West Lafayette trending in right direction with big game upcoming
OXFORD − There were obvious concerns prior to what transpired Saturday evening at Mallory Field.
West Lafayette football players had been out late the night before watching Purdue's home game against Wisconsin.
An undefeated Tippecanoe Valley team is visiting the Red Devils on Friday in a Class 3A top-10 showdown.
It would've been easy to overlook a one-win Benton Central team on Friday night.
Instead, the Red Devils scored on six straight possessions and led 42-0 by halftime and Class 3A No. 4 West Lafayette cruised to a 49-14 victory.
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"We had more energy pregame and leading up to the game and even at halftime than we've had maybe all season," West Lafayette coach Shane Fry said. "I hope that's trending in the right direction. The guys played hard and with a lot of energy and a lot of focus."
Speaking of trending in the right direction, let's talk about West Lafayette's offense.
Some had written the Red Devils off after it took until the fourth quarter in the season opener to find the end zone, a 42-6 loss to Harrison.
A week later, the offense got off to another slow start against McCutcheon.
But now, four straight games scoring at least 37 points.
"Week 1 we had a ton of new guys getting their first start, including me," quarterback Carson Kitchel said. "It was a little shaky at first and we had to push through that. Each week, we're gaining confidence and we're getting more comfortable with each other and I feel like our connections are very good now."
Kitchel's first half numbers on Saturday night read like this: 18-for-22, 222 yards, four touchdowns to three different receivers, including two to twin brother Cooper Kitchel and one to leading receiver Benny Speaker, who caught seven passes for 79 yards.
A quarterback by trade, Carson Kitchel moved to the defensive line last season just to get on the field.
Now a senior, he finally earned the starting quarterback job.
In his first game, Carson Kitchel threw two interceptions and for just 127 yards.
In five games since: 1,290 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 0 interceptions while completing 74 percent of his passes.
"He wanted it all summer long," said receiver Niko Roumbakis, who caught a 20-yard touchdown Saturday. "He came in the building and every day came to work. All the receivers, you know, we've got a lot of young guys in different spots, we just had to take it week by week."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette trending in right direction with big game upcoming
