Applegate Runs Wild as West High Stops Skid With Win Over Davenport Central
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – West High was a little sluggish early on Friday evening against Davenport Central.
It was nothing that a heavy dose of Mason Applegate couldn’t cure.
Applegate sparked West High with a pair of long second-quarter touchdown runs and finished with a single game school-record 379 rushing yards as the Trojans snapped a three-game losing skid with a 36-29 win over Davenport Central (3-3) at Trojan Field.
“We were a bit slow to start but we picked it up,” Applegate said. “I try my best to pick us up when we are slow.”
Applegate scored on touchdown runs of 72, 68, 93 and 87 yards while racking up his record-breaking 379 yards on just 16 carries.
A first-year starter at running back, Applegate averaged better than 23 yards per carry on Friday.
The final seven carries for the 190-pound senior tailback resulted in 335 yards and four touchdowns.
“The coaches did a really good job of reading the defense and how they spread it out,” Applegate said. “We made a few adjustments and there it was.”
West High (2-4) had endured an uncharacteristic slow start to the season losing three consecutive games for just the second time under head coach Garret Hartwig.
The Trojans sputtered early on Friday.
West High attempted a fake punt from its own 40 yard line on the opening drive of the game but lost a yard.
On the first offensive snap for Davenport Central do-everything senior Nate Hummel, who accounted for 401 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, raced 39 yards for a score to put the Blue Devils up 7-0 less than 3 minutes into the game.
“We weren’t really ready to go right away,” Applegate said. “We picked it up.”
Nate Gudenkauf set West High up with a short field with a 52 yard kick off return and the Trojans capitalized with a 10-play, 38-yard march.
Sophomore fullback Zach Logsdon capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and added the two-point conversion run to put West High up 8-7.
Even with an 8-7 lead West High wasn’t fully functioning.
Davenport Central recovered a fumble on a muffed punt and had a first down at the Trojan 15 yard line to start the second quarter.
That’s when Applegate got the Trojans right once and for all.
The senior came up with a sack of Hummel on 3rd and 12 that forced a 44 yard field that that was short.
Applegate would rip of touchdown runs of 72 and 68 yards on back-to-back West High offensive snaps in the second quarter as the Trojans closed the half with 22 unanswered points.
After his first nine carries of the game resulted in 44 yards Applegate gained 143 yards on his final three carries helping West High to a 22-7 halftime lead.
“It’s always an emphasis for us to run the ball,” Applegate said. “The small play leads to the big play. Small runs turn into big runs.”
Applegate was only getting started.
Perhaps his best run of the game was a 93-yarder in the third quarter in which he broke several tackles before outracing the Davenport Central secondary.
“Every day in practice we see what he is capable of,” West High senior offensive lineman Brett Pelfrey said. “He showed it out here tonight.”
The 93-yard touchdown ran gave West High a 29-7 lead but Davenport Central would not go away.
Davenport Central cut the lead to 29-14 on a Hummel 2-yard scoring run and had a first-and-goal at the West High 5 yard line on its next possession but couldn’t come away with points.
“This was really important, it showed what we’ve been working on so hard all year,” Pelfrey said. “We showed we are better than what we were.”
After West High came up with the goal line stand Applegate put the game away.
He gained five yards on first down then raced 87 yards up the middle for a touchdown to give West High a 36-14 cushion with 7:04 left.
“I saw a gap, I saw green and I just hit it,” Applegate said. “I trusted everything, I trusted my line, my speed and before I knew it I was in the end zone.”
Led by Applegate West High finished with 417 rushing yards.
“I think we just identified the proper gaps,” Hartwig said. “We didn’t change the schemes up, I credit our offensive coaches, Coach (Andrew) Durham and our line coaches seeing some things from the box and it didn’t really require a scheme adjustment just some sight adjustments.”
West High (2-4) hosts Bettendorf (2-4) next week and closes the season with consecutive road games at Pleasant Valley (4-2) and Cedar Rapids Prairie (5-1).
“It’s now down to a three-game season and everything is in front of us,” Hartwig said. “We have to have a good lift in the morning and get to work.”
ICW DC
First downs 11 25
Rushes-yards 31-417 43-225
Comp-Att-Int 4-10-0 18-30-0
Passing yards 17 247
Total yards 434 472
Punts-avg. 2-31.5 4-31.3
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 2-25 6-40
West High 8 14 7 7 – 36
Davenport Central 7 0 7 7 – 21
DC – Nate Hummel 39 run (Carter Hurst kick)
ICW – Zach Logsdon 5 run (Logsdon run)
ICW – Mason Applegate 72 run (Matt Jetton Kick)
ICW – Applegate 68 run (Jetton kick)
ICW – Applegate 93 run (Jetton kick)
DC – Hummel 2 run (Hurst kick)
ICW – Applegate 87 run (Jetton kick)
DC – Hummel 6 run (Hurst kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – West High: Mason Applegate 16-379, Steve Tembea 4-42, Zach Logsdon 3-13, Davontae Morris 2-4, Nate Gudenkauf 1-7, Ashton Honore 1-2, Jack Wallace 2-(-26), Team 2-(-4). Davenport Central: Nate Hummel 25-154, Charles Jones 7-49, Dylan Graves 7-25, Antwyon Lowery 3-3, Corbin Simatovich 1-(-6).
PASSING – West High: Jack Wallace 3-9-0 18, Matt Jetton 1-1-0 -1. Davenport Central: Nate Hummel 18-30-0 247.
RECEIVING – West High: Nate Gudenkauf 2-7, Noah DeSaulniers 2-11, Ryne Vander Leest 1-(-1). Davenport Central: Charles Jones 4-134, Braxton Henderson 4-44, Kellen Rush 4-33, Corbin Simatovich 3-17, Dylan Graves 3-5, Antwyon Lowery 1-14.
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