Buffaloes take back the Hatchet
Listen to the complete game in our archives section
Dodge City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-If nothing else, last year’s Hatchet game showed Garden City that they could not take anything or anyone for granted.
12 months after one of the most devastating losses of the Brian Hill era, the Buffaloes righted the ship in a big-time way.
Peyton Hill rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns; Jesse Nunez added a score through the air and on the ground, and the Buffaloes stole back the Hatchet with a 36-13 victory Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
It was the third straight year that the road team won in the series.
“That was the worst feeling in the world,” said Garden City Coach Brian Hill, who passed Ed Hall for third on the school’s all-time wins list. “Losing that game last year hurt these kids. And they were on a mission these past two weeks to beat the two teams that ended our season last year.”
Garden City (7-0, 3-0) had control of the game for most of the night, and it began with their second possession of the contest.
Starting from their own 41, the Buffaloes methodically moved the ball down the field. On third-and-1 from the 50, Hill maneuvered his way for three yards. That was followed up by Nunez’s 17-yard strike to Zeke Herrera and the senior quarterbacks’ 19-yard dash to the 11. Moments later, Hill capped off the eight-play, 59-yard scoring drive with a two-yard blast into the end zone for a 6-0 lead (Garrett Doll’s pass to Ryan Jarmer was knocked away on the two-point conversion) with 3:16 to play in the first quarter.
“We never got away from what we do,” Hill explained. “We ran the ball, and when we had to throw it, we did.”
Garden City’s next score was setup when Rico Cherico recovered Dodge City quarterback Dawson Williams’ fumble at the Red Demon 33. Four plays later, Hill was in the end zone again-this time on a 13-yard rumble to pay dirt to put the Buffaloes in front 13-0 with 6:35 left in the first half.
“Our defense made big plays again,” Hill said. “It started at the end of the second quarter vs. Northwest and continued here tonight.”
Dodge City (4-3, 1-2) had no plans of going quietly.
Williams 22-yard scamper on third-and-2 from the Garden City 48 late in the second quarter, kept the drive alive. However; the play should never have happened because wide receiver Carlos Fernandez flinched before the snap, which should have induced a false start.
On the very next play, Williams kept it himself, sprinting right up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown that cut the Garden City lead to six.
“Give Dodge City a lot of credit,” Hill said. “They stuck to what they do best. But I thought our defense made some nice adjustments again.”
Any hopes of a close game between the two Western-Kansas rivals went up in smoke the next time the Buffaloes had the ball.
Nunez engineered a 10-play, 67-yard drive in the final three minutes, converting two third downs by himself with runs of three and 22-yards. After Hill carried defenders down to the 1-yard line, it was Nunez waltzing into the end zone for a 20-7 halftime edge.
“That last drive put us in control,” Hill said. “I can’t say enough about the execution. We scored, and didn’t allow Dodge City any time do answer back.”
Then Garden City opened the third quarter by featuring their newest offensive star.
Herrera, who had been begging Coach Hill for an opportunity at receiver, hauled in Nunez’s line-drive pass up the right hash marks, cut back to his left before splitting two Dodge City defenders en route to a 49-yard touchdown and a 26-10 advantage (a bad snap prevented Herrera’s extra-point try).
“He’s (Herrera) so athletic,” Hill said. “He has always asked to play on offense, and tonight he proved why.”
The Red Demons had their chances to get back into the game, like a third-quarter drive that spanned 19 plays and ate up nearly eight minutes. But three times inside the Garden City 5, Dodge City failed to reach the end zone. So they called on Fernandez, who drilled a 20-yard field goal to make it a 16-point contest with 1:39 to play in the period.
That was as close as Dodge City would get the rest of the night.
Herrera would add a field goal in the fourth quarter before Hill capped off his three-touchdown performance with a 20-yard backbreaking run to the house, giving the Buffaloes just their second 7-0 start in 25 years.
“Our guys are on a mission,” Hill said. “We have 12 months of makeup work to get through. But we have a major test next week.”
Nunez notched his 12th career 100-yard rushing game-carrying the ball 17 times for 103. Herrera caught two balls for 68 and a score while recording 12 tackles on defense.
Williams was just 4-of-12 for Dodge City, who lost at home for the second time this season. He added 206 rushing yards and a touchdown while Tylor Garcia had 71 yards on 19 carries.
Notes: Dodge City has not won a Hatchet game at home since 2012…The win guaranteed the Buffaloes at least one home playoff game (if the season ended today, they would play Wichita East again)…With the win, Garden City pulled to within just one-point of No. 2 seed Manhattan…The last time Garden City finished a season unbeaten was 1991-with a win over Great Bend on Friday, they would accomplish that feat
Next up: Garden City at Great Bend-6 p.m. kpreps; 6:30 p.m. pregame; 7 p.m. kick on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and mobile app: KWKR
