West Central falls to Arcola 31-12
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Arcola scored in every quarter and beat West Central 31-12 in the first round of the IHSA Class 1A playoffs Oct. 30 at Arcola. The Cougars finished the season 6-4 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Arcola improved to 8-2 and advanced to play at Brown County this weekend.Arcola drove 59 yards in 10 plays and scored on a 3-yard pass with 8:51 remained in the first quarter. The Purple Riders added the conversion and led 7-0.Josh Bailey recovered a fumble on Arcola’s next drive. The Purple Riders drove 50 yards in 10 before losing the fumble at West Central’s 20-yard line.Arcola scored again on a 35-yard pass play with 3:29 remaining in the second quarter.West Central threatened to score twice in the quarterThe Cougars lost a fumble on the Arcola 20-yard line midway through the quarter. They moved to the Arcola 19-yard line after Parker Hoots caught a 36-yard pass late in the first half and a first down at 10-yard line after a penalty. A pass fell incomplete in the end zone on the last play of the half.Arcola scored touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters on a 22-yard pass and a 38-yard interception returned to extend its lead to 28-0 with 10:26 remaining in the game.Parker Hoots caught a 10-yard pass from Tyson Brown for West Central’s first touchdown. Landon Barnett caught a 32-yard pass during the possession.The Purple Riders recovered an onside kick and extended its lead to 31-6 after a 41-yard field goal.Brown scored on a 1-yard run with 1:34 remaining in the game. Lathan Barnett appeared to score on a 4-yard run but was ruled out of bounds at the 1-yard on the previous play. Barnett caught a 34-yard pass to set up the touchdown.Ryan Moore, West Central’s leading rusher for the season, did not play after suffering an ACL injury during the Cougars’ game against Mendon Unity.West Central actually outgained Arcola in total yards 342-283 and had more first downs 20-16 in the game.Arcola rushed for 140 yards on 33 attempts and gained 143 yards passing.The Cougars rushed for 145 yards on 43 attempts and passed for 197.Lathan Barnett rushed for 112 yards on 31 attempts. Mason Berry rushed for 40 yards on nine attempts.Brown completed 11 of 22 passes for 197 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Hoots caught four passes for 60 yards, and Lathan Barnett caught three passes for 59 yards. Berry caught three passes for 46 yards, and Landon Barnett caught one pass for 32 yards.Chance Little led West Central’s defense with 10 tackles, including two for losses. Owen Barber had seven tackles. Lathan Barnett had six tackles, including two for losses. Brown and Hoots each had six tackles. Landon Barnett had five tackles, including one for a loss.