Posted: Friday, October 3, 2008 10:00 pm
West Albany defended its No. 1 5A ranking with ease, thrashing Dallas on a sloppy field at Memorial Stadium.
Bulldog quarterback Reese Miller set the tone immediately, running it in from 14 yards for the opening score. Later in the quarter, Miller hit sophomore Jackson Ruckert for a 50-yard touchdown pass.
West Albany coach Randy Nyquist praised the progress of his quarterback since his off-season shoulder surgery.
"We have really commited to improving the passing game, and Reese has done a great job," Nyquist said.
Anthony LaCoste had another productive night for the Bulldogs, finishing with 186 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.
Senior running back J.C. Johnson returned the opening kickoff of the second half 74 yards for a touchdown. Johnson initially had trouble fielding the ball, but gathered it up and was able to use his speed to reach the end zone.
Nyquist felt his team played an excellent game all around - offense, defense and special teams.
"It was overall just a really solid performance," Nyquist said.
West Albany (6-0, 3-0 Mid-Willamette Conference) will play on the road next Thursday at Lebanon.
WEST ALBANY 57, DALLAS 0
West Albany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 21 14 7 - 57
Dallas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 - 0
First quarter
WA: Reese Miller 14 run (Joe Kelly pass from Will Bussard)
WA: Jack Ruckert 50 pass from Miller (Tyler George kick)
Second quarter
WA: Matt McHenry 1 run (George kick)
WA: Anthony LaCoste 1 run (George kick)
WA: LaCoste 33 run (George kick)
Third quarter
WA: J.C. Johnson 74 kick return (Tyler Davis kick)
WA: Tyler Spevacek 4 run (Davis kick)
Fourth quarter
WA: Alec Olson 29 run (Davis kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: West Albany, LaCoste 17-186, Meados 1-50, Miller 2-39, Olson 3-29, McHenry 3-5, Spevacek 1-4; Dallas, Rebischke 12-70
PASSING: West Albany, Miller 8-11-0-132; Dallas, Reynolds 4-14-45
RECEIVING: West Albany, O'Bryan 4-65, Ruckert 2-57, McHenry 2-10; Dallas, Wolfe 2-26
JV: West Albany won 34-0
FR: West Albany won