Scott City pulls away from Clearwater

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Scott City knew it would be a tough playoff matchup with Clearwater on Friday night at Darner Field. The Indians may have had a 3-5 record, but this was a team who has lost to five state-ranked teams. While it was a tight game for two and a half quarter, the Beavers would find a way to distance themselves from Clearwater, as they scored the games final 27 points in a 34-7 victory to improve to 8-1 for a third straight season.

Scott City’s first score of the night was set up by an Alex Tarango 48-yard punt return to the Clearwater two. Kevin Wiebe would score to put the Beavers up 7-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter, with the Jackson Rumford extra point.

Clearwater would burn off over nine minutes of clock on their ensuing drive. They converted two straight third downs, and three fourth downs, and finished their 18-play drive with a one-yard run by Garrison Wells with 9:07 left before the break to tie the game at 7 with the Lane Wichwine PAT. The Indians converted a fourth down on a fake punt, where punter Wells underhanded the pass up in the air to Cooper Williams right at the first down sticks. The Beavers would come back quickly, as Camden Vulgamore found the end zone from 12 yards out with 5:43 left before halftime, and Rumford’s kick extended the lead to 14-7.

The Indians drove down the field before fumbling late in the first half, ending their threat in the second quarter.

To begin the third quarter, Clearwater (3-6) burned off the first six minutes of the clock on a 14-play drive to begin the second half. On fourth down, their pass would fall incomplete, as the drive ended at the Beaver 18 yard line. Scott City would take full advantage, as they marched 82 yards on 12 plays, and Wiebe would score from two yards out to extend the lead to 21-7 with the Rumford PAT.

In the fourth quarter, Scott City would score twice to put the final dagger in. A 39-yard drive would result in a Matthew Wheeler six-yard run with 5:29 left to go up 27-7 with a missed two point conversion. The last score came through the air with 2:10 left on a 47-yard strike from Vulgamore to Tarango to make the final 34-7 with the Rumford extra point.

Scott City finished with 353 yards unofficially, with 205 coming on the ground. Kevin Wiebe had 73 yards on 11 carries and Kelton Cook had 82 yards on 11 carries. Camden Vulgamore was 8-9 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown. Alex Tarango had two receptions for 59 yards and Jackson Rumford had four grabs for 55 yards.

Clearwater had a big night on the gorund, as Garrison Wells carried the ball 28 times for 133 yards, as the Indians finished with 180 rushing yards. Cooper Williams threw for 75 yards on 7-14 passing with an interception, as they had 91 passing yards and 251 yards of offense.

With the win, Scott City improves to 3-0 all-time against Clearwater, and is now 15-10 against teams from the AVCTL. Their playoff record improves to 56-24 in their 29th playoff game, including a 23-3 record in the Week 9/Bi-District round.

Scott City will host Hesston in the Regional round of the Class 3A playoffs next Friday. The Swathers outlasted 43-34 to improve to 8-1 on the year. It will be the first time the two squads will match up.

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Coach Jim Turner Postgame

Box Score
Clearwater 0 7 0 0–7
Scott City 7 7 7 13–34

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SC 6:19 Kevin Wiebe 2-Yard Run (Jackson Rumford Kick) 1-2, :04
2nd Quarter
CL 9:07 Garrison Wells 1-Yard Run (Lane Wichwine Kick) 18-68, 9:12
SC 5:43 Camden Vulgamore 12-Yard Run (Rumford Kick) 8-69, 3:24
3rd Quarter
SC 1:29 Wiebe 2-Yard Run (Rumford Kick) 12-82, 4:36
4th Quarter
SC 5:29 Matthew Wheeler 6-Yard Run (2pt Conversion Failed) 6-39, 2:00
SC 2:10 Alex Tarango 47-Yard Pass from Vulgamore (Rumford Kick) 2-59, :40

Clearwater
Rushing
Garrison Wells 28-133; Cooper Williams 14-21; Landon Woods 5-5; Brody Harman 1-1; Total Yards: 160
Passing
Cooper Williams 7-14 75 0-1; Garrison Wells 1-2 16 0-0; Jake Wright 0-2 0 0-1
Receiving
Lane Blevins 2:35; Brody Harman 2-20; Cooper Williams 1-16; Chance Keesling 1-10; Wyatt Rich 2-9
Total Yards: 251

Scott City
Rushing
Kelton Cook 11-82; Kevin Wiebe 11-73; Camden Vulgamore 8-57; Matthew Wheeler 6-20; Pierce Vallejo 1-3; Total Yards: 205
Passing
Camden Vulgamore 8-9 148 1-0
Receiving
Alex Tarango 2-59; Jackson Rumford 4-55; Kevin Wiebe 2-34
Total Yards: 353