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ATWOOD (September 6) — The West Carroll War Eagles began their Region 7A schedule Friday as they hosted Humboldt. The War Eagles scored on their first three possessions en route to a 42-0 shutout over the Vikings.
West Carroll won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. Jarrius Weatherford caught the kick deep and returned it to the 28. He rolled out of a tackle on first down to turn a loss into five yards. Quarterback Jeremiah Bryant then threw across the backfield to Bryce Bolton for a short gain. Humboldt jumped offside to give the War Eagles a first down at their own 40. Bryant kept for 14 yards to move the chains again, then another Viking offside gained five more. Devin Rader ran twice for another first, then Bryant kept for four. Weatherford gained four more, then gained ten after pushing through a pile of defenders near the line of scrimmage. Bryant then kept and stiff-armed a defender on his way to an 18-yard touchdown. West Carroll lined up to kick the PAT, but Xander Moon ran with the snap and was stopped short of the goal line. With seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, the War Eagles led 6-0.
The Vikings began their first drive with decent field position near midfield. Two penalties led to a second-and-long, but then a penalty against West Carroll gave them a first down in War Eagle territory. A high snap doomed the drive, and Humboldt punted out of bounds at the 17.
Bryant started the drive with a pass to Jack Barrow for nine yards, then Weatherford ran for 13. Rader gained three, then Bryant kept for six. On third-and-one just short of midfield, Weatherford pushed forward into Viking territory for a first down. Bryant threw incomplete, then found Cody Wildridge for a short gain. Bryant kept for seven to move the chains as the first quarter ended. He started the second with an incomplete pass, then Weatherford evaded multiple defenders for a 25-yard run. Extra yards from a Humboldt personal foul made it first-and-goal at the 7. War Eagle Wyatt Hays dove on a fumble to save the drive, then Rader was stopped for no gain. Bryant kept for a short gain, then tossed to Weatherford for a nine-yard touchdown. Another pass found Wildridge for the two-point conversion, and West Carroll led 14-0 with nine minutes to play in the half.
Viking Joe Johnson fell on a squib kick to start the drive at the Humboldt 48. In need of points to stay in the game, the Vikings soon faced third-and-long thanks to a holding penalty. Quarterback Gabe Bracamonte threw to Cai Knox for 42 yards down to the 19. Zaccheus Coleman gained four, the Bracamonte threw incomplete. He kept the next snap, but lost four yards to War Eagles Logan Winberry and Jacob Blankenship. Bracamonte threw incomplete in the end zone on fourth down, but a pass interference call made it first-and-goal at the 9. The QB threw incomplete again, then Coleman gained a pair. Another incomplete pass brought up fourth down, and Bracamonte threw across the backfield to Coleman. Wildridge was there to make the stop, and West Carroll took over at the 4.
Weatherford started the drive with a 24-yard run, then Bryant had a 14-yard scramble negated by a penalty. He repeated and moved the chains to the 41, then drew the Viking defense offside for a five-yard penalty. Weatherford gained three, the Bryant threw to Barrow for 15. The two connected again, and Barrow battled down to the 7. Bryant kept and was stopped just short of the goal line, then a delay penalty moved the ball back to the 6. He kept again for the score, then threw to Seth Edwards for two points. With a minute and a half to play before intermission, the War Eagles led 22-0.
Another squib kick gave Humboldt decent field position, but three incomplete passes and two penalties made it a three-and-out. Bracamonte punted out of bounds at the War Eagle 39 with just under a minute left.