Turnovers doom Concord in regional loss

DUNLAP — When Concord fooball coach Craig Koehler turned on the film of Chesterton this week, he caught a glimpse of Zane Westerlund carrying the ball in the sectional title game against Munster.

Koehler had one thought ...

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"Man I hope they don't use him as an option against us.''

Unfortunately, Koehler's wish didn't come true, as the 6-foot-1, 225 pound bulldozer rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries and scored four touchdowns, as Chesterton ended Concord's hopes of a second straight regional title by beating the Minutemen, 40-27.

But it wasn't all about Westerland.

Concord had four turnovers and had a blocked kick returned for a touchdown on the last play of the first half. In fact, Chesterton scored 20 points in the final 1:27 of the second quarter to turn a 17-7 Concord lead into a 27-17 deficit at halftime.

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"Just too many things to overcome tonight,'' Koehler admitted. "I thought coming in that we could win the game and the way we started gave me more hope. But man things just went south for us in a hurry.''

Indeed.

Koehler was spot on, as the Minutemen dominated early and looked to be on their way to another regional title.

Concord scored on its first possession on a three yard pass from quarterback Cade Court to senior receiver Chase Thompson. The short drive was set up by a 50 yards return of the opening kickoff by Jaydon Yoder.

After a three-and-out by Chesterton, Yoder return the ensuing kick 40 yards to the Trojans six.

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But on first down, the Minutemen jumped offside, pushing the ball back to the 11. Four plays later, Concord had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Mason Bailey to make it 10-0.

Chesterton's Brody Lane would make the first big play for the Trojans on Concord's next possession, skying high for an interception and returning it to midfield.

Seven plays later — including a big pass interference penalty – Westerlund scored his first touchdown on a 16 yard run to make it 10-7 after the first quarter.

The Minutemen then responded with their best drive of the night, going 76 yards in 13 plays to push their lead back to to on a two-yard touchdown run by junior Matt Gunawan.

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Riding the back of Westerlund, the Trojans put together a strong drive of their own, getting a first-and-10 at the Concord 10 on what would be a 74-yard drive.

It looked like the Minutemen stopped the drive, when a fourth-and-goal pass from the two fell incomplete in the end zone.

But the officials called another pass interference penalty on Concord, putting the ball on the two with a first down. Westerland would score on the next play to make it 17-14 with 1:27 left in the half.

"I didn't think it was interference when it happened live,'' Koehler admitted. "But when we took a look at it, we had a pretty good grip on the kid's uniform, so it was a good call.'

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But that's when things got crazy.

On Concord's next play from scrimmage, Court was intercepted by Bradley Robinson. who had a great return of 30 yards to the CHS 22.

The very next play saw quarterback Hunter Boyd threw a strike to sophomore receiver Carter Larson for the touchdown that gave Chesterton the lead for good with 52 seconds left in the quarter.

Unfortunately, the half didn't end there for Concord.

The Minutemen would reach the Chesterton 27 on an 18 yard pass from Court to Jaron Ellen.

But fate had one more kick in the gut for Concord fans, as Ian De La Paz's 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked by a diving Isaiah Prater. Without breaking stride, Prater picked up the ball and raced 60 yards to the end zone as time ran out in the half. The ensuing extra point made it 27-17 at the half.

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"We've been so good taking care of the ball in the tournament and that just didn't happen tonight,'' Koehler said. "Between that and the bad timing on our penalties all night, it really gave them momentum.''

Concord's defense forced two three-and-outs to start the second half and Bailey converted the first into a 40-yard field goal.

Unfortunately after the second, Yoder didn't call a fair catch on a high kick, tried to make a move and was hit hard, fumbling the ball away with the Trojans recovering at the Concord 34.

Six plays later, Westerlund had his third touchdown on a punishing 15-yard run to make it 34-20.

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"I was proud of the way our defense came out in the third quarter and forced two punts,'' Koehler said. "Unfortunately, we muffed the second one and they were able to get another score off a turnover.

Junior receiver PJ Laroche gave the Concord faithful some hope with one second left in the third quarter, scoring from 11 yards out on an end around play to cut the lead back to seven.

But using Westerlund and junior Sam Posavac as tandem backs, Chesterton put the game away to start the fourth quarter, driving 70 yards in just seven running plays, with Westerland getting his fourth touchdown on a nine-yard run to make it 40-27.

"We just weren't good enough to overcome our mistakes tonight,'' Koehler said. "But I'm proud of this team. They could have quit tonight or several other times during the year, but they just kept fighting to get better and we added a (sectional) trophy to our school case.''

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Gunawan, who had never carried the football in his life until last week's win over LaPorte, once again led the Minutemen with 94 yards on 13 carries.

Laroche caught two passes for 60 yards earlier, then faced double coverage from the Chesterton secondary the remainder of the game.

The Trojans (7-5), who won the program's first sectional title last Friday, advance to play Warsaw in the 5A north semistate title game.

The Minutemen, who outgained Chesterton 292-278, see their season end at 6-6.

CHESTERTON 40, CONCORD 27

Chesterton;7;20;7;6;—40

Concord;10;7;10;0;—;27

First Quarter

C — Chase Thompson 3 pass from Cade Court; Mason Bailey kick; 9:18.

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C — Bailey 26 field goal; 6:24.

Ch — Zane Westerland 16 run; Mace Redman kick; 0:56.

Second Quarter

C — Matt Gunawan 2 run; Bailey kick; 6;23.

Ch — Westerland 2 run; Redman kick; 1:31.

Ch — Carter Larson 23 pass from Hunter Boyd; kick blocked; 0:57.

Ch — Isaiah Prater 65 yard return with blocked field goal; Redman kick; 0:00.

Third Quarter

C — Bailey 40 field goal; 5:54.

Ch — Westerlund 15 run; Redman kick; 3:02.

C — PJ LaRoche 11 run; Bailey kick; 0:01.

Fourth Quarter

Ch — Westerlund 9 run; run failed; 8:38.

Team Statistics

;CH;Con

Rush yards;218;170

Pass yards;60;122

Total yards;278;292

First downs;14;14

Fumbles-lost;1-0;0-0

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Had intercepted;3;0

Penalties-yds;3-30;6-47

Individual Leaders

Chesterton: Rushing Ch — Zane Westerland 18-112, Sam Posavac 17-89, Max Aoffin 1-8. Passing Ch — Hunter Boyd 7-16-60. Carter Larson 1-35, Mauro Semidei 3-11, Posavac 1-9, Levi Kidder 1-5.

Concord: Rushing — Matthew Gunawan 13-94, Cade Court 7-41, PJ Laroche 1-11, Jaron Allen 3-5. Passing — Court 12-24-122 3 int. Receiving — LaRoche 2-60, Allen 3-22, Chase Thompson 2-17, Harry Brunner 2-15. Braylon Monroe 1-4, Tavion Beach 1-3.