WEST MIDDLESEX — The spirit was there. But so was the fatigue.

West Middlesex used a power running game to wear down Moniteau and hand the Warriors a 27-8 high school football defeat Saturday night.

“Their coach told me after the game our kids are scrappy,” Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell said. “I told the kids that was a compliment.

“We have six guys playing both ways. That’s a lot. We just don’t have the numbers right now.”

The host Big Reds (1-1) rushed for 215 yards on 42 carries. The bulk of that belonged to senior Luke Patten, who had 20 carries for 151 yards. That included a 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 29-yard burst to the Moniteau 2-yard line that set up the game-clinching score late in the fourth.

“That kid runs hard and straight ahead,” Campbell said. “He did a nice job for them.”

“It’s a good thing we wore them down, because we were sloppy tonight,” West Middlesex coach Jason McElhaney said. “We were playing a team we knew little about, playing on a Saturday night. ... There was just a different feel to this game.”

West Middlesex was penalized 11 times for 90 yards Saturday.

“I think we had two procedure calls in our first game (a 13-10 loss to Wilmington). That was it,” McElhaney said.

The game was scoreless until early in the second quarter when Moniteau quarterback Denny Pry was sacked and lost the football inside his own 5-yard line. The Big Reds’ Eric Lucich picked up the loose ball and rambled into the end zone.

A 51-yard bomb to Sage Pope set up a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Trey Staunch and a 20-0 West Middlesex lead with 3 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We handed them their first score and a blown coverage set up that one,” Campbell said. “We were hanging with that team otherwise and we just got done playing two of the elite teams in District 10.”

The Warriors (0-2) dropped a 35-0 decision at Sharpsville, the defending D-10 Class A champion, last week.

Stephen Hagg recovered a West Middlesex fumble at the Moniteau 7 to hold off a Big Reds’ drive early in the third quarter. Andrew Armagost, Jarod Hull and Brendon Stamm anchored a stubborn Warrior defense all night.

A 55-yard kickoff return by Trevor Schmoll set up a 35-yard Warrior scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. Pry tossed a 17-yard TD pass to Drew Yeckel with 11 minutes remaining.

“I don’t know where our guys were at during that sequence,” McElhaney said. “They hit a couple of passes on us there.”

The points ended a seven-quarter Moniteau scoreless streak to begin the season. The Warriors managed only five first downs and 71 net offensive yards Saturday. Pry was sacked five times.

“We finally looked like an offense there late,” Campbell said. “We have to start putting some things together, but we have faced two very good opponents and we have more good ones coming up.

“The kids are giving everything they’ve got and we’re showing improvement. As a coach, that’s all I can ask.”

West Middlesex 27, Moniteau 8

Moniteau 0 0 0 8 — 8

W.Middlesex 0 14 6 7 — 27

M WM

5 First Downs 14

31-24 Rushes-Yards 42-215

47 Passing Yards 121

4-11-1 Comp.-Att.-Int 6-14-0

71 Total Yards 336

5-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-1

3-45 Penalty Yards 10-90

Second Quarter

WM — Eric Lucich 3 fumble return (Trey Staunch kick), 9:30

WM — Luke Patten 40 run (Staunch kick), 1:45

Third Quarter

WM — Staunch 1 run (kick failed), :03

Fourth Quarter

M — Drew Yeckel 17 pass from Denny Pry (Trevor Schmoll pass from Fry), 11:00

WM — Staunch 2 run (Staunch kick), 3:28

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Moniteau, Denny Pry 12-(-22), Dustin Geagan 14-38, Trevor Schmoll 5-8. West Middlesex, Trey Staunch 12-36, Luke Patten 20-151, Austin Mirizio 4-9, Eric Lucich 2-6, TEAM 1-1, Joey Trippy 3-12.

Passing: Moniteau, Denny Pry 4-11-47-1. West Middlesex, Trey Staunch 6-14-121-0.

Receiving: Moniteau, Drew Yeckel 3-36, Cody Skiver 1-11. West Middlesex, Luke Patten 1-18, Eric Lucich 1-0, Sage Pope 2-83, Jeremy Jancso 2-11.