Scott City shuts out Cimarron in storm-shortened game

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It was Military Appreciation Night on Friday night for the season opener, as Scott City played host to the Cimarron Bluejays to kick off the 2022 season. The Beavers would control every aspect of the game, as they won 42-0 in a game that ended early.

Scott City took the opening drive 61 yards on six plays. With 10:05 left in the opening period, Lawson Bailey scored from 26 yards out. Aldo Mendez booted in the extra point to give the Beavers the early 7-0 lead. Cimarron had their lone first down on their opening drive on a third down conversion, but were forced to punt. Scott City would take advantage of short field, and two plays later, Brady Welker scored from 17 yards out to go up 14-0 with 6:05 left in the first quarter. 

Following a three-and-out and a short punt by the Bluejays, the Beavers scored on the first play of the drive. Jace Thomas found paydirt from 30 yards out with 4:30 remaining in the opening period. Scott City would sack Cimarron quarterback Trace Kopper at his own five on the ensuing drive, and forced him to fumble that was recovered by the Beavers at the Bluejay four. Bailey would score on the next play to push the score to 28-0 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

Following an interception by JP Harris at the 25, Dylan Metzger connected with Thomas on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:51 left in the first quarter to extend the lead to 35-0. The Beavers scored three touchdowns in 39 seconds. Their final score came after a blocked punt. Collin McDaniel scored with 46.1 seconds left in the first quarter to extend the lead to 42-0 with the Munoz PAT. 

After the extra point, officials and administrators suspended the game at approximately 7:35 pm, due to lightning in the area. With nearly an hour into the delay, the game was called, as both coaches mutually agreed to call the game. 

Scott City ended up with 25 yards passing, as Metzger completed his lone pass for a touchdown to Jace Thomas. They rushed for 148 yards unofficially, as Jace Thomas had 65 yards, Brady Welker had 38 yards rushing, Lawson Bailey 37 yards on the ground, Collin McDaniel had eight yards and Alex Tarango had three yards. 

Cimarron finished with minus-14 yards of offense, all on the ground. Trace Kopper was 0-3 passing with an interception. The Bluejays had two turnovers.

With the win, Scott City has won six straight season openers, and 14 of their last 15 Week 1 games. They also scored the most pints since their 41-0 win at Russell in October of 2019. The win also saw coach Jim Turner win his 47th game, giving him sole possession of the sixth most wins in program history. He was tied with Larry Huck and Otis Darner with 46 wins. 

Scott City will be on the road for the next three weeks, as they will head to Wray, Colorado for an 8 pm Central Time start next Friday. The Eagles are 2-0 on the year, after a 36-16 win over Goodland on Friday. The Cowboys had a 16-14 lead in the third quarter, before Wray scored the games final 22 points. Cimarron will host Holcomb next Friday, who defeated Liberal on the road 34-20.

Scoring Summary
SC 1st 10:05 Lawson Bailey 26 yard run (Aldo Munoz Kick) 7-0 (6-61, 1:55)
SC 1st 6:05 Brady Welker 17 yard run (Munoz Kick) 14-0 (2-35, :31)
SC 1st 4:30 Jace Thomas 30 yard run (Munoz Kick) 21-0 (1-30, :06)
SC 1st 4:07 Bailey 4 yard run (Munoz Kick) 28-0 (1-4, :04)
SC 1st 3:51 Thomas 25 yard pass from Dylan Metzger (Munoz Kick) 35-0 (1-25, :07)
SC 1st :46.1 Collin McDaniel 8 yard run (Munoz Kick) 42-0 (3-15, 1:01)