(Anita) West Harrison stayed undefeated with a 29-22 victory at defending state champion CAM on Friday. The Hawkeyes never trailed on their way to ending the Cougar’s 15 game win streak.
A pair of first quarter TD passes from Mason McIntosh got the visitors off to a good start. He connected with Koleson Evans on a 25 yard scoring play with 3:59 left in the first and found Mason King on a 42 yard catch and run a minute later. West Harrison was able to hold CAM at arm’s reach the rest of the way. The Cougars closed within a one possession game on three different occasions, but never completely swung the momentum.
After the game, West Harrison coach Andrew Stevenson said, “This is probably, if I’m being honest, one of the biggest wins we’ve had in program history. It was a big one.” Stevenson, “This was kind of our building block that we wanted to get a big win sometime and this was definitely one.”
CAM used a heavy dose of Austin Williams in the running game to claw back into the contest. Williams punched in a two yard run with :20 left in the first half that brought CAM within 13-8. The junior posted a career high for rushing yardage and found the end zone three times. CAM was on the verge of taking the lead in the 3rd quarter with a drive deep into West Harrison territory. The scoring threat stalled with a turnover on downs at the five yard line. It didn’t take long for McIntosh to elude pressure, step up in the pocket, and find Koleson Evans for a crucial 75 yard score. It put the Hawkeyes, now 3-0 on the year, in front by a 21-8 count.
A 33 yard TD run from Williams with 2:49 left in the 3rd got CAM right back in the hunt, but West Harrison had another key answer. Nolan Birdsall banged his way into the end zone on a five yard run to stretch the advantage to 29-14 with :07 remaining in the 3rd. West Harrison forced three takeaways on the night including a big 4th quarter interception to derail CAM’s comeback hopes. The Cougar defense did post a key stop in the final minutes to give the home team one last chance. With less than a minute to go, CAM took possession of the football at the 25 yard line. Chase Spieker hit Sam Foreman on a 20 yard pass and a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty was tacked on. CAM had :17 remaining at the time of the catch. West Harrison committed a pass interference penalty on the next play to move the ball to the 10 yard line. Spieker completed a pass to Collin Bower, but Bower was tackled in bounds which left the Cougars with time for just one more heave into the end zone. Spieker was pressured and threw incomplete for Sam Foreman in the end zone as West Harrison prevailed.
Walker Rife carried 18 times for 66 yards. Mason McIntosh was 5/7 passing for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Mason King had two catches for 54 yards and a score. Koleson Evans hauled in two TD grabs and tallied 100 receiving yards. Nolan Birdsall had 22 rushing yards and one catch for 18 yards.
Austin Williams led CAM with 174 yards on 25 carries. Chase Spieker was 10/27 passing for 86 yards. Sam Foreman caught six passes for 66 yards. Jack Follmann had four catches for 29 yards. Gabe Rouse posted a team best 9 tackles.
CAM goes to 2-1 on the season with their first regular season loss since Week 9 of 2019 against Audubon. The Cougars face East Mills in Week 4. 3-0 West Harrison opposes Boyer Valley next Friday.
