Explosive second half leads Scott City to rout of Hugoton

Hugoton, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It was a tale of two halves Friday night in Hugoton. After a tightly-contested battle between the Beavers and Eagles in the first half, the game turned into a rout in the second half. Scott City scored on three of their first four possessions in the second half to win 35-7 on a warm and windy night.

After a scoreless first quarter, Scott City was the first team to get on the board. The Beavers took advantage of an interception and short field, and punched it in on a Wyatt Hayes one-yard run with 7:51 remaining in the first half to take the 7-0 lead that included a Gustavo Gonzalez extra point. Hugoton answered back after a Beaver punt. With 2:24 remaining before halftime, the Eagles got on the board with a 59-yard pass play from Valentino Degollado to Zack Leininger, and a Colby Korf PAT tied the game at seven, which would be the halftime score.

The second half belonged to the visitors. Scott City (2-2, 1-1 GWAC) used a seven-play, 65-yard drive to get started in the second half, as Jarret Jurgens ran it in from 15 yards out with 9:27 left in the third quarter to give the Beavers a 14-7 lead, following the Gonzalez extra point. After holding Hugoton on a three-and-out, the Beavers used a short field to give themselves a two score lead. On fourth and two from the Eagle 16, Wyatt Hayes ran by the blitzing defense and easily scored his second touchdown of the night, as Gonzalez booted in the extra point to give Scott City a 21-7 lead.

In the final period, the Beavers put the game away for good. Scott City’s longest scoring drive of the night ended with 9:20 remaining, when Wyatt Hayes punched it in from four yards out to give the Beavers a 28-7 lead. It was a drive that went eight plays and took just over four minutes off the clock. The dagger was put in for good just 47 seconds later, as Nick Nowak intercepted Degollado and ran it 26 yards to paydirt to finish the scoring at 35-7, following another Gonzalez PAT.

Scott City’s offense was stellar in the second half with ball control, but the defense may have shined throughout the night. Other than one long touchdown play, the Beaver defense forced two turnovers and kept Hugoton (2-2, 1-2) quarterback in check the whole night. Field position was key as well, as the Eagles started a drive at their own 30 yard line or worse nine out of 12 times. Hugoton came in punting just three times in their first three games, and were forced to punt six times, and other than their last drive of the game, they had only one first down in the second half.

Bo Hess was 6-12 passing for 96 yards, as Marshal Faurot had 46 receiving yards. Wyatt Hays had 16 carries for 96 yards and three touchdowns. The Beavers rushed for 158 yards and had 254 yards of offense. 

Hugoton was held to a season low in yards, coming in averaging 353 yards per game. They were held to only 161 yards of offense, and had only one rushing yard. Valentino Degollado was 11-18 passing for 160 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Zack Leininger had 85 receiving yards on five carries. Dawson Kerbow was the leading rusher with 13 yards on his lone carry late. Degollado finished with minus-12 yards on 17 carries, and at one time, was at minus-43, after being sacked several times. 

With the win, Scott City has now won seven straight against Hugton, all coming in GWAC play. 

Scott City returns home to face the Ulysses Tigers next Friday at Darner Field, while Hugoton travels to Goodland to take on the Cowboys next Friday. Ulysses improved to 2-2, as they gave Colby their first loss of the season 35-21, while Goodland hung tight with Holcomb through three quarters on Friday, before falling 34-6 to the Longhorns.

Assistant Coach Brian Gentry Postgame