Law defense dominates in blowout win over Dallas
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Dodge City, KS-Dodge City Coach Sean Ponder was not shy when he was asked about his defense during the preseason.
“They’re really good,” the veteran skipper said. “Everyone will see it.”
Through five games, Ponder’s premonition has proved prophetic with one caveat: that defense may be even better than advertised.
The Law forced four more turnovers while Daniel McKinney hauled in three touchdown receptions as Dodge City rolled past Dallas 56-19 Saturday night at United Wireless Arena.
“It feels good,” Ponder said of his team’s first ever 5-0 start. “Our defense continues to impress week in and week out.”
It was that side of the ball that swung the tide from a disastrous beginning.
Anthony Webb intercepted Rudy Johnson’s first pass attempt of the game and returned it 39 yards to the Law 1. On the very next play, free-agent acquisition Kewan Dewberry scampered off of left guard for a one-yard touchdown, giving the Marshals a 7-0 lead.
“It wasn’t a great start,” Ponder admitted. “We can’t keep doing that.”
On their second possession, the Law moved the ball from their own 20 to the Dallas 3. But on first-and-goal, Webb knocked the ball out of Kamalie Matthews’ hands, and Joe Powell recovered it in the end zone for the Marshals.
“You can’t give teams free possessions in this league,” Ponder said. “Fortunately we turned things around. But we’ve done that in a couple of games this season.”
With a chance to put their foot on Dodge City’s neck early, Dallas (1-3) stumbled, and Dewberry’s third-down pass was picked off by Trayonti Johnson at the Marshals 15.
“That turnover flipped the game,” Ponder said. “We never looked back.”
Moments later, D.J. Abnor sprinted into the end zone from nine yards out to tie the game at 7.
Unfortunately for Dallas Head Coach Larry Hendrix, their problems were just beginning.
Facing a second-and-7 from their own 8 the next time they had the ball, Dewberry appeared to complete a pass to Ed Young. But as the receiver was rolling onto his back, the ball popped into the air where Trey Dudley intercepted it at the Dallas 15.
“That was a heck of a play by Trey,” Ponder said. “Our defense saw that we were in a hole and came roaring back.”
Two plays later, Johnson found McKinney in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard score giving Dodge City a 14-7 advantage. It capped off a sequence where the Law forced two turnovers and scored 14 points in an eight-minute stretch.
The Marshalls looked lifeless the rest of the night.
After Chad Morrow missed a 37-yard field goal for the Marshals, the Law responded with a four-play, 45-yard drive, sparked by Johnson’s 31-yard touchdown pass to McKinney for a 21-7 lead with 1:29 to go in the first.
“We did some really good things on offense tonight,” Ponder said. “But we also made way too many mistakes.”
Ponder was eluding to his team’s five turnover night in which (Rudy) Johnson threw a season-high three interceptions.
“He (Johnson) is a rookie,” Ponder said. “Those things are going to happen. The last time he made some mistakes, he bounced back the next week.”
Meantime for Dallas, their fortunes went from bad to worse. A 10-play drive that covered 34 yards, stalled at the Dodge City 4. Morrow came on and drilled a 19-yard field goal, but the sequence was a major win for the Law defense.
“I don’t look at total yardage,” Ponder admitted. “It’s all about what our defense does in the red zone. Tonight, we were superb.”
The Law responded to the Marshal’s field goal with 21 straight points, which began with Marquis Deadwiler’s five-yard touchdown run with 5:46 remaining in the half. Dudley added a 55-yard field-goal return for a touchdown before Johnson closed the half with an 18-yard scoring toss to McKinney for a 42-10 advantage.
Dallas added a 24-yard, Morrow field goal in the closing seconds to cut the Dodge City lead to 42-13.
“Everything that we do is predicated on our defense,” Ponder said.
Dodge City (5-0) held the Marshals to just 58 total yards in the first half and 128 for the game. They limited Dallas to just six points in the second half on Dewberry’s five-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“To hold an indoor team to just two touchdowns and 19 points is superb,” Ponder added. “You cannot ask for anything more than that.”
Dodge City ended any miracle comeback hopes on Dallas’s first series of the second half. Dewberry’s pass to Stacey Martin was intercepted by Dudley. On the next play, Johnson hit McKinney for 37 yards before connecting with Matthews for a four-yard score. Abnor closed out the scoring late in the third with a three-yard touchdown run.
“At the end of the day, we are 5-0,” Ponder said. “We’ve never been 5-0 before. Now we have a big one with a very good football team next week.”
Despite the win, the (Rudy) Johnson and backup Andrew Jackson combined to throw three interceptions in the second half.
“We have to clean that up,” Ponder said. “We cannot continue to make those mistakes.”
Johnson finished the night 15-of-24 for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Abnor carried the ball seven times for 24 and two scores while McKinney fell five yards shy of tying a career high for receiving yards with 106.
Dewberry was just 15-of-33 for 117 yards and four interceptions for Dallas, who dropped to 0-9 lifetime away from home. Mon Williams had 29 yards on the ground, and Martin caught five balls for 46 yards.
Next up: Dodge City at Texas-Saturday, April 8-6:30 p.m. pregame; 7:05 p.m. kick on 98.1 FM; westernkansasnews.com/z98 and KSKZ mobile app
