Holcomb remains unbeaten

Goodland, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-The Holcomb Longhorns overcame 14 penalties, 2 turnovers and a sluggish offense for three quarters of the game to pull away from the Goodland Cowboys for a 34-6 win. Holcomb scored on the game’s opening drive, despite four penalties, capping off the 65-yard, 11-play drive with a 15 yard run from Dillon Williams.

After that, things got sloppy. Andrew Morss fumbled a Cowboy punt that set Goodland up at the Holcomb 32, but the Cowboys gave it back two plays later. Then the 30-40 miles an hour wind got into the act, knocking down a Conner Van Cleave punt that traveled only 21 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Again, the Longhorn defense kept the Cowboys from taking advantage of great field position, forcing a four-and-out. Holcomb would then drive to the Goodland 5, boosted by a 40-yard run from Dillon Williams, but the Longhorns would turn it over on downs.

Holcomb finally got into the end zone again late in the second quarter, thanks to the gusty winds which pushed a Levi Archer punt backwards, setting the Longhorns up just seven yards from paydirt. Conner Van Cleave made the Cowboys pay, catching a 5-yard pass from Trey Gilbert and Holcomb took a 12-0 lead to the locker room.

Goodland got on the board in the third quarter, getting a shot of adrenaline from Nolan Deeds, who took an inside screen 55 yards, setting up the Cowboys at the 12 yard line. Then on fourth down, Darian Kent scooted in from the 3, cutting Holcomb’s lead in half, 12-6. The Longhorns looked like they might answer, quickly driving to the Cowboy 3, but a bad snap put Holcomb in a fourth and long situation and Levi Archer picked off a Gilbert pass at the goal line. The defense rose up again, forcing a three-and-out. Holcomb opened the fourth quarter with a three-play 46 yard touchdown drive, capped when Gilbert hit Brandon Stegman for 40 yards and a 20-6 lead. On Holcomb’s next possession, Kaden Tichenor caught a pass over the middle and raced 59 yards to stretch the lead to 28-6. The final score of the night came after the Longhorns recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Stegman finished it off from one yard out to make it 34-6. Michael Roth would pick off an Archer pass with 3:26 remaining and Holcomb ran out the clock.

The Holcomb defense continues to shut down offenses, holding Goodland to just 155 yards, 87 passing and 68 rushing. Holcomb also won the turnover battle with two to Goodland’s three. Meanwhile, the Longhorns rolled up 325 yards total offense and 5 touchdowns. Trey Gilbert threw touchdown passes to Conner Van Cleave, Brandon Stegman and Kaden Tichenor. Dillon Williams and Stegman added rushing touchdowns.

The Cowboys drop to 1-3 on the season, 0-1 in the GWAC. The Longhorns remain undefeated at 4-0, 3-0 in league play, and will travel to Colby next Friday for another conference battle. The pregame show will begin at 6:30, with kickoff at 7:00 on AM 1030 KBUF.