POCATELLO – Declo running back Keegan Duncan was like a stock car among passenger vehicles.

West Side tried its best to keep the Hornets’ star off the raceway by playing keep away with a grind-it-out offensive game plan, but it was not enough in a 41-27 loss Friday in the 2A state semifinals at Holt Arena.

Duncan scored five touchdowns and compiled a remarkable 446 yards rushing on 24 carries.

“He’s just so fast,” West Side coach Tyson Moser said. “And he’s a tough kid. He’s a big kid. He’s bigger than most kids out here and by far faster than anybody out here. So he’s the best 2A player by far.”

Burning minutes off the clock was not a bad plan. The Pirates (8-3) were down 13-7 at halftime against a team that runs over its opponents. West Side converted four of five fourth downs in the first two quarters to keep the ball out of the hands of Duncan, who started the game with two rushing TDs of 76 and 61 yards.

Bruising back Jake Moser orchestrated West Side’s prodding pace by running for 66 yards on 17 carries in the first half before suffering a knee injury that kept him out of the second half. Without him, West Side had three consecutive three-and-outs to start the third quarter.

“That first half we were able to keep the game close by running clock, by running ball control,” Tyson Moser said. “We knew we couldn’t get into a scoring battle with Declo. It wasn’t going to be a game of big plays for us. We had to line up, run the ball 3 or four 4 a carry and try to keep the clock running, and in the first half we did a really good job of that.”

West Side was one win away from its first state title appearance since 2014, when the Pirates defeated 2A District 5 foe Aberdeen to capture their fifth state title.

But the path back was too difficult with the hurdle that was Declo (12-0), which was outscoring opponents 47-16 on average entering the game and had beaten West Side 41-7 in October.

The 27 points the Pirates scored are the second-most Declo has allowed this season. Until the end Friday, West Side piled on points, scoring 20 in the fourth quarter, including six on a double pass from quarterback Wayne Beckstead to receiver Dillon Lemmon, who tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Robinson at the start of the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 28-14.

Coach Moser said the goal that was set in the summer was to make it to the state quarterfinals with an inexperienced team. The Pirates did one better.

“I’m super proud of these kids.” Moser said. “We went farther than we even hoped we would, so this team’s done a great job, especially as young as they are.”

{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}Keegan Duncan 76-yard TD run gives Declo 7-0 lead over West Side with 9:47 left in Q1. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/UKh9CNRbvk— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}Declo recovers fumble after West Side travels into Hornets territory. Duncan scored two plays later on 61-yard run, making it 13-0 with 2:13 left in Q1. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/xRYGOKE9x9— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}West Side turns balls over on first and goal from Declo’s 1 in Q2. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/hDu8NdkIhQ— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}Jake Moser 9-yard run cuts West Side’s deficit to 13-7 with 2:45 left in Q2. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/dpm0OC09C9— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}Duncan 12-yard run gives Declo 21-7 lead with 6:14 left in Q3. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/0lNBTzSflN— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}McKay Breshears 3-yard TD run gives Declo 28-7 lead with 3:09 left in Q3. Pirates have started second half with two three-and-outs. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/33yQrIb6HK— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}West Side scores TD on trick play to cut deficit to 14, but Declo’s Duncan answers on next offensive play with 75-yard run to increase lead to 34-14 with 9:53 left in Q4. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/3OVv9vv0Ca— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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{blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”}{p lang=”en” xml:lang=”en” dir=”ltr”}Beckstead 1-yard run cuts West Side’s deficit to 41-27 with 40 seconds left in game. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/5pP6Vq4mla— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) November 11, 2017{/blockquote}

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