Beavers begin playoff run at home against Ellsworth

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–For the ninth straight year, the Scott City Beavers will be playing on a Tuesday night. It will be the sixth straight season the Beavers will host the Bi-District game, as the Ellsworth Bearcats come to Darner Field for the 6 pm kickoff. 

Ellsworth has won two straight and enters tonight’s game with a record of 5-4, following their 57-30 win over the Sterling Black Bears Thursday night in Ellsworth. The Bearcats are from the North Central Activities Association, where they finished 3-3. Among their opponents, five teams they faced qualified for the playoffs, and they finished 1-4 against them. Ellsworth has only five seniors on their squad, and nine upperclassmen on a team that has made the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years. The Bearcats have not won a playoff game since 1987, when they made it to the Sub-State round of the Class 3A Playoffs. Sophomore Ian Trapp leads the team in passing and rushing for a team that averages 20 points a game and gives up 25.

Scott City will host their sixth straight Bi-District game, and are coming off a 49-0 shutout win over the Cimarron Bluejays Thursday night in the District 16 championship game. The 9-0 Beavers used three touchdown passes, a punt return and a rushing score by all seniors in the first half to build up a 35-0 halftime lead. This year, Scott City has outscored their opponents by an average of 47-7, and have recorded four shutouts. What has been impressive so far through the first nine games is that the Beavers have a turnover margin of plus-16 on the season, and are led by Trey O’Neil through the air and Cooper Griffith on the ground.

Scott City has won their last 10 Bi-District games, dating back to 2001, and have one of the top 10 active playoff win totals in Kansas High School Football history with 42. Their last Bi-District loss came in 1998, when they fell to Pratt. 

A win by Scott City will put them on the road on Saturday, either at Norton or Riley County. The Bluejays of Norton will host the Falcons at Travis Field at 6 pm.

The first-ever meeting between Ellsworth and Scott City kicks off at 6 pm at Darner Field. Pregame coverage begins at 5:30 on KSKL, Mix 94, and online at https://www.westernkansasnews.com/mix94/. You can also listen on your Android or Apple device by using the TuneIn or KSKL app.