September 05, 2025
Local NewsState & National

FOOTBALL: Lindsey leads in WCV win over Wolverines

NV/OM shows a lot of good despite loss

By Ryan Stonebraker
Wolverine junior tight end Caleb Christensen gets a block along the sideline from teammate Bram Dahl on a big first-half catch and run against WCV.

Wolverine junior tight end Caleb Christensen gets a block along the sideline from teammate Bram Dahl on a big first-half catch and run against WCV. (Caleb Nelson)

The first week of the 2025 football regular season saw the Nodaway Valley/OM Wolverines hosting nearly rival West Central Valley.

The two teams began eight straight Fridays of high school football with a non-district matchup. The game didn’t turn out how many here wanted as the Wildcats left town with a 40-0 victory.

“We were disappointed. We expected to play better and didn’t execute what we needed to do to win the football game,” NV/OM coach Jack West said. “We know we are capable. We are playing and executing better. The good news is that it is all fixable stuff and that is what we are going to work on this week. ”

West said that he was excited to get back to work with his team Monday.

“We are just getting started with the season. We have to show up Monday. We have to run the ball better and defensively we have to tackle better,” West said. “We feel like we are right there; we just have to get better at them.”

NV/OM senior Ashton Honnold (55) flushes WCV quarterback Colton Lindsay from the pocket in last Friday's football game in Greenfield.

NV/OM senior Ashton Honnold (55) flushes WCV quarterback Colton Lindsay from the pocket in last Friday's football game in Greenfield. (Caleb Nelson)

The Wolverines had 103 yards of total offense in the game with 89 passing and 14 rushing yards. Sophomore quarterback Titan Foster passed for 89 yards, going 7-for-13 with three interceptions, and had eight rushes for four yards. Senior running back Titus Hamer had a dozen carries for 17 yards while juniors Mason Payne and Erik Jensen, as well as sophomore Cassius Burnside, all had carries on the night.

Junior tight end Caleb Christensen leading receiver for the Wolverines with five catches for 62 yards. Defensively, he was tackle leader with 6.5 stops, including 3.5 for a loss, as well as a sack.

Other defensive tackle leaders for the Wolverines were Keyin Steeve and Ashton Honnold with 5.5, Parker Schneider with four and Jensen and Hamer with 3.5 each.

The Wildcats totaled 300 yards of total offense in the game with 124 passing and 182 rushing yards. Junior quarterback Colton Lindsay had 270 yards all by himself. He was 10-of-17 for 124 yards passing with two touchdowns. On the ground, Lindsay went for 146 yards on 18 carries with a score, averaging 8.1 yards per carry. He also had a pick-6.

The Wolverines had good field position for most of their offensive drives, routinely beginning drives on at least the 35 yard line. Moving the football into the red zone became tough.

One strong drive for NV/OM included Payne converting on fourth down with a run play and Christensen later catching a pass from Foster for a big gain.

The scoring began with 1:28 left in the first quarter when Lindsay connected with Garret Wolfe for the first of two scoring passes in the first half to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. Another Lindsay to Wolfe pass and a Lindsey 23-yard run late in the first half gave West Central Valley a 20-0 halftime lead.

Two of the three Wildcat second-half touchdowns were on the defensive side on pick-6s, Lindsay returning one for 24 yards and Wyatt McKibban one for 35. Jarel Madison capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a short rush to paydirt.

The Wolverines will play at home in week two as Central Decatur comes to town. The Cardinals won 42-21 at home to Saydel in Week 1. The Cardinals had an offensive explosion of 430 yards in the game, including 364 yards passing. The Cardinals defeated the Wolverines 22-6 last year and have won four of the last five meetings between the schools.