In the final moments of the third quarter on Friday night, the Bearcats were down and in need of a spark. Junior Jack Becker sprinted his way to jump a route and kept on going.
His 14-yard interception return for a touchdown then Wyatt Hoffman to Brendan Stevens for the two-point conversion gave W.F. West the lead after three frames. And it remained that way after the buzzer, an 8-7 triumph over the Lancers at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
“Just really happy,” W.F. West head coach Dan Hill said. “Our boys played extremely well tonight. Defense was lights out.”
Becker was in a two-high shell on a man coverage call by defensive coordinator Jason Aldridge. He read the bubble route Lakes ran to a tee and scored. Hill called it a “very special football play.”
Hill’s decision to go for two was “easy” and Hoffman found Stevens to give the Bearcats (2-0) the lead. Their defense proceeded to stop the Lancers in the fourth quarter. Lakes’ quarterback did have a mental error on its final drive, taking a knee on second down. It forced a spiked ball on third down then on fourth, Reece Marquez snared the interception.
Wyatt Hoffman finished with 180-plus total yards for the Bearcats.
“Any time you’re getting in-game reps of those tight situations, you got to keep your mind straight,” Hill said. “The more you do that, it makes your team more savvy, more calm, cool and collected.”
W.F. West will close its non-league slate out next week with another 3A opponent in Kelso.
