Garden City’s defense rises up; shuts down South
Photo Courtesy of Shrimplin Photography
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Wichita, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-During his four-year stint on the varsity squad, Garden City linebacker Zeke Herrera has pleaded with his Head Coach to let him play receiver.
“Oh, he’s put the idea in my head several times,” Head Coach Brian Hill said with a big smile.”
Herrera did not line up at receiver on Friday, but he gave his coach a glimpse at what could be with another stellar play on defense.
The Buffaloes forced three Wichita South turnovers, including Herrera’s game-clinching pick-6 in the final two minutes as Garden City improved to 3-0 with a 21-6 victory Friday night at Carpenter Stadium.
It’s the first Buffalo team to start back-to-back seasons 3-0 since Dave Meadows’ Garden City squads did it back in 1990 and 1991.
“This guy (Herrera) keeps doing that,” Hill said referring to Herrera’s interception return for a touchdown. “He amazes me every week.”
Herrera’s heroics put away an opponent that had three different chances to take the lead in the final period. Two of those drives ended with punts; the third with Herrera’s theft.
Trailing 13-7 with 2:18 to go, South quarterback Evan Kruse dropped back to pass from his own 13. As he looked left, he thought he saw receiver Jariah Taylor coming open. But the illusion created by Dominic Dingle’s swarming defense gave the sophomore quarterback a false sense of protection. Kruse fired the ball towards his 6-2 target only to have Herrera jump the route and pick off the pass.
“He’s (Herrera) so athletic,” Hill said. “And he’s gotten better every year on varsity.”
Herrera’s instincts took over after that. He angled towards the right sideline and coasted into the end zone. Jesse Nunez added the two-point conversion, and Garden City led 21-6.
“Those are the types of plays we had to have in this game,” Hill said.
But before Herrera put his stamp on the contest, it was the Titans, who calmly and methodically, controlled the pace.
With the game scoreless in the second quarter, Wichita South (2-1) took possession at their own 22. 13 plays later, the Titans reached the end zone on the heels of Kruse’s 21-yard touchdown pass to AJ Hopper. But Dustin Le missed the extra point, and South led 6-0.
Garden City responded with an 11-play, 54-yard drive, spearheaded by two, third-down conversions; the second of those was setup by Quinton Lapointe’s 14-yard blast off right guard, which moved the ball to the Titans 11. Two plays later, Nunez found pay dirt: an eight-yard score that tied the game. Herrera added the extra point, and Garden City had a 7-6 edge with 2:27 left in the half.
“That’s the best defensive line we’ve seen all year,” Hill said. “Give them all the credit in the world. But when we needed to impose our will, we did.”
In the second half, Garden City’s defense flipped the script. Not once did the Titans cross the 50, and the Buffaloes held the once vaunted Wichita South offense to just 54 total yards over the final 24 minutes.
But the contest remained a one-score game entering the fourth, that was until Nunez dove into the end zone from a yard out, capping off nine-play, 56-yard scoring drive.
“This was a good test for our kids,” Hill said. “And I love the way our guys responded. Our defense played lights out.”
Nunez recorded his 11th career 100-yard rushing game, carrying the ball 33 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Lapointe added 33 yards on six attempts while Peyton Hill, who was knocked out of the game in the second half with a shoulder injury, totaled 29 yards on six carries.
Andrew Kreutzer caught three balls for 24 yards.
On the other side, Kruse completed just 7-of-15 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Sophomore TreVaunte Hunt carried it 25 times for 107 yards and Hopper caught three balls for 69.
Next up: Garden City vs. Hays-Friday, September 23-6 p.m. kpreps; 6:30 p.m. pregame; 7 p.m. kick on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR
