High school football: Thunder, John Ursua storm to impressive victory

SARATOGA SPRINGS — If the first half of Friday's season-opener vs. Delta is any indication, then the sophomore campaign for Westlake's football team may prove to be solid at worst.

After a nearly perfect first half, the Thunder went into clock-management mode after the break to take a 35-21 win over the Rabbits.

The win represented a 25 percent increase in Westlake's all-time wins column after the team's 4-6 inaugural campaign last season. More importantly, it set the tone for a Thunder squad that wants to do big things early in the school's history.

"It's really big for us to start off our season with a big win," said Westlake quarterback John Ursua, who accounted for all the team's scoring with four throwing touchdowns and another rushing. "We're a lot more developed as players at the varsity level."

Ursua orchestrated a Thunder offense that nary skipped a beat in the first two quarters. Westlake scored on all four of its possessions in the first half, with Ursua connecting with Nate Jensen on a 10-yard score in the first period before linking up with Brandon Aldstadt and Trevor Whited in the second, the latter score occurring when Ursua's pass to Semi Taeoalli was tipped in the end zone and snatched up one-handed by Whited.

Ursua also broke off a 40-yard touchdown run with about nine minutes left before intermission. In the first half alone, Ursua went 12-for-14 for 171 yards and three touchdowns, and ripped off runs of 38 and 40 yards. He spearheaded first-half scoring drives of 80, 80, 72 and 81 yards.

Ursua connected with Nick Waitkich on a 40-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the second half, but beyond that the Thunder offense was markedly quiet, especially compared to the team's first-half display of firepower. On its first five drives of the second half, Westlake turned the ball over three times and punted once.

"We just tried to slow down the game and eat up clock," said Ursua, who finished with 220 passing yards and 125 rushing yards.

Delta answered both of Westlake's first-half scores, with quarterback Colin Christensen posting a 3-yard rushing touchdown a minute into the second quarter and Hadley Meyers rushing to paydirt from 10 yards out a few minutes later. The Rabbits' passing game was almost non-existent, however, and the team's rushing attack stagnated as the game wore on, as illustrated by running back Kaydon Hughes' 93 rushing yards in the first half compared to 19 in the second.