Scott City hosts Hugoton for homecoming
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Tonight’s the midway point of the 2015 football season. Yes, it’s hard to believe. Two Great West Activity Conference foes will take the gridiron at 7 pm at Darner Field, as the Hugoton Eagles make their second road trip in as many weeks to face the Scott City Beavers.
Hugoton’s season seems to be a roller coaster ride through four games. The Eagles come into tonight’s game with a 1-3 record overall, and 1-2 in GWAC play, following a 35-27 loss to Goodland last Friday night at Cowboy Stadium. In the loss, Hugoton may have been their own worst enemy. They committed seven turnovers in a game where they led 19-12 after three quarters and a 27-19 lead, only to see Goodland score the games final 16 points, with the last eight coming with 22 seconds remaining in the game. The Eagles have gone to more of a passing attack than in recent years, as they average 210 yards per game through the air and 127 on the ground. Valentino Degollado leads Hugoton on the ground and through the air, with 798 passing yards and four touchdowns, and 229 rushing yards and four rushing scores. Through four games, the Eagles average 21 points a game, while giving up 22. Two of their three losses have come by a combined 14 points, falling to Ulysses 27-21 in week two and last weeks eight point loss at Goodland. Their lone win was against Colby 27-8 two weeks ago.
Scott City enters week five tied with Ulysses atop of the GWAC standings with a 3-0 league record, and 4-0 overall, after their 15-7 road win in Holcomb last Friday night. The Beavers took advantage of three Longhorn turnovers, and scored 12 of their 15 points off turnovers. Scott City led 6-0 at the break and 12-7 after three quarters, and held on for the eight-point win. Cooper Griffith had both rushing touchdowns for the Beavers, and Tre Stewart knocked in a career-best 37 yard field goal to give them their 15 points. Both Scott City and Holcomb were held to season-low totals in yards, as the Beavers had 235 yards of offense, compared to 194 for the Longhorns. Griffith leads Scott City’s rushing attack with 474 yards and seven touchdowns, while Bo Hess has thrown four touchdowns and has thrown for 405 yards this season. The Beavers average 313 yards per game, and have outscored their opponents by an average of 30-10 through four games.
Scott City has won the last five in the series, and eight out of their last 10. Last season, the Beavers won at Hugoton 42-0.
Kickoff at Darner Field is at 7 pm. Pregame coverage on Mix 94 begins at 6:30. You can listen to the game on 94.5, also online at https://www.westernkansasnews.com/mix94/, on Mix 94 using TuneIn Radio, and the KSKL app that’s free to download.
