Holcomb falls to Liberal in football season opener

Courtesy of Kirk Hutchinson
Holcomb, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The Holcomb Longhorns lost a back-and-forth contest against the Liberal Redskins, 23-17, as Liberal scored the winning touchdown with 18 seconds to play.

The penalty-marred game was close all night with only seven points being scored in the first half.

After a scoreless 1st quarter, Holcomb overcame three big penalties on a 12-play, 77-yard drive, with Manny Reyes breaking tackles and dashing into the end zone on an 11-yard run. Emmanuel Anguiano added the extra point and the Longhorns led 7-0 at halftime.

Holcomb went up two touchdowns midway through the 3rd quarter when Korbin Johnson picked off Liberal quarterback Brooks Kappelman and returned the interception 20 yards for a Longhorn touchdown. Anguiano’s PAT gave Holcomb a 14-0 advantage with 6:52 to play in the quarter.

The Redskins responded with a 7-play, 77-yard drive, capped by Kappelman’s 2-yard TD run. Kappelman also hit two big passes of 41 and 27 yards on the drive. Liberal added a two-point conversion and Holcomb’s lead was 14-8.

The Longhorns coughed up the lead on their next possession as Liberal’s Adan Mata intercepted a Keegan Johnson pass and returned it 36 yards for a TD. The extra point gave the Redskins a 15-14 lead with 1:44 to play in the 3rd quarter.

Johnson would be picked off again on the next series, but the Longhorn defense kept Liberal at midfield. A short punt gave Holcomb the ball at their own 39, with 9:47 to play in the game. The Horns put together a 12-play drive down to the Redskin 1-yard line. Facing a 4th-and-goal at the 1, 1st-year head coach Trey Teeter elected to kick a field goal and retake the lead. Anguiano nailed the 18-yarder and Holcomb led 17-15 with 3:31 left in the game.

Brooks Kappelman then made the play of the game for Liberal. Facing a fourth down at his own 34-yard line, Kappelman dropped back, evaded the Longhorn pressure and scrambled for 26 yards to the Holcomb 40 to keep the drive alive. Then with 18 seconds to play, Kappelman hit Anthony Aragonez for a 21-yard touchdown pass and the lead. The Redskins added a two-point conversion to make it a 6-point game.

Holcomb returned the ensuing kick to its own 36-yard line, but could not connect on four passes in the final seconds to end the game.

Manny Reyes rushed for 115 yards on 18 carries, with one touchdown. Damon Mesa caught two passes for 32 yards and Korbin Johnson also caught two passes for 29 yards. As a team, Holcomb ran for 167 yards and passed for 99, with 266 yards total offense.

The biggest negative stat for the Longhorns was 10 penalties for 58 yards, something Coach Teeter emphasized working to clean up during his postgame interview. Teeter also praised the fight and effort in his team and looks forward to how good this team can be.

The Longhorns open the season 0-1 and will host Cimarron in week two this Friday.