Indians Advance to State Semi-Final
St. Francis 48; South Central 0
On a cool breezy day in Coldwater, Kansas, the Indians advanced another step closer to their state championship goal. The Indians played well defeating the 9-2 South Central Timberwolves 48-0 in the Regional Championship game. South Central (SC) had some good offensive plays and defensive stops in the contest, but could not generate enough consistency to compete closely with the Indians. The Indians were not exceptional sharp on the first few plays of the game after a long bus trip, but soon found their pace. St. Francis ended the contest on their first possession of the third period due to the 45- point rule.
St. Francis received the opening kickoff. Taylor Rogers returned the kick to the 14 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, the Indians attempted a deep pass from quarterback Quinton Cravens to receiver Tate Busse. The ball fell incomplete. The Indians were penalized for a false start before the next play was underway and were backed up to the 9 yard line. Another pass, this one intended for Jordan Raby, fell incomplete. On 3rd-&-15, Cravens ran an option play to the right moving the ball out to the 20 yard line. An inadvertent facemask penalty on the Timberwolves resulted in a first down for the Indians. Rogers ran right for 2 yards, and then Cravens tried the left side earning 7 more. On 3rd-&-1, Cravens ran right for a first down at the SC 35. On the next play, Jordan Raby sprinted 35 yards around the left end for the first touchdown of the contest. The conversion run failed. With just over three minutes gone in the game, the Indians had taken a 6-0 lead.
SC's Morehead returned Brock Water's kick-off to the 26 yard line. The Timberwolves tried the middle of the St. Francis defense on the first two plays from scrimmage. Stops by Waters and Luin Norris on the first two plays resulted in a 3-&-2 situation for the Timberwolves. On third-&-short, SC completed a swing pass in the left flat that resulted in a first down just shy of mid-field. On the next play, Chayde Snyder, SC's 5'9" freshman quarterback, threw deep to Charlie Barragan (6'1" senior wide receiver). Barragan was open, but dropped the pass. Snyder ran around the right end for 8 yards on the ensuing play. A strong spinning run by Dalton Morehead (6'1" 170 lb. Jr.) over the left side resulted in another first down. The Timberwolves had advanced all the way to the Indians 20 yard line. A dive play for 1 yard preceded a false start penalty by the Timberwolves. The penalty would prove large in the momentum of the drive. On 2nd-&14, Dalton Straub made a convincing stop on Morehead after a four-yard gain. After a 1-yard gain to the left by Snyder, an incomplete pass in the left flat stalled the Timberwolves' drive.
St. Francis took possession on their own 19 and soon completed the drive with a score. On 1st down, a high snap to Quinton Cravens bounced off the quarterback's shoulder and into Taylor Rogers' arms. Rogers was in motion to the right, and took the errant ball around the right side converting a broken play into a two-yard gain. Cravens completed a deep pass to Rogers on second down. The Indians had quickly moved all the way to the SC 21. Cravens picked up 4 yards on a cutback run and then cruised 17 yards for the second Indian touchdown on a keeper to the left side. Cravens passed to Rogers for the conversion points giving the Indians a 14-0 advantage with 4:18 left in the first quarter.
The Timberwolves set up an excellent wall return on the left side and returned the football all the way to the St. Francis 30 yard line. It was time for the Indian defense to step up up; and they did. Dalton Straub sacked Snyder for a 7-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage. On the next play, good defensive coverage forced Snyder to scramble when pressured by Brock Waters. The football was fumbled, but rolled out-of-bounds resulting in a 3rd-&-21 situation. Snyder's pass on the following play was intercepted by Taylor Rogers for a short return ending another Timberwolves' penetration into Indian territory.
The Indians began offense at their own 15 yard line. A false start penalty backed them up five more yards. A pass from Quinton Cravens to Jordan Raby was followed by a Cravens' run around the left end. The two plays resulted in four yards, leaving 11 more needed for a first down. On third-&-long, good pressure up front by the Timberwolves resulted in an incomplete pass. On 4th down, the Indians again committed a false start. Dalton Straub's punt from deep in Indian territory was returned by Barragan to the SC 31 yard line before a tackle by Tate Busse stopped progress.
The Indian defense was gaining momentum. Trayton Doyle stopped the first Timberwolves' play for a three-yard loss. A run around the left side ended with a Jordan Raby tackle after a four-yard gain. On 3rd-&-9, Brock Waters sacked Snyder for a 6-yard loss. The Timberwolves punted the ball away.
Taylor Rogers gathered in the punt and sprinted 78 yards for a touchdown. On the play, the first quarter horn sounded. The conversion pass from Quinton Cravens to Brock Waters was successful. St. Francis surged ahead 22-0.
After changing ends of the field, Brock Waters' wind-aided kick-off sailed into the end zone for a touchback. Morehead gained five yards up the middle on first down, but was stuffed by the Indian defense for no gain on the next two plays. Luin Norris made a strong tackle on the third down play. The TImberwolves were forced to punt again. The ball rolled out-of-bounds at the SF 33 yard line with 10:12 showing on the 2nd quarter clock.
On the first play from scrimmage, Taylor Rogers bolted 47 yards to paydirt. Quinton Cravens' conversion pass intended for Luke Lampe fell incomplete. The Indians were quickly increasing their side of the point display, leading 28-0.
Barragan returned Water's kick to the SC 32. On first down, Snyder tried the left side and was stopped after a 3-yard gain by Trayton Doyle. The Indian line stuffed the Timberwolves for no gain on second down. After a SC time-out, the Timberwolves completed a pass to Dalton Morehead, picking up a few yards, but leaving 2 1/2 yards to go for a first down. On 4th down, Brock Waters sacked the Timberwolves for another loss.
The Indians took over with good field position. Jordan Raby earned five yards on a run around the right end, and Taylor Rogers ran to the 11 on the next play earning a new set of downs. Cravens run on the following play was stopped for no gain, but on second down, Cravens completed a pass to Brock Waters in the end zone. A holding penalty nullified the play. Rogers gained five more on the "second" second down. On 3rd-&-21, Brock Waters completed a pass to Tate Busse in the end zone. Jordan Raby's conversion run was stopped short of the goal line. With 5:15 left in the first half, the Indians led 34-0.
The Timberwolves returned the kick-off to the 22, but an illegal block penalty moved the ball back to the 12. Snyder ran up the middle and was stopped by Brock Waters and Trayton Doyle after a 3-yard gain. Snyder then tried the left side and was tackled by Doyle and Dalton Straub. On 3rd-&-8, Snyder scrambled to the SC 35 under pressure. With a new set of downs, the Timberwolves completed a pass to Cody Konrade (5' 10" 145 lb. Jr.), but a holding penalty erased the play. After the penalty was assessed, a sack by Jordan Raby and Straub again had the Timberwolves back at their own 12. On the next play, Taylor Rogers intercepted the Timberwolves' pass and returned it to the end zone. An illegal block by the Indians nullified the score, but the Indians retained possession.
Setting up offense at the SC 18, Rogers ran left, changed direction, and then slipped in the grass losing 8 yards. Quinton Cravens completed a pass to Brock Waters on the next play. The ball advanced to the 11 yard line. On the following play, Cravens found Tate Busse open in the right end zone for another TD. Cravens passed to Waters for the conversion points. The margin grew to 42-0 with 1:38 remaining in the half.
South Central returned the kick-off to their own 28. A run to the left was followed by a pass to Konrade in the left flat. The two plays set up 3rd-&-6 for the Timberwolves. On the next play, Brock Waters batted down a pass attempt by the Timberwolves. A procedure penalty on 4th down set up a punt deep in Timberwolves' territory. The punt rolled out-of-bounds on the right sideline as the halftime horn sounded. The Timberwolves had made it to second half play, something only two teams had done against the Indians all season.
Charlie Berragan returned the third quarter kick-off to the SC 27. A false start penalty on the Timberwolves backed them up five more yards. On the first play from scrimmage, Snyder passed to Morehead gaining five yards. The same play resulted in two more yards on the next play. The Timberwolves picked up 3 more yards in the air on 3rd down. Dalton Straub sacked Snyder on 4th-&-2 giving the Indians possession on the SC 32 yard line.
With the Indians only needing a touchdown to end the game, and it did not take long. Quinton Cravens attempted a deep pass to Brock Waters in the left end zone. The ball fell incomplete. Jordan Raby ran for a first down at the SC 21 yard line on the following play. Taylor Rogers then scored running around the left end and sprinting 21 yards for the final touchdown. The conversion points were not attempted as the 45-point spread had been met. St. Francis defeated the South Central Timberwolves 48-0 to win the Regional Championship.
The Indians will play undefeated Spearville in the State Semi-Finals on Friday, November 11 in St. Francis. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. kick-off.
Go, Indians!
