LEBANON, Ind. — After a delay of nearly 24 hours, the Operation Football Game of the Week between the Tri-West Bruins and Lebanon Tigers finally kicked off Saturday afternoon.
Thankfully, the rain and wind wasn't nearly as bad as Friday night.
The first quarter didn't see much offense as the two teams traded possessions for the majority of the opening minutes. It wasn't until midway through the first quarter that Tigers quarterback Jackson Folden found Kaden Lark for Lebanon's first score of the day.
Tri-West took the lead shortly before halftime when Bruins quarterback Jackson Sorgi tossed a 54-yard pass to Eli Morgan and then Malachi Walden ran in the two-point conversion. On Lebanon's next possession, Bruins senior defensive lineman Jerry Dyson came up with a big sack on Lebanon's Jackson Folden. The Tigers drive stalled, forcing a punt and giving possession back to Tri-West.
From there, Malachi Walden carved up the Tigers defense, posting a 31-yard run and then breaking free for a 69-yard touchdown run. Walden then ran in the two-point conversion to give the Bruins a 16-7 lead at halftime.
During the halftime break, Lebanon appeared to make big adjustments defensively. The Tigers needed to find a way to slow down the offensive attack from Sorgi and Walden.
The offense, however, was clicking.
During Lebanon's second half opening possession, the Tigers offense held steady and was able to respond to Tri-West by pushing their way into the end zone early in the third quarter.
Still trailing 16-14, the Tigers defense then came up with a huge stop midway through the third quarter to force a punt from Tri-West. Once Lebanon's offense took over on the ensuing possession, the team appeared unstoppable.
The Tigers began to drain the clock while marching down the field. Just as the fourth quarter began, Folden found Talon Purkhiser for a 2-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers decided to forego the extra point in favor of the two-point conversion, which was successful.
Now with a 22-16 lead, the Tigers defense capitalized on their halftime adjustments and continued to create problems for Jackson Sorgi and the Tri-West offense. The Bruins failed to score the entirety of the second half after ending the first with a series of explosive plays.
The nail in the coffin for Tri-West came late in the fourth quarter when Jackson Sorgi was picked off at the Bruins own 24-yard line.
Lebanon took over on offense with excellent field position and Kaden Lark found his way into the end zone once again to put the game on ice for the Tigers.
Lebanon moves to 4-2 overall with the win and is now 3-1 in Sagamore Conference play. Tri-West tumbled in the conference standings now with a 1-3 record to go along with their overall record of 2-4.