Pierce-The West Point-Beemer Football Team attempted to knock off Pierce for the second time this season Friday night, but the Bluejays had other ideas as they raced out to a 21-0 lead en route to a 54-34 home victory over the Cadets.
Pierce's Collin Tinker scored the first touchdown of the game on a 5-yard TD run at the 10:22 mark of the 1st quarter to put the Bluejays in front 7-0.
Tinker scored again with 5:51 left to go in the 1st quarter, this time from a yard out, to give Pierce a 14-0 lead.
Tinker added a third rushing touchdown from 4 yards away with 3:09 remaining in the 1st quarter, and the Bluejays led 21-0.
West Point-Beemer got on the board with 11:03 left to go in the 2nd quarter as Hunter Pilakowski scored an 11-yard rushing TD to make it a 21-7 ball game.
The Cadets got back into the game when Blake Anderson broke free for a 47-yard TD scamper at the 6:39 mark of the 2nd quarter to pull West Point-Beemer within a touchdown at 21-14.
Pierce responded with a 63-yard rushing TD from Dalton Freeman 21 seconds later, and just like that, the Bluejays led 28-14.
Freeman then hit Cody Yawn on a 34-yard TD pass with 40 seconds remaining until halftime, and Pierce enjoyed a 35-14 lead at intermission.
The Cadets made it a two touchdown game again in the 3rd quarter as Cole Hughes connected with Ben VanderGriend on a 23-yard TD strike to make it a 35-21 ball game.
Brett Tinker got into the act for the Bluejays later in the quarter, scoring on a 2-yard TD run to put Pierce up 41-21.
The Bluejays tacked onto their lead in the 4th quarter as Freeman found Jadon Magdanz for a 5-yard TD pass that gave Pierce a 47-21 advantage.
Hughes hit Anderson for 49 yards for a touchdown with 4:56 left to go in the game, and West Point-Beemer got to within 19 at 47-28.
The final Pierce touchdown was scored by Carson Oestreich, who hit paydirt from 19 yards out to extend the Bluejays' lead to 54-28 26 seconds later.
The final touchdown of the game and the season for the Cadets was scored by Pilakowski, who brooke loose for 78 yards at the 3:29 mark of the 4th quarter.
Pilakowski had 189 yards rushing on 15 carries, and two touchdowns for West Point-Beemer while Anderson registered 121 yards on the ground on 13 attempts.
Hughes was 9-17 passing for 140 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Cadets.
Hughes made 15 tackles while Cade Hughes had 9. Greg Johnson made 8 while VanderGriend and Gage Vance notched 7 each.
The Bluejays racked up 514 yards of total offense, including 475 rushing, while the Cadets had 462 yards of total offense, including 322 rushing.
What a great season West Point-Beemer had. These boys had a marvelous and fantastic season.
West Point-Beemer ends the year at 9-2.
The Cadets had a year to remember.
West Point-Beemer started the year 8-0, with wins coming over the likes of Wayne, Pierce, Fort Calhoun, and defending Class C-1 State Champion O'Neill.
The Cadets played for a district title and made it to the State Quarterfinals. Very nicely done.
I think this season puts West Point-Beemer on the map and makes them a force to be reckoned with in the future.
I think the wins show how much potential and hope there is for this program going forward, but the losses show what the Cadets need to do to become the best of the best.
Cole Hughes finished with 835 yards passing and 7 touchdowns on the season for the Cadets.
Pilakowski was the team's leading rusher with 1482 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year.
VanderGriend led the way in receiving with 479 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Cole Hughes led the way with 64 tackles while Anderson made 60.
West Point-Beemer says goodbye to seniors Cole Hughes, Tate Ernesti, Logan Knobbe, Brock Crawford, Garret Meyer, Pilakowski, Peyton Landholm, Ronny Petersen, Alex Gianella, Johnson, Chase and Austin Streeter, Jamie Palm, Devon Priestley, and Gavin Case.
These 15 seniors and their contributions to Cadet Football will be missed for sure.
Hughes, Ernesti, Case, Pilakowski, Landholm, and both Streeters in particular won't be easy to replace.
Plenty of talent returns though, including VanderGriend, Anderson, Kade Hughes, and Vance.
The biggest question mark surrounding next year's team could be on the offensive and defensive lines, but there are plenty of talented skill players to build around.
Given the success of this year's team, expectations ought to be very high at West Point-Beemer next season.
The Cadets need to have a great offseason of growth and development.
Every player has to add muscle and shed fat, and get bigger, faster, and stronger.
West Point-Beemer has to workout with excitement and passion this offseason. Now that the Cadets know what it's like to be successful, I look for the players to push themselves and each other this offseason.
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