Defense lifts No. 10 Black Hills over W.F. West, keeps Wolves’ undefeated record alive

All season long, the Black Hills High School defense has been ferocious. Coming into this week’s game against Class 2A Evergreen Conference rival W.F. West, the Wolves had forced 17 turnovers.

That trend continued Friday night as the No. 10 Wolves took down the Bearcats, 25-17, at Tumwater District Stadium, using two late turnovers to propel the win.

The Wolves (5-0) caused their first fumble with 10 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, senior quarterback Ethan Loveless tossed a 26-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Josh Rodgers.

The late touchdown gave Black Hills its final eight-point cushion, but the Bearcats (2-3) would not go away after the score.

With less than two minutes remaining, W.F. West had the ball in Black Hills territory and was threatening. Again, the Wolves’ defense came up clutch, forcing a second fumble with 1:28 left in the game.

Though the Bearcats put up 364 yards of total offense, Black Hills capitalized on the two late turnover opportunities to seal the win.

“It’s aggressive, it’s the mentality,” Black Hills coach Kirk Stevens said. “We’re pursuing the ball, chasing the ball, getting multiple guys there. So when the ball pops out, then there’s guys there. Great things are happening.”

Offensively, Black Hills continued to rely on workhorse running back Taylor Simmons, who opened scoring with an 80-yard touchdown run on his first carry.

“He’s a home run threat anytime,” Stevens said. “It’s funny, but pregame I told him, ‘You’re going to take that first play and you’re going to score a touchdown. You’re going the distance on a touchdown.’

“And he smiled and goes, ‘You got it, coach.’ And sure enough, he was gone — 80 yards, touchdown.”

The play, which was a simple counter run, ignited off a big night for Simmons, who finished with 103 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. His second score came on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.

Simmons also brought the opening kickoff of the second half 80 yards, setting up an eventual Jake Bender field goal that made it 18-7 at the 10:56 mark in the third quarter.

Bender finished with a pair of field goals from 22 and 25 yards. The Wolves finished with 251 yards of total offense.

For W.F. West, junior quarterback Josiah Johnson finished 14 of 21 passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 42 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Junior wide receiver LeAndre Gaines was also a factor for the Bearcats, hauling in a 46-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter that cut the Wolves’ lead to one possession. Gaines ended with nine receptions for 88 yards.

But, the late miscues cost the Bearcats.

“We had too many mistakes,” said coach Dan Hill. “We kept shooting ourselves in the foot all night long. We’d move the ball, then get a penalty, move the ball, fumble it. There was always just something.”

BH – Taylor Simmons 80 run (pass failed)

WFW – Carver Brennan 77 pass from Josiah Johnson (Laufenberg kick)

BH – Jake Bender 22 field goal

BH – Simmons 2 run (run failed)

BH – Bender 25 field goal

WFW – LeAndre Gaines 46 pass from Josiah Johnson (Lafe Johnson pass from Josiah Johnson)

WFW – Safety

BH – Josh Rodgers 26 pass from Ethan Loveless (Bender kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing: BH – Ethan Loveless 5-18-1-93. WFW – Josiah Johnson 14-21-0-247.

Rushing: BH – Simmons 13-103; Preston Lee 5-5; Jaden Toussaint 5-23; Zach Loveless 4-28; Ethan Loveless 4-4; Jaden Cote 1-(-5). WFW – Lafe Johnson 6-11; Johnson 13-42; Jaiyden Camoza 9-30; Gaines 3-(-11).

Receiving: BH – Rodgers 3-50; Lee 1-20; Alex Nagy 1-23; Zach Loveless 1-(-1). WFW — Gaines 9-88; Brennan 13-123; Camoza 1-3; Troy Yarter 2-45.

This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 12:39 AM with the headline "Defense lifts No. 10 Black Hills over W.F. West, keeps Wolves’ undefeated record alive."