DANVILLE – The Danville Blue Devils did something Friday that no one else had managed to do all season. They scored on the North Union Wildcats. They just didn’t score enough.
The Devils managed just four first downs in the game as they had no answers for North Union’s quick defense. A pair of scores following long pass plays was all Danville could muster in its 41-14 nonconference home defeat.
“This is a well-coached, well-disciplined football team,” Danville head coach Cameron Smith said of North Union. “They have good athletes. That’s how to put together a good football team. They went out there and they were better than us.”
Danville quarterback Walker Weckesser completed just five out of 13 passes in the game. However, two of the passes were long strikes to Bryer Boeshart for a combined 99 yards. Both passes led to short touchdown runs.
Weckesser was also the team’s leading rusher, gaining 37 yards on 10 carries. Most of that distance came late in the game, when the Blue Devils began calling designed quarterback draws reminiscent of their recent playoff team’s scheme.
“That wasn’t the plan at the beginning, but we adjusted,” Smith said. “That’s what we do, is adjust and let them play.
“Confidence is a big thing. Football is a big mental game. Hopefully, we can build on those plays and move forward,” he said.
However, Danville (1-2) simply was never able to establish the run. Out of 26 called running plays in the game, half of them – 13 – went for negative yards. Weckesser’s two long pass plays, along with a 20-yard lateral-filled final play of the game, accounted for 119 of Danville’s 126 total yards.
Boeshart finished with three catches for 103 yards. Kaiden Colopy had two catches for three yards.
North Union (3-0) scored 40-plus points for the second straight week. The Wildcats took advantage of a blocked punt, a bad snap on another punt attempt and an interception to score three times on a short field.
Cayden Lassiter threw just eight times, completing five for 87 yards and two touchdowns. The bulk of the Wildcat offense, however, came from a pair of tailbacks. Ethan Young saw a game-high 12 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Evan Hoffer had five carries for 73 yards and a pair of scores. The two backs were mixed effectively, with each getting the ball on misdirections and pitchouts, keeping the Blue Devils guessing throughout the game.
Danville had minus-5 total yards for the game when the team had its first big break. Trailing 27-0 with a minute to go in the first half and the ball at the Danville 32, Weckesser found Boeshart by himself 20 yards downfield. Boeshart shook two tackles and ran all the way to the North Union 5. Three plays later, Weckesser ran a keeper to the left side and, while diving for the end zone, was hit head over heels, landing in paydirt.
“I was saying at halftime that we can use that. Let’s build on that,” Smith said. “Let’s build on that momentum and get out there and score again. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.”
Danville’s other score came with just over two minutes to go in the game, after Weckesser threw a bomb up the middle to Boeshart, who caught the ball at the 2. Deion Parker carried the ball across the goal line on the next play.
This is Smith’s second year at the helm of the Blue Devils. Last season, Danville fell to Centerburg before beginning a stretch of six wins over seven games, interrupted only by a one-point defeat to rival East Knox.
Smith hopes that hot streak can happen again this season, starting next week at Fredericktown.
“We take it week by week,” Smith said. “I know they’re real disciplined. They came in last year and gave us a real fight. I’m sure they’ll do that again.”
Danville begins conference play with its Military Appreciation Game, hosting Fredericktown on Friday at 7 p.m.
