Opportunistic; Beavers force six turnovers in rout of Holcomb
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–On Homecoming night Friday at Darner Field in Scott City, the last two undefeated GWAC teams faced off, with the winner possibly in the drivers seat to claim the league title. Scott City, who has won 11 of the first 12 meetings of this newly, developed rivalry, used four of Holcomb’s six turnovers in a 49-13 rout.
Effeciency has been a key for Scott City to getting out to big leads early on in the first four games. The Beavers scored on their first five possessions, and six of their first seven. Trey O’Neil started the scoring with a four-yard touchdown pass to Sloan Baker with 5:52 left in the first quarter, and led 7-0 after a Tre Stewart PAT. They led 10-0 after Stewart booted in a 26-yard field goal late in the first quarter.
Right off the bat in the second period the game would be put away for the Beavers. Facing third and seven from the 23, a Trey Teeter pass was intercepted by Sloan Baker to the Longhorn two yard line. One the next play, Wyatt Kropp would walk into the end zone to give Scott City a 16-0 lead. Holcomb (3-1, 2-1 GWAC) fumbled on the next possession, setting up the Beavers at the Horns 35 yard line. Seven plays later, O’Neil connected with Chantz Yager on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 7:41 left in the first half. The two-point conversion failed, and Scott City took a 22-0 lead. Following another Baker interception of Teeter, the Beavers found paydirt again. Cooper Griffith went through the middle of the Holcomb defense for a five-yard touchdown run with 4:17 left before the half. Stewart’s kick pushed the lead to 29-o.
Overall, Holcomb committed five turnovers in the second quarter alone. Scott City (4-0, 3-0) never snapped the ball in their own territory in the second quarter. Following the O’Neil interception of Teeter, the Beavers drove down the field, as Yager caught a five-yard pass from O’Neil with 35 seconds before the break. Stewart’s PAT gave Scott City a 36-0 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Beavers picked up from where they left off. It took only five plays for Scott City to strike again, as Kropp took the handoff 71 yards for his second score of the night to make it 42-0 Beavers. On the ensuing kickoff, Holcomb fumbled after a long kickoff return, and Scott City forced their sixth turnover of the night. The Beavers were unable to score on that drive and were forced to punt for the first time since the season opener. On third down from the 26, O’Neil found Kropp in the left flat, and he took it the distance to give Scott City a 49-0 lead, after the Stewart extra point kick with 2:28 left in the third quarter. After that, a running clock was put into play, due to a GWAC rule of a 45-point margin in the second half.
Holcomb got on the board late in the game. With 4:56 remaining, Brandon Stegman scored from three yards out, and the two-point conversion failed.
Scott City gained 457 yards of total offense using balance. They had 233 yards on the ground and 224 through the air. Trey O’Neil was 15-of-22 for 224 with a career-tying four touchdown passes. That’s the second time in thee games he’s had four scoring tosses. Chantz Yager had six receptions for 69 yards and two scores. Wyatt Kropp rushed for 175 yards on 15 carries and two scores on the ground and one through the air.
Holcomb finished with 159 yards of offense. Trey Teeter was eight-of 14 for 70 yards with three interceptions. Dillon Williams had four rushes for 44 yards to lead the ground game. Christian Merz led the Longhorns with three receptions for 31 yards.
Both teams have two more GWAC games left on their schedule. Scott City travels to Hugoton on Friday night, while Holcomb visits Colby.
Glenn O’Neil Postgame
