Scott City rallies to knock off Kingman

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–In the last two regional games, the Scott City Beavers found themselves down 14-0 at home. Two years ago, it was against Norton, who would rally for a late score to stun the Beavers 28-24. Last year, Holcomb never trailed on their way to a 34-20 win. For a third straight year, Scott City found themselves in a similar situation. However this time, it would be a different result. A second half rally helped the Beavers end their two-game regional playoff losing streak in a 21-14 thriller over the Kingman Eagles at Darner Field.

The Eagles would score the first two touchdowns of the game. Their first would come after a sack and fumble at the Beaver 35. A seven-play, 35-yard drive was capped off by a one-yard Devin Williams run with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter to go up 7-0 with the Luis Franco extra point kick.

After holding Scott City on a three-and-out, Kingman not only would go 86 yards, but they would chew up nearly nine minutes of game time. With 4:28 left in the second quarter, a one-yard Williams plunge gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead with the Franco PAT. Their drive went 15 plays, as they converted five third downs. It was the longest drive that the Beavers gave up this year, eclipsing the 61-yard drive by Holcomb in week two. Following the kickoff return to midfield by Marshal Faurot, the Beavers would put up their first points of the night. A seven-play, 50-yard drive was capped off by a Wyatt Hayes two-yard run with 1:15 left before halftime to cut the deficit in half to 14-7 with the Moses Hinojos kick.

Scott City would be intercepted on their first play of the second half, but would force a Kingman three-and-out. The Beavers would take advantage of good field position to tie the game up on their second series of the second half. With 7:32 remaining in the third quarter, Parker Gooden connected with Faurot on a 31-yard touchdown pass down the line, and the Hinojos PAT tied the game at 14, which would be the score heading into the fourth quarter.

In the dramatic fourth period, Scott City would grab the lead for good late in the game. On third down, Jarret Jurgens would grab the first down, cut it across the grain to his left, and find the end zone from 35 yards out with 4:30 remaining in the game to give the Beavers their first lead at 21-14 with the Hinojos extra point kick.

Kingman had two shots left. Their first shot saw them convert one fourth down, but not the second on an incomplete pass at their own 45 with 2:o3 left. Scott City would make one first down, but were unable to run off enough time, being stopped with just six-tenths of a second left. The Eagles would use their back up quarterback for one last desperation throw, and it would be intercepted by Adrian Ruelas to send the Beavers to the sectional round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Kingman would play ball control the entire first half, running 36 plays, compared to Scott City’s 13. Both teams would run 27 plays in the second half.

Parker Gooden went 5-8 passing for 82 yards, with a touchdown and interception. Marshal Faurot had two catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Jarret Jurgens led the ground game for Scott City with 113 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. The Beavers rushed for 163 yards, and finished with 245 yards of offense.

For Kingman John Molitor led the ground game with 118 yards on 21 carries. Kingman would rush 222 yards and finish with 253 yards of offense unofficially. Riley Krehbiel was 1-2 passing for two yards, while Molitor thew one pass at the end of the first half for 29 yards to Carter Oeding.

Scott City now leads the all-time series with Kingman 2-1. The teams split a home and home series in week nine in November, 1974 and 1975. The Beavers are now 47-18 all-time in 23 playoff appearances, and improved to 16-4 in the regional round.

After Friday, the Beavers improve to 10-0 on the year, the ninth time they’ve accomplished that feat. It is also the 14th time in school history they have won at least 10 games in a season. Kingman, who made their first playoff appearance since 2014, ended their season at 5-5.

Scott City will be at Clay Center next week. The Tigers rallied from a 20-6 halftime deficit at Nickerson, to stun the Panthers 21-20. Clay Center improved to 7-3 on the year.

Assistant Coach Dakota Hayes Postgame