West Lafayette Jr-Sr High School

The Red Devils returned home Friday night to take on the McCutcheon Mavericks. While West Lafayette had its moments, the visiting Mavericks maintained control, handing the Red Devils a 31-6 defeat. The game ignited early as McCutcheon scored on their opening play to jump out to a 7- 0 lead. West Lafayette countered driving downfield on a balanced 7-play series. Kojo Steffy ran in a touchdown to close the gap to 7-6 (kick failed). With 8:14 remaining in the first quarter the stage seemed set for a high-scoring clash. However, both defenses settled in from there. Turnovers and 3 and outs became the story of the second quarter as both teams leaned heavily on the run game and the clock ticked away. The second half became a defensive slugfest, with both teams struggling for yards. The Red Devils put together a few promising drives but couldn’t find the end zone. McCutcheon was able to capitalize late, adding two more scores to put the game out of reach. Key Performers Linebacker JJ Weida led the defense with 14 tackles, followed by Martin Gozo (11) and Dylan Salazar (10). Quarterback Blake Biddle threw for 157 yards on 16 completions, Kojo Steffy churned out 82 rushing yards, while Fielder Melchi hauled in 7 receptions to pace the receiving.