Scott City hits the road to take on Clay Center in Sectional Playoff game
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It won’t be the first time that Scott City will head into north central Kansas. In fact, it’s the second time in three weeks, as the Beavers make their second-ever trip to Clay Center to take on the Tigers at Otto D. Unruh Stadium. It is also the second time in three weeks that Scott City takes on a member of the North Central Kansas League.
Scott City snapped a two-game losing streak in the regional round of the playoffs with a come from behind win over the Kingman Eagles last Friday night 21-14 at Darner Field. The Eagles had their way in the first have with Scott City, forcing a fumble and driving at will against a stingy Beaver defense. In the second half, the Beavers would control things, scoring two touchdowns, including the go ahead score on a Jarret Jurgens 35-yard run with 4:30 remaining to pull out the win 21-14. Scott City did outgain Kingman in the contest 259-248, but were out rushed 217-178. They improved to 16-4 in regional games all-time and are 47-18 in the playoffs. This year, the Beavers are averaging 351 yards per game, while giving up 166. They’ve also outscored their opponents by an average of 31-9 through 10 games. Wyatt Hayes is 11 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards on the season, and has 16 rushing scores, while Parker Gooden has 11 touchdown passes, eight of those to Marshal Faurot. Defensively, Nick Nowak leads the team with 108 tackles and Jarret Jurgens leads in interceptions with four.
Clay Center saw themselves win their first playoff game since 1993 in dramatic fashion, rallying for a 21-20 win over Nickerson last Friday night at Nickerson. They enter the game with a 7-3 record, which matches their best record since 2006. The Tigers were down 20-6 to the Panthers after three quarters, and scored two touchdowns in the last 6:25 of the game for the win. They recovered a Nickerson fumble at the Tiger 45 with 2:25 left, converted a fourth down, and scored the game-tying touchdown on a pass from Peyton Lane to Connor Last with 12 seconds to go, and the Lane PAT gave them the 21-20 win. Nickerson did outgain the Tigers 293-267. All of the Panthers yards came on the ground, while Clay Center had 209 rushing yards. Peyton Lane leads the Tiger attack with 816 rushing yards and 484 passing yards. He’s thrown for four touchdowns and rushed for 14 more, while Caleb Mendum and Levi Pfizenmaier each have 649 rushing yards and a combined 11 rushing scores. The Tigers are led on defense by Lane, who has 128 tackles from his safety position. Through 10 games, Clay Center has been outgained by an average of 308-299, but have outscored opponents 26-20.
Scott City leads the all-time series with Clay Center 2-0. The Beavers swept a home and home series in 1998-1999, winning 27-6 in Clay Center in September of 1999. Scott City is 47-18 in the playoffs in their 23 appearances, and have a 4-5 record in the sectional round, while the Tigers are 8-21 in the playoffs in their 22nd playoff appearance, and have never played a sectional game, although they are 1-6 in the state quarterfinals.
Kickoff is at 7 pm from Clay Center. Pregame coverage on Mix 94.5 begins at 6:30. You can also listen to the game online at https://www.westernkansasnews.com/mix94, on the TuneIn App, or on the Mix 94.5 App that is free to download.
