RUSSIAVILLE — Western’s football team was frustrated entering this week starting the season with a pair of losses. The team and the coaching staff did some soul searching over the week to find the solutions.
Friday night, Western took out its frustrations on Taylor.
The Panthers crushed the Titans 52-6 in the opening week of Mid-Indiana Conference play. They racked up big plays on offense and stymied Taylor’s offense in snagging their first win of the season.
“I challenged the kids this week and I think they stepped up, and it really didn’t have to do with the Xs and Os and the football part of it, it had to do more with developing some leadership and taking stock in this team,” Western coach Alix Engle said of his team’s veterans. “It’s their turn to step up and be leaders, and I’m pretty proud of their effort.”
Western started quickly, getting a touchdown from running back Mike Jakubowicz, who burst through a huge hole to race 58 yards untouched with 10:24 left in the first quarter. Then the Panthers made an equally impressive statement defensively, pushing Taylor backwards on three straight plays and forcing a quick punt.
Two possessions later, Western struck again, this time with Jake Askren running 58 yards for a score. Jakubowicz punched in a two-point conversion to stake the Panthers to a 15-0 lead with 5:37 to play in the opening stanza.
“I think we got started off on a good note,” Engle said. “I think we played good defense early and whenever you can play good defense, your offense is going to follow. I think we were fortunate enough early on to get a little bit of momentum, get a little bit of spirit going with those big, long runs.”
Taylor scored on a big play of its own when Gordon Jenkins took an option lateral from quarterback Austen Conwell 76 yards for another electrifying run to paydirt, but it was all Western after that.
In the second quarter, the Panthers exploited their superior line play to open big holes for their runners. In that quarter, Western got a 38-yard TD run from Askren, a safety, a 19-yard TD run from Jakubowicz, a one-yard TD run from Indy Matthew and a 20-yard fumble recovery touchdown from Jakubowicz to stun the Titans and take a 45-6 lead into halftime.
“At the end of the first quarter, I thought we needed one play,” Taylor coach Josh Ousley said. “I thought if we could get that one play at the beginning of the second quarter, I thought we’d be right there, but we couldn’t get anything to go our way.
“Give credit to [the Panthers]. They’re a really good football team. I don’t care what anybody says about their record. They’re big, they’re fast, they’re strong. They’re going to win a lot of football games this year.”
Engle focused on line play as the difference.
“[The linemen] stepped it up,” he said. “I don’t believe that there were too many missed blocks or missed assignments. That’s what allows the specialty guys to get out in space and run.”
Western had a dozen runs go for 11 or more yards. Jakubowicz finished with 154 yards on 10 carries. Askren added 124 yards on a dozen carries. Taylor ran three times for 52 yards, including an 11-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Mathew ran five times for 49 yards. In total, Western ran 39 times for 420 yards and didn’t attempt a pass.
Engle praised his squad’s defense, which held Taylor to 135 yards on the ground and 39 through the air. Jenkins rushed five times for 77 yards and Walter Wheeler added 27 on nine carries.
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