PLEASANT HILL — Kobe Westphal could not stop himself from pacing the sideline.
With the lead on Warrensburg’s side, the junior quarterback watched as his teammates lined up against the Pleasant Hill offense.
A lengthy final two and a half minutes ended with a 38-31 Tigers win over the previously unbeaten Roosters on Friday, Oct. 6, at Eklund Field.
“I was just pacing back and forth,” Westphal said. “I knew we had it. I knew we had them. We’ve been practicing this whole week. As much as you can say our offense stepped up, our defense stepped up at the biggest moment today. It was great to see them finally come out with a close win.”
Warrensburg (4-3, 2-2 MRVC West) overcame a pass interference call turning a Roosters 4th and 19 situation into 4th and 2 from the 38 with 45.6 seconds left on the clock.
Roosters (6-1, 4-1 MRVC West) senior quarterback Bo Daniel opted for a hail mary to the end zone. The pass fell incomplete, icing the Tigers’ upset win against Class 4 No. 8 ranked Pleasant Hill.
“We’ve been waiting all year to come up with that big stop,” Warrensburg head coach Chris Cavanah said. “It couldn't have came at a bigger moment. I’m proud of our guys. We got a lot of defensive stops tonight. We had several turnovers we created. A lot of defensive stops. I just couldn’t be prouder of their performance.”
The final defensive stand backed a series that concluded with a 22-yard touchdown connection between Westphal and freshman Treyven Murphy on 3rd and 7.
The reception marked his first of the season, where his primary impact has arrived on the defensive side of the ball.
“That’s a play we haven’t called all season to this point,” Cavanah said of the screen to Murphy. “Coach [Kyle] Westphal does a great job of putting our guys in a position to be successful. He’s kept that in his back pocket for a big moment. It couldn’t have hit any better for us.”
The touchdown marked one of five thrown by Westphal against Pleasant Hill.
Three arrived to junior Jack Smith-Taylor, who scored from five, 26 and 32 yards out. Junior Ty Carman also had a 19-yard scoring reception
Westphal finished the game completing 21-of-29 passes for 265 yards.
Senior Quinn Conley, who battled after injuring his shoulder in the first half, hauled in 10 receptions for 121 yards.
Smith-Taylor had three catches for 63 yards, Carman had five catches for 42 yards and junior Tristan Blew had two catches for 18 yards.
The run game was also prominent between Westphal and sophomore running back AJ Smith.
Westphal ran the ball 20 times for 119 yards while Smith had 24 carries for 154 yards.
“This give the team so much confidence,” Westphal said. “We needed some confidence, especially on the defensive side. They’ve been looked at the past games even when they’ve stepped up. This was a great defensive game for us. Like I said, respect for the offense but the defense played amazing today. It was awesome finally being able to see them have some success on that side of the ball. It was great.”
Warrensburg took a 3-0 lead via a 42-yard field goal from senior kicker Rylan Henry.
Pleasant Hill scored on the next drive, taking the lead via a 36-yard run from senior Grayson Sudduth.
Warrensburg held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, trailed 21-17 at halftime and was tied 24-24 at the end of the third quarter.
‘Burg and Pleasant Hill exchanged two touchdowns early in the fourth before Westphal found Murphy for the go-ahead score and Warensburg’s defense came up with the game-winning stop.
“I’m excited for our kids to be in that type of game,” Cavanah said “We’ve been in some close games this year that we have not come out on the right side of it. To make the plays we need to make on both sides of the ball to put that thing away right away at the end, it’s exciting.”
Warrensburg hosts Clinton on Friday, Oct. 13, before closing out the regular season at Oak Grove on Oct. 20.
Joe Andrews can be reached at 660-747-8123.
