Beavers pull away from Cimarron

Cimarron, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It’s not often you see the losing team run nearly double the plays, win the time of possession and nearly double their opponent in first downs. That’s exactly what happened Friday night at Cimarron. The biggest key in Friday night’s Scott City road victory were turnovers. The Beavers forced five turnovers, and turned them into 21 points, as they pulled away form the Bluejays in a 34-6 win in a non-league battle.

Cimarron would hold the ball in their first two possessions for eight minutes and 49 seconds, yet came up empty-handed in both possessions. The Bluejays would be intercepted at the Beaver 24 yard line for their first turnover of the night. On the very next play, it was Jarret Jurgens rushing right side for a 76-yard touchdown with 1:18 remaining in the first quarter, and the Moses Hinojos PAT gave Scott City the early 7-0 lead.

The Beavers would score on their next possession following a turnover on downs at the Scott City 33 yard line. Four plays later, it was Jurgens rushing it in from 25 yards out with 8:49 left in the half to make it 14-0 Scott City following the Hinojos extra point kick. The Bluejays and Beavers would trade interceptions, as Cimarron would have two interceptions and Scott City one fumble in three consecutive possessions between the teams. Eventually, the Beavers would take a 14-0 halftime lead.

Toward the end of the halftime break, one of the lights at the field would spark up and eventually catch fire. There would be about a 30-minute delay in the game, when electric crews would bring in a temporary light pole.

Scott City would go three-and-out to begin the second half and Cimarron would have their opening drive. Wyatt Hayes would force the Bluejays into their fourth interception of the game, and take it down to the Cimarron 17 yard line. Two plays later, it was a 15-yard touchdown pass from Parker Gooden to Marshal Faurot with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter to give Scott City a 21-0 lead after the Hinojos PAT. Late in the third period, the Bluejays would find paydirt. A nine-play, 36-yard drive would be capped off by a Jaylen Pickle one-yard plunge to pull Cimarron to within 21-6. They would miss the two-point conversion.

In the fourth quarter, it would be the Beavers would would take advantage of a short Bluejay punt. On fourth down and one, Wyatt Hayes would break a couple of tackles on his way to a 38-yard touchdown run with 8:42 remaining to push the lead to 28-6, following the Hinojos extra point. Scott City would slam the door shut on the next play after a Cimarron muffed punt catch. Hayes scored from 12 yards out to cap the scoring with 4:45 remaining to give the Beavers a 34-6 lead and the win.

The time of possession favored Cimarron 33:46- 14:14, and the first downs were 14-8 in favor of the Bluejays. Scott City would win the turnover battle 5-1.

Jarret Jurgens rushed for 111 yards on seven carries and one touchdown, while Wyatt Hayes added 106 yards on 13 carries and two scores. As a team, the Beavers finished with 230 yards on the ground and 251 yards of offense. Marshal Faurot had one catch for 15 yards and a touchdonw to lead the Beavers. Parker Gooden was 4-8 passing for 21 yards and a touchdown.

For Cimarron, Josh Seabolt had 33 carries for 92 yards. Dylan Harrison was 3-13 passing for 56 yards with four interceptions. Jaylen Pickle had two catches for 36 yards, as the Bluejays finished with 151 yards rushing and 207 yards of offense.

It was the first time all year Scott City surrendered over 200 yards of offense, despite holding their opponent to a season-low six points. The Beavers also scored a season-best 34 points. That was also a season low in points scored and points given up by Cimarron through three games.

Scott City has now won seven straight in the series. They have now started 3-0 in 12 out of their last 14 seasons, and Coach Jim Turner became the fastest to 10 wins in school history.

The 3-0 Beavers will return home for homecoming next Friday night with GWAC foe Hugoton. The Eagles missed a two-point conversion late, and fell to 1-2 with a 14-12 loss at Colby. Cimarron drops to 1-2 on the year, as they will begin a two-game road trip with a visit to rival Meade next Friday night. The Buffaloes picked up their first win of the year at Southwestern Heights in a 49-16 win over the Mustangs.

Assistant Coach Landon Frank Postgame