Scott City pulls away from Colby

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Colby and Scott City came in with an opportunity to remain undefeated heading into their final regular season game next week. In front of a standing room only crowd on both sides of the field, the Beavers and Eagles put on a show. In the end, it was Scott City who would prevail 35-12, and all but certainly clinched their 10th straight district title.

It was tough sledding for both teams offensively in the first quarter. Scott City would take advantage of short field for their first score of the night. A five-play, 36-yard drive was capped off by a Wyatt Hayes 12-yard run with 1:36 left in the first quarter to give the Beavers an early 7-0 lead with the Moses Hinojos PAT.

Colby and Scott City would move the football for their next couple of drives, but a key interception would set up the Beavers with short field. On the next play after Hayes’ interception return to the Eagle seven, he would score from that distance with 3:37 left in the half to push the lead to 14-0 with the Hinojos extra point. Colby would put together their best drive of the night on a 15-play, 75-yard drive for their first points of the night. After a pair of third down and one fourth down conversion, quarterback Jordan Schippers would dive in from a yard out with 6.8 seconds left before halftime to pull the Eagles to within 14-6. The two-point conversion failed.

Scott City put together a well-tuned drive to begin the second half. A seven-play, 65-yard drive extended their lead to 22-7 with 9:18 left in the third quarter on a Hayes five-yard run. He would also run in the two-point conversion, the first the Beavers have attempted this year. After Colby held Scott City at their own 20, and a short punt, the Eagles pulled to within 10 two plays later. Hagan Booi scored from two yards out with 5:46 left in the third quarter to make it 22-12, as the two-point conversion failed.

The Beavers would put together their longest drive of the season, and snatch momentum for good. a 16-play, 72-yard drive, that took 7:40 off the clock was finished by a 12-yard pass play from Parker Gooden to Hunter Yager with 10:06 remaining in the game to extend the lead to 28-12, as the PAT was blocked. The Beavers converted several third down conversions, and also overcame three penalties on that drive. Colby moved the ball on their next possession, but saw their drive stalled by maybe millimeters with 8:06 to go at the Beaver 36 yard line. A seven-play drive would put the finishing touches on the scoring for Scott City, as Gooden put a ball over the Eagle defender in the end zone that was hauled in by Marshall Faurot from 23 yards out with 5:29 left to push the score to 35-12 with the Hinojos extra point. Both teams would trade turnovers down the stretch, as the Beavers picked up a big win.

Wyatt Hayes went over 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight year, and had a career-high 32 carries for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a 14-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Parker Gooden was 8-13 passing for 107 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added 67 yards rushing on 11 carries, both personal bests. Marshall Faurot caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. The Beavers in the second half were 9-10 on third downs. They finished with a total of 367 yards of offense.

Colby was led by Jordan Schippers with 68 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown rush. He was 8-14 passing for 61 yards passing with two interceptions. Calvin Stapp caught four passes for 52 yards. The Eagles had 105 yards on the ground and finished with 192 yards of offense unofficially.

With the win, Scott City has now won 15 straight in the series, and have won 33 consecutive district games since week nine of the 2008 season. The win also has all but clinched the district title.

Up next for the 7-0 Beavers is a trip to Concordia to wrap up the regular season next Friday. Scott City is also 4-0 in district play. The Panthers fell to rival Beloit on the road 16-6 Friday night to fall to 3-4 on the year, and 2-2 in district play. Colby is 6-1 overall, and 3-1 in district play. The Eagles will host rival Goodland to wrap up the regular season next Friday. Goodland defeated Russell 29-26 for their first win of the season.

Assistant Coach Dakota Hayes postgame