Indians Earn Important Win
On September 29, the St. Francis Indian football team picked up an important win in league and district play defeating the Hoxie Indians 16-8 on Greene Field. The #4 ranked Hoxie Indians entered the contest undefeated and as the competition would prove, had a strong team. The game's outcome was not decided until the last few seconds of the game when Brady Dinkel intercepted a Hoxie pass and ended the visiting Indians' chance of scoring to send the game into overtime. The game was hard-hitting and full of momentum swings. The St. Francis defense proved to be up to the task of stopping the power game of the Hoxie Indians.
St. Francis won the toss and elected to receive. Tate Busse returned the kick-off to midfield giving the Indians good starting field position. Before the first snap, the Indians were penalized for procedure, but Jordan Raby picked up 9 yards on the first play from scrimmage, a run around the right end. Raby lost 3 yards on second down, and quarterback Brady Dinkel was sacked by Chris Cox (233 lb. Sr.) on the next play. Facing 4th-&-10 at midfield, the Indians punted. It was the 1st first-possession punt of the season for the Indians.
Hoxie returned the punt to the 24 yard line. Latham Schwarz (166 lb. Sr. running back) made one yard up the middle on first down and earned a 1st down at the Hoxie 37 on a nice run around the right end on the next play. Schwarz ran for 9 more on the same play on the new 1st down before being tackled by Tate Busse. On second down, a quick pitch to the shifty Schwarz going left resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Schwartz for a 5 yard loss. Schwarz tried the right side again on the next play, but a holding penalty erased the action and set up a 3rd-&-17 situation. Troyal Burris (170 lb. Sr.) ran the left side gaining 4 yards. Hoxie then punted. Colton Heskett's punt was returned by Busse to the Hoxie 38 yard line.
On the first play of the possession, Jordan Raby ran for 9 yards through the middle of the Hoxie defense. On the next play, Raby earned a new first down running up the middle to the Hoxie 23 yard line. After a Raby run around the left side gained 7 yards, Tate Busse earned a first down around the right end on the following play. Starting at the 11 yard line, Raby gained 5 yards straight ahead on the next play before being stopped by Luke Shippers (190 lb. Sr.). The next Raby try into the middle was stopped by Taye Washington (335 lb. Jr.) after a one-yard gain. Facing 3rd-&-5 at the 6 yard line, the Indians tried a quick pitch to Adam Krien. Schwarz and Cox tackled Krien for a 4 yard loss. A 4th-down pass intended for Busse fell incomplete in the right corner of the end zone. Hoxie had made a strong defensive stand.
Hoxie took possession at the 11 yard line. Burris ran around the left end for a nice 5-yard gain before being tackled by Brady Dinkel. On the next play, Schwarz earned a first down on a run up the middle. Luin Norris made the stop at the 21 yard line. Schwarz ran right on the next snap but was stopped by Busse for no gain. Schwarz gained one on the next play before being stopped by Dalton Straub. On 3rd-&-9, Schwarz gained good yardage up the middle. Facing 4th-&-a long 1, Cox carried the ball into the middle of the line earning a new set of downs at the Hoxie 37. Runs by Schwarz and Jared Kennedy (137 lb. Jr. quarterback) earned three yards. Facing 3rd-&-7, Kennedy passed to Schippers for a 5-yard gain. On 4th-and-2, Hoxie lined up as if they planned to "go-for-it," but a procedure penalty moved them back five yards before the play was underway. Hoxie punted the ball into the end zone.
After the touchback, the Indians set up at their own 15 yard line. Hoxie's defensive pressure caused Brady Dinkel to scramble on the first snap, and Dinkel's errant pass was picked off by Taylor Burris (178 lb. Sr.) and returned to the 13 yard line. Hoxie had flipped the field position.
Kennedy rolled right and passed to Luke Shippers for touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Schwarz ran through the middle for the conversion points. With 30.1 seconds left in the first period, the Indians trailed for the first time this season, 0-8.
Taye Washington's kick-off entered the end zone for a touchback. An option right to Raby, good for two yards, ended the first period. Dinkel gained 4 yards on a keeper to the right side before being tackled by Schippers. Raby's run moved the situation to 4th-&-1 foot. Raby's run up the middle was met by a host of Hoxie defenders, but the gain was just enough for a first down. Busse ran the right end on the next play, and was stopped by Burris after a gain of 11. On 1st-&-10 at the SF 37, Dinkel attempted another pass. The pass was intercepted by Taylor Burris and returned to the SF 17 yard line before a tackle by Dalton Straub prevented another Hoxie score.
Hoxie was threatening again! On the next play, Hoxie fumbled the football. Jordan Raby recovered for the Indians at the 18 yard line with 10:03 left in the second period.
Tate Busse ran for a big gain on the first play of the possession. A facemask penalty on Hoxie during the tackle advanced the ball to the Hoxie 12 yard line. Jordan Raby powered into the middle of the Hoxie defense gaining 3 yards on the following play. On 2nd-&-7, Brady Dinkel ran the right side reaching the end zone, but an illegal block penalty erased the score. On the next play, Dinkel passed to Busse in the left corner of the end zone. The conversion pass attempt fell incomplete, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on Hoxie caused the down to be replayed from the 1 1/2. A quick-pitch to Raby going left earned the conversion points. The score evened at 8-8 with 9:21 left in the first half.
Tayton Weeter's kick-off found the end zone. On first down, Hoxie's quarterback, Jared Kennedy, was met solidly by Trayton Doyle and stopped for a one-yard loss. Two runs by Schwarz netted eight yards and set up a 4th-&-3 situation. Hoxie punted the ball away.
St. Francis set up on their own 25 yard line after allowing the punt to roll dead. Tate Busse ran right on first down, but the play was nullified by offsetting penalties. On the ensuing 1st down, Jordan Raby gained 6 around the left end. On 2nd down, Brady Dinkel was sacked by Jared Dible (210 lb. Jr.) for a 6-yard loss. Dinkel's third down pass to Raby was caught out-of-bounds. Facing 4th-and-10, the Indians punted. Dalton Straub's punt entered the end zone. Hoxie had too many players on the field during the play; the good kick and resulting field position was selected over the penalty yardage.
Hoxie began at their own 15. Schwarz tried the left side and was met by an aggressive tackle by Luin Norris for a one-yard loss. On 2nd down, Luke Lampe's tackle resulted in another loss of 2 yards. Schwarz gained 5 yards on 3rd down, but Hoxie punted again on 4th down. The punt was downed at the Hoxie 35.
Raby tried the middle gaining 3 on the first play of the possession. On second down, Brady Dinkel passed to Tate Busse on a slant route. Busse scored from 41 yards out with 3:54 left in the first half. Dinkel's pass to Busse in the right corner of end zone was good for the conversion points. St. Francis now led 16-8.
Again, Weeter's kick-off found the end zone. Three successive runs by Schwarz earned three yards against the Indian defense, and Hoxie was forced to punt again.
St. Francis took possession at their own 37. On the first play of the possession, Brady Dinkel was sacked for a 5-yard loss by Cox and Heskett. Raby then ran left for 6 yards and was tackled by Schwarz. St. Francis called their first time-out. After a third-down sack of Dinkel by Cox and Heskett, Hoxie took a time-out. Facing 4th-&-20, the Indians punted. Dalton Straub's punt was downed at the Hoxie 13 yard line.
Hoxie took possession with 1:13 remaining in the half. A Schwarz run to the left side was stopped after a gain of two by Dalton Straub. Hoxie used another time-out at 1:04. A swing pass to Schwarz gained two more, and Cox powered up the middle for 5 on the next play before being tackled by Luin Norris. St. Francis called time-out with 20.9 seconds left. On 4th-&-1, Cox rammed into the middle of the St. Francis defense earning a first down at the 26. On the next play, Kennedy's pass was intercepted by Straub and returned to the Hoxie 13 yard line.
With 5.1 seconds remaining on the clock, the Indians went to the air. Brady Dinkel's pass intended for Tate Busse fell incomplete in the end zone. The half ended with St. Francis leading 16-8.
St. Francis' second half kick-off sailed into the end zone. A delay penalty on Hoxie resulted in a 5-yard mark-off before the first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jared Kennedy gained one yard on a run around the right side but was soon tackled by Dalton Straub. Schwarz gained two up the middle before Luin Norris' tackle brought him down. On 3rd-&-12, Kennedy rolled left throwing an incomplete pass. Facing 4th-&-long, Hoxie punted.
St. Francis took over at the 36 yard line. Jordan Raby tried the left side but was tackled by Dible for a two-yard loss. An option to the right found Raby getting back to the original first down marker. Tate Busse made a diving catch of Brady Dinkel's pass on the following play. The catch resulted in a new set of downs at the Hoxie 34. Busse ran right on first down, but lost footing and 3 yards. Dinkel's pass intended for Straub was incomplete near the end zone on the next play. Off-setting penalties gave St. Francis a repeat down, and Dinkel appeared to score on the replacement play, but a procedure penalty erased the touchdown. Dinkel's third down pass fell incomplete. Facing 4th-&-18, the Indians lined up to punt but ran to the right side. Dalton Straub was stopped short of the line to gain.
Hoxie began at their own 31 yard line. Schwarz runs to the right and up the middle gained 4 yards. An encroachment penalty on the Indians reduced the yardage needed to for a new set of downs to one. On 3-&-1, a pass from Kennedy fell incomplete. Schippers ran to the left side but was stopped by the St. Francis defense. A measurement showed Hoxie approximately an inch short of the line-to-gain.
The Indians took over on their own 39 yard line with 6:19 left in the third period. Dinkel's pass intended for Busse fell incomplete on first down. Raby's run to the left resulted in a 5-yard loss after a tackle by Dible. On third down, Dinkel's pass was intercepted by Troyal Burris and returned to the SF 19 yard line. The Indians needed another defensive stand.
Schwarz gained 9 around the left end on the first play of the series. Jordan Raby tackled Schwarz short of the line-to-gain on second down. Needing 1/2 yard, Cox plowed into the middle earning Hoxie a first down at the 5 yard line. Schwarz ran right and was clobbered by Luin Norris after a 1/2 yard gain. Cox then banged up the middle to the 3. On third and goal, Trayton Doyle and Luke Lampe combined to stop Schwarz's run to the left side for a 2 yard loss. The Indians needed one more stop - and they got it. Luin Norris and others tackled Kennedy for a one-yard loss on 4th down.
The Indians set up at their own 6 yard line after the outstanding defensive stand. Jordan Raby gained 4 yards through the middle of the line on the first play of the series and one more yard on a run left on the following play. An option play to the right side earned a new set of downs at the 19. Brady Dinkel was stopped for no gain by a Dible tackle on first down. A reverse by Tate Busse lost 7 due to a Schwarz tackle on the following play. A third down pass attempt from Dinkel to Busse was well-defended by Troyal Burris. Facing 4th-&-17, the Indians punted. The Indians were flagged for a hit-out-of-bounds on the return. The play ended the third period.
Hoxie took possession with good field position at the St. Francis 30. Dalton Straub stopped Schwarz for no gain on first down. A swing pass to Schwarz gained 2 on the next play. Schwarz ran left on third down. On the play, St. Francis committed an inadvertent facemask penalty. The mark-off resulted in a Hoxie 1st down at the SF 18. A Schwarz run on first down gained one, but the Indians made a big defensive play on second down. Trayton Doyle sacked Kennnedy for a huge loss creating 3rd-&-23. Kennedy's pass, intended for Luke Schippers, was nearly intercepted by Tate Busse and fell incomplete. On 4th down, Kennedy was sacked again by Tayton Weeter and Straub. The Indian defense had again made some big plays!
St. Francis took over at the Hoxie 39 yard line. Two runs by Raby and one by Dinkel netted three yards and one procedure penalty. On 4th-&-7, the Indians punted.
The punt was returned by Latham Schwarz to the Hoxie 20. Tate Busse made the tackle on the return. A toss to Schwarz earned a first down at the Hoxie 31. Schwarz gained one more yard on the ensuing 1st down play. After an incomplete pass, a swing pass to the left side, was stopped for a 2-yard loss by a Raby tackle. On 4-&-11, Hoxie set up to punt. The snap was mis-placed, and the rushed punt was short and rolled dead at the 22 yard line.
On first down, Jordan Raby rambled around the left side all the way to the Hoxie 34. Dinkel earned 5 yards on the next play. A quick-pitch to Raby around the left end resulted in an apparent touchdown at 4:33, but the play was erased by a holding penalty. On the replacement down, Raby was stopped by Washington after a 2-yard gain. Raby's next run resulted in a 4th-&-10 situation, and Dalton Straub punted into the end zone.
Hoxie took possession with 3:21 left in the game. A Schwarz run up the middle netted 5 yards. On the next play, Tayton Weeter deflected Kennedy's pass while applying pressure on the quarterback, and the pass was intercepted by Tate Busse.
St. Francis set up offense at the Hoxie 18 with 2:47 remaining. A holding penalty nullified Dinkel's option to the right and backed the Indians up 10 yards. Another holding penalty on the next play backed the Indians up another 10 yards. The next play was nearly disastrous, as Raby fumbled on a run to the right side, but recovered gaining 6 yards on the play. Dinkel followed with a keeper play to the left gaining 5 yards. Hoxie then used their first time-out with 1:43 remaining. After a Busse carry to the left gained 7 more, Hoxie again called time-out (1:34). On 4th-&-12, Dinkel's pass attempt to Busse fell incomplete.
Hoxie took possession on their own 20 yard line with 1:27 remaining. With little time on the clock and only one time-out, Hoxie went to the air. A first down pass fell incomplete with Dalton Straub providing good pressure on the Hoxie quarterback. The 2nd-down pass to Logan Weimer (145 lb. Jr.) in the left flat picked up 5 yards. On third down, the St. Francis pass rush sacked Kennedy for a loss. Trayton Doyle and Straub combined on the tackle. A facemask penalty on the play gave Hoxie a first down at their own 38 with less than a minute to play. Kennedy found Wylie Weems (162 lb. So.) open in the left flat for a 5 yard gain. Weems went out-of-bounds to stop the clock with 50.7 seconds left. Kennedy's next pass, to Logan Weimer in the left flat, earned a new set of downs at the SF 30. Kennedy's pass to Schwarz gained two yards before the receiver was forced out-of-bounds stopping the clock at 30.9. The next pass to Schwarz was well-defended by Wyatt Hackler and fell incomplete. With 26.2 seconds remaining, Kennedy's pass glanced off Schwarz and into the hands of Indian safety Brady Dinkel.
With only 20.7 seconds remaining, St. Francis knelt in victory formation to run out the clock. Both teams had competed well in an exciting, hard-hitting football game, but St. Francis had held on to win 16-8 and remain unbeaten.
The Indians will host Rawlins County on Friday, October 6, on Greene Field in St. Francis. The Buffaloes come into the game ranked in the top ten and sporting a 3-1 record. The Buffaloes defeated Hitchcock County (NE) 74-16, Wallace County 46-0, and Decatur Community 48-0. Their loss was to Hoxie, 22-6.
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