Rensselaer falls behind early, never recovers

Updated: September 24, 2011 3:20PM

WEST LAFAYETTE — Rensselaer saw its chances to beat Class 3A No. 3 West Lafayette diminish early on Friday.

Things went downhill on the opening kickoff, to be precise.

West Lafayette’s Brody Forbes returned the game’s opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and the Red Devils never trailed in a 40-7 win.

Rensselaer’s squib kick wasn’t the problem on the opening play.

“I thought it was an excellent kick and everything was set up for us to go down and hopefully bury them in deep field position,” Rensselaer coach Chris Meeks said. “Their kid made a sweet play. Our guys came out of their lanes and attacked the ball instead of staying in their lanes.”

The Red Devils (6-0, 4-0 Hoosier) jumped out to a 27-0 lead midway through the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns within just over a four-minute span of the first and second quarters.

After Sean Busch rushed for an 18-yard TD in the second quarter, the Red Devils recovered an onside kick. It took just three plays before Busch connected with Amen Galley for a 41-yard touchdown pass and the Red Devils were ahead, 27-0.

“We had one kid that forgot to go out there (on the onside kickoff) so we only had 10 people,” West Lafayette coach Marshall Overly said. “But with an onside kick it doesn’t matter because everybody is going to where the ball is.”

Rensselaer (3-3, 1-2) did gain some momentum heading into halftime. The Bombers’ Beau Boswell intercepted West Lafayette QB Sean Busch with 3:38 left in the first half. Seven plays later Rensselaer quarterback Hunter Hickman scored on a 1-yard keeper with 37 seconds remaining in the half.

The Bombers attempted just two passes, both incomplete. Rensselaer’s Keaton Lyons rushed for 41 yards on 13 carries, while Eli Isom added 39 yards on 15 carries.

“They’re rock solid defensively,” Meeks said. “We thought the best thing we could do for us is to keep the ball on the ground and keep the clock moving.”

Neither team scored in the third quarter before West Lafayette added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the final scoring.

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