Top ranked West Central faces No. 2 Amboy in 8-man football Friday; Here's the matchup

MONMOUTH — To call top-ranked West Central’s Week 9 contest at Amboy/LaMoille/Ohio “The Game of the Century” might be a bit misleading, but as far as regular-season 8-man games in this part of the state, the case can certainly be made.

This is, after all, only West Central’s third 8-man season, and the Heat have ascended to the top of the MaxPreps rankings with a mark of 8-0. Right behind them in the No. 2 slot is Friday night’s opponent. The host Clippers will enter the game with a mark of 7-1, with the only blemish a 40-30 setback to Milford/Cissna Park, the fifth-ranked 8-man squad.

The biggest regular season game that the Heat have played prior to traveling to Amboy was possibly their opener last fall against Flanagan/Cornell/Woodland, which they won 42-40. Big plays included a Kaiden Droste kickoff return for a TD early and denying F/C/W a tying two-point conversion late.

Since that encounter, F/C/W coach Jeff Reed has seen two developments that are part of the nature of prep football. He graduated a talented group of seniors, and his Falcons drew an extremely tough schedule. In addition to playing West Central, F/C/W has also played Milford/Cissna Park (7-1), undefeated Decatur Lutheran, St. Thomas More (6-2) and defending champion Polo (6-2). The Falcons will close the season against 7-1 Ridgewood.

So Reed is very familiar with the best teams in the state, and he puts West Central in his top three.

“I’ll tell ya what — they’re a very well-coached football team,” said Reed of the Heat. “Coach (Jason) Kirby does a great job. The Droste kid is a ton, and the quarterback (Mason Carnes), as well. Their offensive line is very disciplined, and they do a great job of making holes. You give Droste any type of room, and he’s gone.”

Reed saw that first hand on Sept. 23, as Droste ran for 170 yards on seven carries against the Falcons in West Central’s 50-8 win. In one sequence, Droste scored from near midfield, only to have the play negated by a penalty. He then took the ensuing carry 50 yards to the end zone.

“I told him after the game, ‘Thank goodness you’re a senior,’” said Reed. “He just smiled. He’s a good kid.”

Aquin has played Heat, Clippers

Coach Bill Shepard’s Aquin Bulldogs have played a series of close games this season, including a trio of losses by a combined 11 points. That was not the case, however, when Aquin played West Central and Amboy, as the Bulldogs fell by 38 and 28 points, respectively.

“Amboy is truly one of the most physical teams that we faced this season, while West Central may have been the fastest team we saw overall,” Shepard said. “These two powerhouse teams run their own systems very well. Their offensive and defensive fronts have dismantled most of the teams they have faced and both teams are very well coached. Whichever team plays solid defense will take this game. It could be a one-score difference at the end.”

There is also another 8-man “Game of the Century” in eastern Illinois this weekend, as Milford/Cissna Park will meet the state’s other undefeated team, Decatur Lutheran.

“The Amboy/West Central and the Milford/Decatur Lutheran games this weekend have the air of championship-style games,” said Shepard. “They will both have a playoff atmosphere.”

Checking in with the coaches

Hype the contest if you like, but for West Central and Amboy, there are larger goals than winning a Week 9 game. Both teams lost in the 8-man state semifinals last year and would like to go one game farther this fall.

“Anything short of a state title will be disappointing,” Amboy junior tailback Landen Whelchel said in the preseason. “It’s been our main goal.”

Whelchel moved into the role of main ball carrier in Week 5 and has rushed for 700 yards in four weeks. Another offensive threat for the Clippers is 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior tight end Brennan Blaine, who’s caught 14 touchdown passes and amassed 700 receiving yards. He also gets the ball on some running plays.

An Amboy threat who likely won’t be a factor in the game — but could be in the postseason — is all-state quarterback Tucker Lindenmeyer, the team’s lone senior. Lindenmeyer injured his hamstring in the Week 4 loss to Milford/Cissna Park and has yet to return to action.

“He goes to the doctor next week,” said Amboy coach Scott Payne. “We’re hoping to get him back for the playoffs.”

In Lindenmeyer’s absence, sophomore Eddie Jones has quarterbacked Amboy to four straight wins, including a 44-0 victory over Orangeville, the team that eliminated the Clippers last season.

Payne is well aware of the offensive threat when West Central has the ball.

“Droste’s a fast kid, a good runner, a physical runner,” said Payne. “The biggest concern for us is slowing him down.”

Amboy might not be able to simulate Droste’s speed in practice, but the Clippers can certainly simulate the Heat’s style of play, as Payne said the teams “are mirror images of each other.”

“We both run the option and can play power football with good offensive lines,” he said.

Kirby agreed that there are similarities between the squads.

“I would say we do a lot of things the same,” he said. “We’re both very physical up front, and our defenses are fast and athletic and really run to the ball.”

Where the similarities end is Amboy’s tendency to throw the ball more, as well as attack offensively with varied looks.

“They run out of a few more formations to try to get people the ball in certain matchups,” Kirby said. “The strength of their team is their offensive line and their tight ends. They’re really physical, and they do a nice job of getting after you up front.”

The Heat are far from a one-man team, but the one player leading them statistically has been awfully good. A year removed from an injury-marred season — which caused him to miss last year’s Amboy game — Droste has rushed for 1,851 yards on 141 carries.

Droste’s backfield mate Parker Meldrum has gotten loose for some big games, too, but not as often as Droste.

“A number of teams have tried to take Parker away,” said Kirby. “By doing that, they’ve given us an opportunity to exploit Kaiden on the edge. Against the teams that didn’t take him away, he’s been fantastic,” including gaining 158 yards on just five carries against F/C/W. “Parker’s a great kid. He understands how our offense works.”

Kirby and his players know that, win or lose, the playoffs are right around the corner. Still, there are things he wants to see from his squad against Amboy.

“We strive to improve every week,” he said. “If that means we don’t win the game, but we get better, there’s still a positive that came out of the game. But if we play like we’ve been playing, I think we’ll be fine this week. We just have to remind ourselves not to try to do too much.”

NOTES: West Central fans unable to make the trip to Amboy can watch the game live on the school’s YouTube channel, which is available at amboy.net. ... There is also another 8-man “Game of the Century” in eastern Illinois this weekend, as Milford/Cissna Park will meet the state’s other undefeated team, Decatur Lutheran/Mt. Pulaski. Rounding out the current top five is defending state champion Polo. ... Ridgewood is ranked No. 9 by MaxPreps.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Top ranked West Central faces No. 2 Amboy in 8-man football Friday