Indians Open With Win
The St. Francis Indians opened the 2017 season in fine style blanking the Wallace County Wildcats 46-0 in Sharon Springs on Friday, September 2. The Wildcats entered the contest with a pre-season ranking of #3 in 1A/Division II. The Indians, ranked #4 in 1/A Division I took little time in blowing the game open. Using aggressive offense, stingy defense, and capitalizing on good field position the Indians took control early. The Indians won the coin toss and elected to defer. Wallace County received the kick-off and returned it to their own 18 yard line. A running play by Seth Johnson advanced the ball to the 23 yard line on first down. The good gain was followed by a short loss on the next play as the Indians defense tightened. On third down, the Wildcats earned 1 yard on a pass play and then elected to punt. The snap was mishandled, and the Indians took over on the Wallace County 26 with 10:10 on the clock.
Quarterback Brady Dinkel's pass was just off the fingertips of Tate Busse in the left corner of the end zone on the opening play. On second down, Jordan Raby ran for good yardage, but the play was called back due to an encroachment penalty on the Indians. The replacement down earned no yardage, a carry by Cody Baxter. On 3rd & 15, Dinkel scrambled for 3 yards. The Indians went-for-it on 4th down. Dinkel's pass to Busse moved the ball to the Saint Francis 29. Raby followed with a run around the right side for a touchdown. Raby also ran for the conversion points. With 8:10 left in the first quarter, the Indians led 8-0.
Dalton Straub's kick-off was returned to the Wallace County (WC) 19 yard line. A facemask penalty on the return advanced the ball to the WC 33. On the first play from scrimmage, the Wildcats fumbled the football.
Luin Norris recovered for the Indians, giving St. Francis good starting position. A pass intended for Busse fell incomplete on first down, and an option to the right on second down only gained one yard. On third and long, Dinkel ran over the right side for a gain of seven. Raby's cut-back run earned an Indian first down at the WC 22 on the next play. After a gain of two by Raby, Dinkel tried the left side and picked up another first down at the WC 11. Raby gained 8 on the ensuing first down placing the ball at the WC 3. Wallace County took a time-out to regroup. On the next play, Dinkel was forced out-of-bounds at the 1 after rounding the right end. Raby scored on 3rd down on a dive up the middle. Dinkel ran for the conversion points on an option play moving the scoreboard to 16-0 with 5:50 remaining in the opening period.
The Indians' kick-off was returned to the Wallace County 21. On first down, Tayton Weeter sacked the WC quarterback for a 6-yard loss. Luin Norris stuffed the next carry for another 6-yard loss. Facing 3 & 22, the Wildcats went to the air, but a pass to the left side fell incomplete. Tiernan Poling had good coverage on the play. Adding to their woes, the Wildcats' punt was short and high and came to rest at the WC 23, again giving the Indians good field position.
On first down, Jordan Raby rambled around the left end for a first down. A pass to Tate Busse fell incomplete in the end zone on the next play. Dinkel ran around the left end down to the 6-yard line on the following play. With 3:49 left in the 1st quarter, Raby banged into the end zone from 6 yards out. The conversion run by Wyatt Hackler was good giving the Indians a 24-0 lead.
The Wildcats returned the football to their 27 yard line. On first down, the Wildcats fumbled, and the Indians recovered.
Beginning at the WC 26, Dinkel scrambled for yardage, but the play was erased by a holding penalty. Facing 1st & 21, Dinkel, mishandled the snap, but scrambled to the 22. The snap was mishandled on 2nd-&-1 also, but Dinkel scrambled for a 1st down at the WC 15. Wyatt Hackler tried the right end and was stopped for no gain on first down, but Dinkel earned nine around the right end on the next play. On 3rd-&1, Jordan Raby scored on a pitch left from 5 yards out. Dinkel's pass to Tate Busse was good for the conversion points. With 1:32 left in the first quarter, the Indians were up 32-0.
Wallace County set up at the 20, tried the right side, and were stopped after a 2-yard gain by Luin Norris. A swing pass to the left picked up two more on second down. The Wildcats added four more on the next play. On 4th-&-2, WC earned their 1st earned first down of the contest by a narrow 6 inches. The play marked the end of the first period. The Wildcats' advance continued as they picked up two yards on a run to the right side. Tayton Weeter and Luin Norris combined on the stop. Dalton Straub applied good pressure on the next pass attempt which resulted in a holding penalty on the Wildcats. Facing 3rd-&-24, the Wildcats called another time-out with 11:18 on the second period clock. On the next play, the Wildcats picked up 13 yards on a pass to Johnson in the right flat. Wyatt Hackler's tackle prevented a larger gain. On 4th-&11, the Wildcats punted to the St. Francis 23.
The Indians continued to roll. On first down, Jordan Raby followed good blocking and sprinted down the left sideline to the WC 29 yard line before being knocked out-of-bounds by Carlin Springsteel. On the next play, it appeared that Raby, might score over the right side, but he slipped down after a four-yard gain. Wyatt Hacker ran over the left end on the following play, but a holding penalty nullified the gain. On 2nd-&-16, Brady Dinkel ran left for a 5-yard gain. A pass from Dinkel to Dalton Straub fell incomplete in the end zone on 3rd down. On 4th down, Dinkel's pass to Raby in the right flat was dropped.
The Wildcats took over with 8:49 left in the first half on the WC 30 yard line. The Wildcats opening play resulted in a first down utilizing a pass to Evin Berquist in the right flat. On the next play, the Wildcats' quarterback sprinted to the St. Francis 26. The Indian defense stiffened, and soon the Wildcats faced 4th-&11. Cody Baxter intercepted the Wildcats' 4th-down pass and returned it for an 61 yard touchdown. The conversion failed. With 6:48 left in the half, the Indians were up 38-0.
Wallace County returned the kick-off to the 25-yard line. On first down, Colton Neitzel forced a fumble which was recovered by the Wildcats for a 1-yard loss. On 2nd down, a pass to Johnson moved the ball to the 35-yard line for another Wildcat first down. A quarterback run over the left side gained four. On the next play, Seth Johnson ran the right side and fumbled. The ball was recovered by Wyatt Hackler for St. Francis.
The Indians took over at mid-field. A pass from Dinkel to Straub advanced the ball to the WC 18. On the next play, WC's Seth Johnson made a good defensive play and stopped Jordan Raby for a 3-yard loss. St. Francis was called for offensive pass interference on the following play, a pass from Dinkel to Straub in the end zone. After the penalty was assessed, Dinkel found Tate Busse in the left flat. Some swift moves by Busse resulted in a 36-yard touchdown play. Dinkel ran up the middle for the conversion points to give the Indians a 46-0 lead with 3:07 left in the first half.
A deep kick-off by the Indians was fumbled by Luke Johnson and recovered by the Wildcats at the 4-yard line. A pass intended for Champ King fell incomplete. On 2nd down, Springsteel ran strong gaining 8 yards. On the next play, Johnson earned a 1st down at the 26. After a run up the middle, a 2nd down pass fell incomplete caused by good pressure by the Indian defense. A scramble by Springsteel resulted in a 1st down at the 28 on the next play. A holding penalty slowed the Wildcats momentum, and a deep pass to King fell incomplete on the ensuing play. On 2nd-&-23, a pass to Luke Johnson resulted in a gain to the 30 yard line. The next Wildcat pass attempt was incomplete as Tate Busse ran through the quarterback on the release. A fourth down pass moved the ball to mid-field with three seconds remaining in the half. The Wildcats resorted to trickery on the final play; the throwback pass was stymied by Garin Cooper.
The Indians defeated Wallace County 46-0 in two quarters of action. The Indians will host Triplains-Brewster for Homecoming on Friday, September 8 on Green Field.
