Scott City outlasts Ulysses
Ulysses, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Both Scott City and Ulysses came in with a lot of new faces than normal making their debut on the varsity on Friday night at Maxwell Field in Ulysses. While there were quite a few penalties in the season opener, there were also plenty of explosive plays, as the Beavers were able to wear down the Tigers in a 36-27 win to kick off the 2021 season.
Ulysses started with the ball deep in their own territory to begin, and Scott City took advantage of the poor Tiger field position. On third down at their own 12, Ulysses would snap the ball in the end zone for a safety to make it 2-0 Scott City under 90 seconds into the season. The Beavers would take advantage of short field after starting at the Tiger 46. A four-play drive was capped off by a 32-yard touchdown run by Jace Thomas to give the Beavers a 9-0 lead with 8:52 left in the first quarter. Ulysses got back to within two points with 3:36 left in the opening period, on an Evan Cortez 63-yard run. Lorenzo Gomez put in the PAT to get to within 9-7.
Both teams scored six points in the first minute of the second quarter. Scott City scored first on a Jace Thomas five-yard run with 11:22 left before the break to make it 15-7. Ulysses responded with an 83-yard kickoff return by Brennan Vagher 13 seconds later. They were stopped just short of the goal line, as the Beavers held a 15-13 lead, a lead they would take to the break.
It wouldn’t be until late in the third frame until the next points were scored. Scott City went 85 yards in six plays to go up 23-13 with 45 seconds left in the period with the two-point conversion. The Beavers would recover a muffed kickoff return at the Tiger 28 on the ensuing kickoff. They took advantage of the short field, as Dylan Metzger scored on a 10-yard scramble on fourth down with 10:13 left to go up 29-13, after the missed PAT.
Ulysses put together their lone sustained drive in the fourth quarter. A five-play, 69-yard drive was finished by Evan Cortez’ 42-yard score with 7:21 left to pull to within 29-19 after the missed two-point conversion. Scott City put the dagger in on an 11-play, 70-yard drive, burning 5:37 off the clock. With 1:44 left, Lawson Bailey scored from five yards out, and the Saenz PAT made it 36-19. The Tigers weren’t done, as Cortez scored on an 80-yard kickoff return with 1:30 left, and the Vagher two-point conversion pulled them to within 36-27. Scott City recovered the onside kick, and would run out the clock, securing the win.
Scott City has now won eight straight in the series, and now leads the series 43-30-1. It was the 66th consecutive year the teams have met on the gridiron. Scott City scored the most points in a game since the Week 9 playoff game against Holcomb in 2019, when they won 35-18. It was the most points Ulysses has scored against Scott City since 2013, when they scored 25 in their win. The Beavers have won five straight season openers.
Scott City 9-6-8 13-36
Ulysses 7-6-0-14-27
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SC 10:38 Safety
SC 8:32 Jace Thomas 32-yd run (Freddy Saenz PAT)
UL 3:36 Evan Cortez 63-yd Run (Lorenzo Gomez PAT)
2nd Quarter
SC 11:22 Thomas 5-yard Run (missed conversion)
UL 11:09 Brennan Vagher 83-yard Kickoff Return (missed 2-pt conversion)
3rd Quarter
SC 45.6 Thomas 5-yd Run (2-Pt Conversion)
4th Quarter
SC 10:13 Dylan Metzger 10-yd Run (Missed PAT)
UL 7:21 Cortez 42-yd Run (Missed 2-pt Conversion)
SC 1:44 Lawson Bailey 5-yd Run (Saenz PAT)
UL 1:31 Cortez 80-yd Kickoff Return (Vagher Run)
Scott City
Rushing: Jace Thomas 26-203; Lawson Bailey 7-47; Brady Welker 7-28; Dylan Metzger 4-12; Team 3-(-2)
Receiving: Carson Faurot 1-35; Conner Armendariz 1-16; Brady Welker 1-10; Jace Thomas 1-(-7)
Passing: Dylan Metzger 4-12 54 0-1
Rush: 47-288; Pass: 54; Total: 342
1st Downs: 18; 3rd Down: 2-11; 4th Down: 3-5; Penalties 8-55
Ulysses
Rushing: Evan Cortez 5-126; Brennan Vagher 22-76; Ben Scott 4-1; Justin Degollado 1-(-1)
Passing: Ben Scott 0-2 0 0-2
Rush: 32-202; Pass: 0; Total: 202
1st Downs: 9; 3rd Down: 0-5; 4th Down: 1-2; Penalties 8-75
