Cheney blitzes Scott City
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Scott City knew that they would be in for their toughest test of the season on Friday night, as they hosted the Cheney Cardinals in the Sectional round of the Class 3A Playoffs. Unfortunately for the Beavers, it would be a long night, as the Cardinals outscored Scott City 24-0 in the second half, and ended the Beavers’ season with a 38-7 victory, advancing them to their first sub-state game next week.
Cheney would score right away on the opening kickoff, on a 91-yard kickoff return by Seth Teague with 11:46 left in the first quarter to put them up 7-0 with the Hunter Ivory PAT. Followin a Scott City three-and-out, the Cardinals would strike quickly, as Riley Petz scored from 26 yards out with 8:35 left in the first period to go up 14-0 with the Ivory kick. The Beavers would have to convert a fourth down to keep their second drive alive, and it would pay off. Scott City got on the board with 4:44 left in the first quarter on a 10 yard Hunter Yager run to pull to within 14-7 after the Alexis Reyes PAT. That capped off an eight-play, 74-yard drive in just under four minutes.
Both teams would go scoreless in the second quarter, but would move the football deep into each others territory. Late in the first half, Cheney drove to the Scott City eight yard line, before an Isaac Tarango Interception in the end zone ended the threat, as the Cardinals took a 14-7 lead at the break.
Scott City would be unable to take advantage of good field position in the third quarter, as they started at their own 44, own 49 and Cheney 24 yard line. The Cardinals forced a punt on the Beavers’ opening drive, and began a string of four scores in their first five possessions in the second half. Their first came on a six-play, 82-yard drive in 2:49, when Zac Block finished the drive off with a one-yard run with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter to go up 20-7. The extra point was blocked. Following a Scott City three-and-out, Cheney went on a three-play, 63-yard drive in over a minute, using a 53-yard touchdown pass from Harrison Voth to Riley Petz with 2:32 left in the third quarter to go up 27-7 with the Ivory PAT.
The Cardinals would add two more scores in the fourth quarter. Their first came on a Block three-yard run with 8:08 left. Harrison Voth would fake the extra point kick and throw it to Luke Grace for the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 35-7. Cheney’s final points of the night came with 4:14 left on a 34-yard Hunter Ivory field goal to make the final 38-7.
Scott City was only able to get one first down in the second half, which came on a roughing the kicker penalty on Cheney.
Harrison Voth was 5-10 passing for 200 yards and a touchdown pass, while Zac Block went 6-10 passing for 86 yards. The Cardinals finished with 144 rushing yards and had 420 yards of offense. Riley Petz had 100 yards rushing on 12 carries and a touchdown, and added 61 yards receiving on three receptions and a touchdown. Voth and Luke Grace each had 72 receiving yards.
For Scott City, they finished with a season-low 107 yards of offense. They were only able to net two yards in the second half. Parker Gooden went 6-19 passing for 53 yards with an interception. Justus McDaniel had 39 of those yards on one catch. Hunter Yager carried the ball five times for 23 yards. The Beavers rushed for 54 yards.
Cheney improved to 7-6 all-time in the playoffs, and won their first quarterfinal game in school history. They have outscored their opponents in the second half 41-0 over their last two games. This is their second playoff appearance, as they improve to 9-3 for the second time in three years.
Scott City saw their record in the playoffs drop to 52-21 and 27-11 at home, wrapping up their 25th playoff appearance and their 14th straight playoffs. They are now 5-7 all-time in the sectional round of the playoffs. Their streak of 72 games scoring at least 10 points came to an end. The last time they scored fewer than 10 points was in 2013 at Ulysses in a 25-6 loss. It was also their largest margin of defeat at home since their 42-6 loss to Goodland in 2003. The Beavers finish their season at 8-3.
Over the last 10 seasons, Scott City is 105-14, with one state championship, one state runner-up finish, two additional sub-state finishes, three games ending in the sectional, and three games ending in the regional round. That’s quite an accomplishment.
Cheney will take on 11-0 Andale, who shut out Beloit 42-0 on Friday night in Beloit. The game will be in Andale next week. It’s a rematch of a 29-22 Andale win over Cheney on October 25.
Assistant Coach Dakota Hayes Postgame
