The Sainty Indian High School Football team remains undefeated and ranked first after battling the Hoxie Indians
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Saint Francis Senior Trayton Doyle pulls Senior Tate Busse for extra yards after being tripped up by a Hoxie defender. Busse scored both touchdowns during Friday's close contest where the Indians won 16-8.On Friday, Sept. 29, the Sainty Indians took down the Hoxie Indians in a full game on the Greene Field with a final score of, 16-8.
Leading up to the anticipated game against the Hoxie Indians, it was brought to attention that this would likely be the St. Francis Indians’ hardest game before the playoffs, since both teams went into the game with an undefeated record.
“We’ve really been preparing all year long for games like these,” said Sainty’s quarterback, Brady Dinkel, sophomore.
The Hoxie Indians were ranked fifth and had a total of 25 players compared to the Sainty Indian team who is ranked first, but with only 15 players after nine of the players quit since the start of season.
“We prepared by working hard and staying focused on our goal, knowing that this would be a tough game,” said St. Francis receiver and senior Tate Busse.
“To prepare myself for the game, I just focused on the game and nothing else was going through my head,” said St. Francis senior Dalton Straub, who had the most tackles in the game.
The game started with the St. Francis Indians unable to score in the first quarter which eventually lead them to punting the ball. The Hoxie Indians then went on to score the first touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first quarter. They also gained the extra points.
With 9:30 left in the first half, the Sainty Indians’ quarterback, Dinkel threw a touchdown pass to Busse. Jordan Raby, St. Francis junior, successfully scored the two-point conversion. The score tied up, 8-8.
Before the half was up, the Sainty Indians scored once more when Dinkel passed to Busse for another touchdown. The conversion was also gained with a pass to Busse, 16-8. Both teams continued to fight hard for the remainder of the game, but neither team scored again
“I knew it was going to be a hard fought game, but with our game plan I knew the outcome would be in our favor,” said Busse.
The St. Francis Indians worked hard to keep a solid defensive status.
“I think we succeeded most as a team when it came to playing defense and stepping up big when we needed to,” said Dinkel. “Working our tails off to make a play each and every snap.”
Straub agreed, “As a team, I think we all succeeded at doing our jobs in defense to stop them.”
The Sainty Indians remain ranked first.
“Being ranked number one in the state of Kansas really puts some pressure on you to do the best you can, but when it comes to game time you just forget about all the rankings and just play your heart out,” said Dinkel.
“The rankings don’t matter because every week we have to come out and execute our game plan,” said Busse.
The St. Francis Indians go on to play the Rawlins County Buffaloes on Friday, Oct. 6, on Sainty’s Greene Field. Winner of the game receives the Yoke Bowl trophy to display at their school for the year.
