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.
Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
FOOTBALL: Western pounds Taylor with ground assault
Panthers put game on ice with 30-point second quarter
- Sports
-
-
Western girls put defensive clamps on West Lafayette
Western opened its postseason by putting on a defensive clinic against host West Lafayette Wednesday night in a Class 3A Sectional opening round game.
-
Rival Berries visit Kokomo
Muncie Central has the North Central Conference boys basketball championship in sight. The Class 3A No. 2-ranked Bearcats are 5-0 in league play with games remaining against second-division squads Anderson and Marion.
-
Black takes spot among Taylor’s elite
Growing up, Mone’y Black always saw herself as a softball player first.
She was Taylor’s go-to player for the large portions of her career on the basketball and volleyball courts, but her first love was the diamond.
-
Kats lose heartbreaker
Kokomo’s girls basketball team executed its game plan to near perfection against host Logansport in the first game of the Class 4A Logansport Sectional Tuesday.
-
Tipton races by Taylor
Over the last two seasons, Tipton’s girls basketball team has been held under 40 points in just three games.
Tuesday’s sectional opponent — Taylor — held the Blue Devils down in two of those games. Tuesday was a different story.
-
It’s tourney time
In the girls basketball regular season, Tipton and Logansport compiled gaudy records and conference championships while Taylor and Kokomo finished with sub-.500 records.
-
What a kick for Hoosier native Weatherford
Indianapolis — While Steve Weatherford celebrated with his teammates in the New York Giants’ locker room after the 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, thoughts inevitably turned to Terre Haute — his hometown.
-
Ice baths can improve your health
Several years ago, I applied to be a participant in the weekly television show “Survivor.” Disappointingly, I was rejected.
-
Wiechmann comes up big in regional
Western senior wrestler Jake Wiechmann had lost twice this season to Kokomo standout Fletcher Miller, and was trailing 3-1 to Miller in the third period of the championship of the 182-pound match at the Peru Regional Saturday when the opportunity for vengeance struck.
-
Wildkat wrestlers move nine onto Ft. Wayne semistate
The Kokomo Wildkats’ bus will need just a little bit more gas than usual next weekend to haul its cargo up to Fort Wayne for Saturday’s individual wrestling semistate at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
White House Attacks Romney on Birth Control
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
