Indians Win Bi-District Championship!
Play South Central On Saturday
The St. Francis Indians defeated the Ness City Eagles 54-0 on Tuesday evening, November 1, and in the process won the Bi-District Championship. The Indians now advance to the Regional Championship game to be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016. The Indians will play South Central in Coldwater, Kansas. The kick-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on the South Central High School field.
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St. Francis won the coin toss and elected to defer. Ness City (NC) received the kick-off. Casey Snyder returned the kick to the Ness City 25 yard line. The Eagles possessed a strong running attack featuring 200 pound junior running back Brennan Chacon. On their first possession, the Eagles ran Chacon right, then left, then right again though the offensive line. After being stopped for a very short gain on first down by Jordan Raby and Trayton Doyle, Chacon banged for a first down at the NC 37 on 3rd-and-3. Two more Chacon carries, one through the right side of the line and one around the right end produced a 3rd-&-4 situation. On third down, the Eagles quarterback John Pfannenstiel (160 lb. sophomore) was stuffed for a 1 yard loss by the St. Francis defense. The Eagles prepared to punt. The punt snap was over the punter's head, but a quick scramble allowed the kick to get in flight. The low desperation punt rolled to the St. Francis 30 where the Indians took possession.
On the first offensive play, the Indians threw deep attempting to complete a pass to Brock Waters. Though Waters was open and the ball on target, the pass fell incomplete. Quinton Cravens ran around the left end earning a 1st down at the NC 39 on the next play. Cravens ran right on the following play for another 1st down. With the ball on the NC 25, Rogers ran left gaining four yards. Two more carries by Cravens, one to each side, resulted in a first down at the 7 yard line. Luke Lampe dove into the line gaining three yards before Cravens rambled over the right side for the first St. Francis touchdown. Taylor Rogers cruised over the left side for the conversion points. With good blocking from the offensive line and shifty running, the Indians earned a 8-0 lead with 5:50 left in the first period.
Nate Gabel returned the St. Francis kick-off to the Ness City 24 yard line. Chacon picked up 5 yards over the right side on first down and banged for 3 more before being stopped by Jordan Raby on 2nd down. On 3rd-&-2, the Eagles tried a sweep play and were tackled for a loss by Brock Waters. Facing 4th-&-8, the Eagles punted out-of-bounds on the right side of the field.
The Indians took over on their own 30 yard line. Taylor Rogers was stopped after a one-yard gain around the left end on first down, but he earned a new set of downs on the next play, a run over the right side. An option play to the right earned 15 yards and moved the football to the 23 yard line on the play. Cravens ran for big yardage on the ensuing play, but a holding penalty on the Indians nullified the gain and moved the ball back to the 33. Taylor Rogers ran left and was knocked out-of-bounds by Snyder after a gain of four. Cravens then scooted though the middle of the defense earning another 1st down just outside the 10 yard line. On the next play, Rogers ran a reverse to the right for a touchdown. Rogers ran left for the conversion. With 2:21 left in the 1st period, the Indians led 16-0. It was becoming very apparent that the Eagles were going to have trouble stopping the Indians' offensive attack.
Brady Dinkel's kick-off went into the endzone for a touchback. On first down, the Eagles fumbled but recovered; losing two yards. A pass, well-defended by Jordan Raby, fell incomplete on the next snap. Facing 3rd-&-12, the Eagles went to the air; completing a pass to Devin Brown (6'3" 195 lbs.). Brown was tackled by Tate Busse, but not before the Eagles had earned a new set of downs. Another pass on the next play earned 6 yards before a crushing tackle by Trayton Doyle near the St. Francis sideline. A delay-of-game penalty on the Eagles was followed by a NC time-out with 28.9 seconds remaining in the first period. A pass intended for Payton Fellhoelter fell incomplete in the right flat on the next play. Facing 3rd-&-9, the Eagles elected to pass rather than punt. Busse Intercepted the football and sprinted 36 yards to paydirt. Quinton Cravens ran around the right end for the conversion points. With 15.3 seconds left in the first period, the Indians led 24-0.
Brady Dinkel's kick again found the endzone preventing a return. Chacon ran hard gaining 6 yards over the right side before being stopped by Jordan Raby and others. The play ended the first period. After switching ends of the field, Brock Waters sacked Pfannenstiel for a 5-yard loss. On 3rd-&-9, Pfannenstiel's pass hit an open Brown in the hands, but fell incomplete. Ness City punted out-of-bounds once again.
St. Francis began on their own 25 yard line. On first down, Taylor Rogers started right and cut back against the grain to ramble 55 yards for another quick score. Quinton Cravens passed to Jordan Raby for the conversion points. The Indians led 32-0 with 10: 57 remaining in the 2nd period.
Nate Gabel (160 lb. freshman) returned the kick-off. He was tackled at the NC 29 by Trayton Doyle. A first down running play was stuffed by Doyle and Dalton Straub. On 2nd down, the Eagles completed a pass to Brown in the left flat, gaining five yards before another Straub tackle. A third down pass fell incomplete. Desperately needing to score, the Eagles went-for-it on 4th down. A pass to Brown in the right flat earned a first down before ending with a Taylor Rogers tackle. One yard shy of mid-field, the Eagles ran right. This time, Luin Norris met the ball carrier solidly, resulting in a two-yard loss. The Indians were turning up the D! On the next play, Doyle and Brock Waters combined to sack Pfannenstiel for no gain. Ness City called time-out with 7:37 showing on the clock. After discussing strategy, the Eagles attempted a deep pass. The pass was intercepted by Rogers and returned to the St. Francis 35.
Quinton Cravens ran to the right gaining three yards, and then passed to Taylor Rogers in the right flat on second down for four more. Cravens then ran to the NC 29 around the left side earning a first down. Craven's pass to Brock Waters gained 9 yards on the next play. Another pass to Waters advanced the ball to the four yard line. Cravens then rambled around the right end for another Indian touchdown. Cravens passed to Raby for the conversion points. The scoreboard showed St. Francis 40, Ness City 0, with 5:17 left in the half.
Ness City returned the kick-off to the 13 yard line, but were called for an illegal block on the return. The Eagles began deep in their own territory; at the 6 yard line. Chacon was stuffed on 1st down by Dalton Straub and Trayton Doyle. Chacon earned two hard yards on the next play over the left side. Brock Waters' pressure on the 3rd-&-8 pass play forced an incompletion. On 4th-&-8, Water's deflected the football. Straub caught the deflected ball at the 16 and returned it to the 14.
On the first play from scrimmage, Quinton Cravens passed to Tate Busse in the right end zone for another quick score. Cravens ran to the left for the conversion points. The Indians led 48-0 with 3:35 left in the second quarter.A pass interference penalty on the Eagles during the TD was enforced on the kick-off. The Indians' kick sailed into the endzone. The Eagles began on the 15. Brock Waters disrupted the first down play batting the pass incomplete. A pass intended for Fellhoelter was deflected by Quinton Cravens on the next play. The Eagles punted again.
The Indians took over at the NC 33. Luke Lampe ran 16 yards on first down carrying the football to the NC 17 yard line. On the next play, Jordan Raby sprinted through the middle of the Ness City defense for a 17 yard touchdown. The Indians committed a procedure penalty and NC a pass interference penalty before a conversion run eventually failed. The scoreboard moved to 54-0 with 1:59 left in the first half.
Dalton Straub's kick-off sailed into the endzone. Chacon earned 6 yard on first down, but was stopped for a 1 yard loss by Kouper McQuigg and Luke Lampe on the next play. Brock Waters again deflected a pass applying pressure to the Eagles' quarterback. A fourth down pass attempt fell incomplete.
The Indians took over at the NC 20, kneeling in victory formation to expire the clock. After the game, the Indians were presented their well-deserved District and Bi-District Championship trophies.
The Indians will travel to Coldwater, Kansas, to play the South Central Timberwolves (9-1) on Saturday, November 5. The Timberwolves only loss of the season was a 66-22 loss to Jetmore-Hodgeman County.
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