
"They've got a great play-action package with that run game they have and it's tough to defend that," Paulin said. "If we have one breakdown, it looks bad and they get chunks of yards."
Larson would've had three touchdown passes if it wasn't for Jack Bourdo, who dropped the ball after the reception on West's 5-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone and Bourdo jumped on top of it for the fumble recovery and touchdown.
On the ensuing possession, West pieced together a nice drive, but ultimately ended with a punt. The punt by Kyle Krier was downed at the 2-yard line.  On the next play, West sacked Larson in the end zone for a safety.
On the ensuing West possession, the Spartans drove the length of the field and scored on a 1-yard run by quarterback Jake Lenz. The extra point was blocked for an 8-7 lead.
"It's a tough place to play," McMillen said. "I don't know if we've ever really come up here and kicked the thing off and really played well. It took us a little bit to wake up."
From there, Oconomowoc was in control.
The Raccoons scored on their next three possessions to take a 28-8 lead. Their fourth possession ended because of halftime.
The second half remained in Oconomowoc's favor. Up until a 66-yard touchdown by Jake Fischer with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter, West had just 16 yards of total offense and no first downs.
On the play before Fischer's big run, Patrick Baumann rushed for 11 yards.
The Spartans were down 42-8 before Fischer's touchdown run.
"We threw the ball," McMillen said when asked about adjustments during the game. "We just changed how we called plays and our play makers showed up."
McMillen credited West's defense for being able to stop the Oconomowoc running game.
"West came out and they were ready to go," he added. "Coach Paulin had them all geeked up and we knew they would.
"They smacked us right in the face at the start of the thing. We did enough to score some points."
When the Raccoons needed the game to swing in its favor, they turned to their three-year starter at quarterback and there wasn't anything West could do about it.
"We're just fortunate enough that we can throw the ball," McMillen said.
West finished with a respectable showing on the ground, led by Fischer with 121 yards on 12 carries. Baumann added 52 yards on 17 carries. For the game, West had 204 yards rushing. However, the Spartans were 0 for 7 passing.
"It handcuffs us greatly," Paulin said about the inability to pass the ball. "We had to stay out of situations that we become predictable, primarily third and long."
For Larson, he continued to impress and some receivers broke out after hovering in the shadow of former tight end Zach Poker, who is now at the University of Pittsburgh on a football scholarship.
And for West, the Spartans will host Beaver Dam next week in a pivotal game; if the Spartans lose, their season could hang in the balance.
"We've got to correct what we do," Paulin said. "We've got to work on the basics, the fundamentals and get better with what we do.
"Right now our biggest problem is us."

OCONOMOWOC 42, WEST 14   
Oconomowoc.....7 21 14 0 — 42
West...................2 6 0 6 — 14
First quarter
O — Jack Bourdo 5 fumble recovery (Casey Bednarski kick), 6:57
W — Safety, 3:06
Second quarter
W — Jake Lenz 1 run (kick blocked), 11:09
O — Casey Zwart 4 run (Bednarski kick), 10:22
O — Bednarski 42 pass from Canton Larson (Bednarski kick), 5:47
O — Larson 65 run (Bednarski kick), 1:30
Third quarter
O —  Bourdo 4 run (Bednarski kick), 7:34
O — Logan Larson 18 pass from C. Larson (Bednarski kick), 2:28
Fourth quarter
W — Jake Fischer 66 run (kick blocked), 6:07
    OCO    WBW
First downs    20    10
Total yards    360    204
Passing yards    231    0
Rushing yards    129    204
Turnovers    1    2
Penalties    7-79    8-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing — OCO: C. Larson 13-19-0-219, Jason Brandl 1-1-0-12; WBW: Lenz 0-6-0-0, Hunter Johnson 0-1-0-0.
Rushing — OCO: C. Larson 6-77, Zech Jens 3-11, Nate De La Barra 9-27, Logan Ballering 1-9, Zwart 6-17, Bourdo 1-4, Brandl 2-(-6); WBW: Lenz 3-(-11), Fischer 12-121, Patrick Baumann 17-52, Austin Thiessen 6-18, Jordan Fields 2-6, Kieran Conley 2-4, Gage Czuppa 3-14, Johnson 2-0.
Receiving — OCO: Bourdo 6-73, L. Larson 3-34, Bednarski 4-109, De La Barra 1-15.

IN SHORT: Oconomowoc's passing game is too much against West Bend West on Friday night.

KEY STAT: West Bend West is 0 for 6 passing.

KEY MOMENT: Oconomowoc's Canton Larson runs for a 65-yard touchdown just before halftime to give the Raccoons a 28-8 lead.

QUOTABLE: Right now our biggest problem is us. - West coach Aaron Paulin