Scott City hosts Hesston in a battle of 8-1 teams

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Rain and a wet field will be a factor tonight at Darner Field, as Scott City plays host to the Hesston Swathers in the Regional round of the Class 3A Playoffs.

Hesston has seen a three-win improvement this year, as they enter 8-1 after a 43-34 shootout win over the Goodland Cowboys to open the playoffs last Friday night. Goodland struck first on the third play of the game, and led the Swathers 14-7, before Hesston took a 22-20 halftime lead. It was 36-20 in the fourth quarter, when the Cowboys pulled to within two, but couldn’t get the game-tying two-point conversion. The Swathers got a late fourth quarter score to finish things out. They would rush for 187 yards and pass for 291 yards, and limited Goodland to 377 yards of offense, with 350 yards through the air. This year, Hesston is led by senior Karter Gonzalez, who has rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and 23 touchdowns, and leads the team with 92 tackles. Sophomore Jerick Humphreys has passed for over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns for an offense that averages 375 yards and 35 points per game, while giving up 250 yards a contest and 19 points.

Scott City would eventually pull away from a tough Clearwater team last Friday night in a 34-7 victory, improving to 8-1 on the season. The Beavers led 7-0 after the first quarter, and 14-7 at the break, before they put up 20 points in the final half. Clearwater would have an 18-play drive in the first and second quarters that took nine minutes to tie the game up, but Scott City would come back and take a 14-7 led, en route to 27 unanswered points. In the win, the Beavers would outgain the Indians 349-268, and hold a 202-173 edge on the ground. Camden Vulgamore passed for a touchdown and ran for one more, while Kevin Wiebe had two touchdowns in the win. Through nine games, Scott City averages 35 points and just under 400 yards of offense, while allowing 225 yards an nine points per contest. Vulgamore is just shy of 1,000 passing yards with eight passing scores and seven rushing touchdowns, while Kelton Cook has around 600 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, Oscar Mendez is approaching 100 tackles on the season.

This will be the first meeting between the two programs, who have had a good tradition of success in the playoffs. Scott City is in the playoffs for the 29th time in school history, as they look to advance to the Sectional game for the first time since 2019. Hesston is trying to reach the Sectional round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Kickoff is at 7pm, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 pm. You can listen on KSKL, Mix 94.5, online at westernkansasnews.com, or tune in on the Beaver Broadcasting Network on YouTube. The audio broadcast will be available later tonight on Spotify, by searching Scott City Beavers on Mix 94.5.