A few early mistakes snowballed for Lone Tree in a 54-14 loss at Winfield Mt. Union on Friday. 

The Lions took an early 7-0 lead, but a turnover, penalties, and a failed fourth down conversion at the WMU 5-yard line kept Lone Tree from scoring again in the first half. 

“After we scored and they kind of got after us a little bit, I think we just kind of laid down for them,” Lone Tree coach Joe Donovan said. “I just felt like we kind of disappeared when we got pushed around.”

WMU junior Cam Buffington rushed for 174 yards at over nine yards per carry. The 6-3 215-pound Iowa commit scored the Wolves’ first four touchdowns, including a 25-yard interception return for a score. The Wolves 6-5 tight end Abram Edwards, who is also drawing interest from Division I programs, caught four passes for 65 yards and finished with 123 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. 

The Lions struck first on Friday with a 15-yard touchdown pass on third-and-9. Ethan Bockelman found freshman Emmett Burke with a perfect pass to the corner of the endzone. 

The Lions connected on critical third downs twice early in the second quarter. Jader Sanchez caught a pass from Bockelman and took it 21 yards across midfield. On 3rd-and-7, Bockelman found Burke for nine yards to the WMU 17, but penalties backed the Lions into a punting situation. 

An 11-play 77-yard drive put the Wolves ahead 24-7, but Sanchez gave the Lions a chance to cut into the lead with a 55-yard kick return to the WMU 15. An eight-yard completion to Maddox Jondle had the Lions in 3rd-and-1 at the 6, but the next two carries left Lone Tree one chain link short of a first down. 

Bockelman had a 32-yard carry on the Lions’ opening drive and added a 44-yard rushing touchdown in the second half. He finished with 121 of Lone Tree’s 132 rushing yards. He also completed 8-of-18 passes for 76 yards. 

Defensively, Bockelman finished with 9.5 tackles, 8 solo stops, and made an interception to end the first half. Drew Gauley made 5.5 tackles, and Andrew Hotz had six tackles, including one for loss. Caden Smith and Maddox Jondle each had a stop in the backfield as well. 

“I thought Ethan Bockelman played a good game on both sides of the ball,” Donovan said. “Our kickers always kick the ball well, PATs or kickoffs. I thought Maddox Jondle played a nice game in the first half at linebacker there.”

Winfield-Mt. Union (4-2) has scored at least 44 points in all six of its games so far this season, including a 50-44 loss to New London. Buffington was injured during the Wolves’ 68-52 loss to Iowa Valley on September 2. 

The Lions(3-2) close the season with district games against No. 2 WACO (6-0), New London (3-3), and Iowa Valley (4-2).

““You can play this game catching people and letting them do what they want to do, or you can play this game aggressively, making tackles and making plays,” Donovan said. “And I felt like tonight we kind of sat and let them dictate to us the tempo, the physicality — and those are not fun nights. We’ve got some soul searching to do, because next week isn’t going to get any easier.”