Teri Tune
Sports Scene
Quarterback Justin Thelen took it upon himself to try and steal a win from rival Fowler in the last minutes of their game. With just 2:07 left and the score 14-8, Thelen ran for a 27-yard game-tying touchdown. Then he left it up to Michael Weber to attempt the team’s first extra point kick of the season for the win.
Weber didn’t disappoint, and the Pirates went on to win the game 15-14.
The Pirates struck first on Alex Thelen’s 36-yard touchdown run, but Fowler came right back, as Mitch Thelen had a 79-yard kick-off return for an answering touchdown.
Fowler then took the lead in the second half with an 82-yard touchdown run by Tyler Koenigsknecht to make the score 14-8.
That’s where it stayed until Pewamo-Westphalia took over with 5:14 left to play. The Eagles thought they had the drive stopped until Justin Thelen pitched it to Alex Thelen, who ran it 14 yards, gained the first down, and set up that tying touchdown run.
Alex Thelen led the Pirates offense with 122 yards, while Gavin Smith led the defense with 10 tackles.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Pewamo-Westphalia boys cross country team won the Chesaning Invitational at Showboat Park with a team score of 51.
“This is our first year competing at this event, and we are excited to be here,” said head coach Scott Werner.
“This is our third meet, and the guys continue to improve. We are going through some hard training right now, but they are still putting in some strong performances.”
“Last year we finished seventh at the state finals, and we returned our entire team. Our top three guys, Greg Trierweiler, Joel Pennell, and Blake Thelen have finished in the top ten in every race they’ve run so far this year,” he said.
They did it again in Chesaning, as the trio came in sixth, seventh, and eighth. Trierweiler led the Pirates with a time of 17:28.5, followed by Pennell 17:29.3, Thelen 17:31.4, Tanner Droste 17:55.2, Randy Schafer 18:05.0, Caleb Barker 18:45.0, and Zach Schafer 19:42.2.
“We are in Division 3 this year. We made it by one student, so that will be different for us, but our expectations stay the same. I would like us to finish in the top ten in the state again this year,” said coach Werner.
The girls team finished third with a team score of 133.
“My top girl is Mykena Witgen, and she is new for us. She is a freshman and has already broken records and is on her way to becoming the fastest freshman in the history of Pewamo-Westphalia. My second girl is Kassey Kebler. She ran track last year and qualified for states, but this is her first year running cross country. She has a ton of talent, and these two girls will lead our team throughout the season,” said coach Werner.
Finishing first for the Pirates was Witgen with a time of 22:05.8, followed by teammates Kebler 22:11.5, Jenna Thelen 22:58.2, Erica Nurenberg 23:48.4, Kenzie Wieber 23:52.6, Tawni Klein 26:35.7, and Kirstie Wieber 31:52.5.
“The girls have an extremely deep regional that they will be competing against. The rankings just came out, and four teams were ranked in the top ten in the state, and it is really going to be cutthroat, so we are focusing on our league right now and doing well there,” he said.