Indians Defeat Jackrabbits in Tribune
The St. Francis Indians defeated the Greeley County Jackrabbits 38-0 on Friday night, September 7, in Tribune. The Indians played well most of the time, but also had moments of blunder in their victory. St. Francis fumbled the football five times in the contest costing them valuable yardage, but only lost one possession on the evening.
Greeley County (GC) won the coin-flip and elected to receive. Brady Dinkel’s kick was returned by senior running back Axel Sanchez, but good coverage by the Indians only allowed minimal yardage. GC set up their first possession on the 10 yard line. Sanchez ran around the right end on the first play earning four yards. On 2nd down, a run to the left was stopped short by Richard Johnson for a loss. Facing 3rd & 10, GC’s quarterback Jose Chavez (5' 10" 175 lb Sr.), passed to sophomore end Manual Chavez in the left flat earning a 1st down at the GC 23. After a swing pass fell incomplete, Chavez found Sanchez with his next pass resulting in another 1st down at the Indian 29. After the Jackrabbits were penalized for procedure, their next pass attempt fell incomplete as Jesse Baxter smacked the Jackrabbit quarterback forcing a rushed throw. On 2nd-&-15, a reverse to Miller gained 6 before being stopped by a Dinkel tackle. Under pressure from the Indian defenders, Chavez completed a pass to Sanchez earning only one yard. The Rabbits’ 4th down pass attempt was nearly intercepted by Dinkel, but fell incomplete.
St. Francis took possession on their own 26 yard line. A run by Brady Dinkel earned a quick 7 yards. Jordan Raby’s dive into the middle of the defense gained little, but an unsportsmanlike penalty on GC advanced the football to the GC 37. Raby earned two on his next carry. On 2nd down, the snap was mishandled and Adam Krien recovered for the Indians after a loss of 10 yards. The following snap was also muffed, and this time Raby recovered losing 6 more yards. On 4th-&-long, Dinkel was flushed from the pocket and tackled after a slight gain.
GC began on the SF 25. Miller was tackled by Hunter Helton and others for a loss of 7 yards. Using the hard count, GC pulled the Indian defenders offside earning 5 yards back. Chavez’s roll-out pass to Miller earned a 1st down at the SF 6 yard line. The 2nd-down snap was fumbled by the Jackrabbits, and Adam Krien recovered for the Indians stopping the scoring threat.
St. Francis set up offense on their own 16 yard line. Jordan Raby ran right for five yards on first down, and using no huddle, Dinkel ran left for 3 more. Raby’s next carry was stopped by Chavez for a three yard loss. Facing 4th-&-5 at the 20, St. Francis called time-out. Shadryon Blanka then carried the football for 18 yards earning a first down at the SF 38. Raby then carried the ball twice netting good yardage, but a holding penalty on the Indians slowed the progress. Two Dinkel runs placed the Indians in a 4th-&-2 situation, but again a mishandled snap occurred. Though Dinkel recovered, the Jackrabbits took possession on downs at the Greeley County 36 yard line.
Chavez ran a quarterback draw on the first play of the possession and was met hard by Shadyron Blanka. A flag backed the Jackrabbits up 5 yards, and then Chavez ran again, only gaining one. Jesse Baxter tackled Sanchez on the next play after a gain of 3. The play ended the first period. On 3rd-&-6, a quick pass from Chavez to Miller in the left flat was stopped for a 1 yard gain by Raby’s tackle. Chavez ran right on 4th down, and again, Raby made the stop.
St. Francis took over at their own 24. Raby’s run to the right earned good yards, and a facemask penalty on the Jackrabbits helped also. At the GC 36, Brady Dinkel and Jordan Raby each carried before Dinkel earned a first down up the middle moving the ball to the GC 23. The Jackrabbits’ defense stiffened, and three more carries by Raby resulted in three yards. On 4th-&-7, Dinkel’s pass was intercepted and returned all the way to the SF 20 yard line. Fortunately, a pass interference penalty on the play gave the Indians a 1st-&-10 at the GC 11 yard line. Dinkel’s run up the middle earned three yards on first down, but a procedure penalty on the Indians moved them 5 yards further from the goal. With 6:59 left in the second period, Raby ran the right side scoring the first touchdown of the game. The conversion attempt was stopped short after another fumbled snap. St. Francis led 6-0.
On the return, the Jackrabbits crossed their kick returners where Miller handed-off to Sanchez. Tiernan Poling made the stop on the kick return. Beginning at the 20, Chavez tried the middle gaining 5 yards before an incomplete pass on second down. Sanchez tried the left side on 3rd-&-5, but Adam Krien's tackle caused a four yard loss. The Jackrabbits punted the ball away. The punt was a good one; instead of stopping near the goal line, the ball bounced in the Indians' favor back to the SF 13 yard line. A holding penalty on the the Rabbits, caused a re-kick.
The second punt was not as good, allowing the Indians to set up on their own 23. Jordan Raby ran right for two yards, then Brady Dinkel earned 5 going the opposite direction. On 3rd down, Raby scrambled to the 34 gaining a first down. Two more Raby carries moved the Indians to the GC 24. Dinkel followed with a run up the middle gaining three, and Raby earned four on second down before being stopped by Chavez. St. Francis called a time-out before the 3rd down snap with 2:13 remaining in the half. Dinkel then carried the football to the 12. On the next play, the Indians committed a procedure penalty and were backed up 5 yards. Runs by Dinkel and Raby moved the ball to the one. With 44.5 seconds remaining in the half, Dinkel powered into the end zone from one yard out. Raby's conversion carry was stopped just short of the goal line. St. Francis led 12-0.
Dinkel's kick-off was deep and bobbled by Miller near the goal line. The Indians' coverage dropped Miller at the 5-yard line. On first down, Chavez ran a QB draw gaining 6. The same play was stopped for no gain on second down, ending the first half. The teams headed to their locker rooms with the Indians leading 12-0.
The Indians received the second half kick-off. Jordan Raby returned the kick for a 60 yard touchdown. The conversion try was stopped by the Jackrabbits short of the goal line. A penalty on the Indians was declined, and the Indians took an 18-0 advantage.
The Indian kick-off was a squib kick that traveled out-of-bounds. On the re-kick, GC was called for a block-in-the-back causing them to set up offense deep in their own territory at the 7 yard line. Shadryon Blanka tackled Sanchez for no gain on first down. On second down, pressure by Jesse Baxter caused Chavez to rush his throw which fell incomplete. A third-down pass to Miller was complete but ruled out-of-bounds. The Jackrabbits punted.
Dinkel returned the punt for good yardage, and a face-mask penalty on the Rabbits also helped the Indians' cause. St. Francis set up offense on the GC 16 yard line. Two dives into the middle netted four yards. On 3rd down, another fumbled snap occurred with Dinkel recovering for the Indians and gaining one yard. On 4th down, Jordan Raby powered into the middle of the GC defense scoring the fourth Indian touchdown of the evening. The Rabbits jumped off-side on the conversion attempt moving the ball half the distance to the goal. Dinkel scored on the conversion try moving the scoreboard to 26-0 with 8:56 left in the third period.
Adam Krien halted Sanchez's kick return at the GC 16. Hunter Helton and others stopped Chavez's run for no gain on the first snap of the possession. A GC pass fell incomplete on second down. Another pass fell incomplete on third down, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on the Indians advanced the ball to the GC 31. After a Sanchez run netted one yard, Chavez attempted a pass to Seth Williams (5' 11" 150 lb So.) that fell incomplete. After a delay penalty, the Rabbits faced 3rd-&-14. Chavez then completed a pass to Manuel Chavez advancing the football into Indian territory. Chavez then found Williams; the pass and a run by Chavez advanced the Rabbits to the SF 19. With a new set of downs, the Rabbits continued to attack from the air. Chavez's pass intended for Jacob Miller (So.) was nearly intercepted by Brady Dinkel but fell incomplete. Chavez then tried rounding the right end, but Tiernan Poling smacked him for a one yard loss. Chavez's third down pass intended for Sanchez was thrown low. On 4th down, Chavez was forced to scramble and threw incomplete.
St. Francis took over on their own 20. Brady Dinkel ran left gaining 14 yards on first down. Shadryon Blanka was stopped for no gain on the next play. After a three yard gain by Jordan Raby, Blanka earned a new series at the GC 34 with a strong run. Two Raby carries and a run by Dinkel created a 4th-&-inches situation. Dinkel ran into the middle, but fumbled. The Jackrabbits took over on downs at the 27 yard line.
Chavez gained 7 yards up the middle on the first carry. After a GC time-out at 1:50, Sanchez ran right and was stopped for no gain. Chavez rounded the right end on the next play gaining enough for a first down before being forced out-of-bounds by Shadryon Blanka. Now at the GC 38, two GC passes fell incomplete; the second one greatly pressured by Jesse Baxter and Hunter Helton and causing a holding penalty on GC. The 2nd-&-20 pass to the right flat was nearly intercepted by Tiernan Poling. The 3rd down pass also fell incomplete, but compounding the problem for the Rabbits was a holding penalty. On 4th-&-20, GC punted short and out-of-bounds at the St. Francis 36.
St. Francis took possession with 39.7 seconds remaining in the 3rd period. A procedure penalty backed-up the Indians. Runs by Dinkel and Raby netted zero yards. On 3rd down, Shadryon Blanka ran a reverse to the left side covering 44 yards for the next St. Francis touchdown. Again, the conversion try was unsuccessful. With 11:48 remaining in the 4th period, St. Francis led 32-0.
The Jackrabbits returned the kick-off to the GC 36 for good starting position. After a three yard gain by Chavez, the GC quarterback found Miller in the right flat for a good gain before a tackle by Richard Johnson stopped the play. After holding was assessed on GC, the Rabbits faced 2nd-&-9. Chavez then ran the middle for a first down. A personal foul penalty on the Indians advanced the ball all the way to the SF 14 yard line where a procedure penalty backed up the Jackrabbits. On the next play, Manuel Chavez was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct. Facing 1st-&-30, GC took a time-out with 10:04 remaining. Axel Sanchez then carried the football around the right end earning 12 yards before going out-of-bounds. Two Chavez runs reduced the line to gain to 7 yards. On 4th down, Chavez hit Miller in the end zone with a good pass, but the ball was dropped.
St. Francis took over on downs at their own 11 yard line. Jordan Raby ran for a good gain on 1st down, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty on the Indians. On 2nd-&-18 at the 8, Raby ran the right side gaining 11 yards. Dinkel then ran up the middle for first down at the SF 26. Kobe Tice carried the ball on the next two plays earning a first down at the SF 37. On the next play, Brady Dinkel ran left for a 43-yard touchdown. The conversion run failed. St. Francis led 38-0 with 6:09 remaining.
A flag on the touchdown run was enforced on the kick-off allowing the Indians to kick from the GC 35. The kick sailed into the end zone. After the touchback, Chavez ran for 1 yard over the left side, before Sanchez earned a first down at the 31. Two more CG runs gained nothing more than a holding penalty and set up 2nd-&-23. Two plays resulted in 4th-&-21 as the Indians held strong. The 4th-down punt was high and very short.
St. Francis took possession on the GC 37 with 2:18 remaining in the game. Many St. Francis substitute players were now seeing playing time. On first down, Kobe Tice ran for a good gain, but a holding penalty erased the play and moved the Indians back 10 yards. Tiernan Poling then ran around the left end. A personal foul on GC resulted in a 1st down at the 17 yard line. Tice ran hard, bouncing off tackles, to earn 7 yards. Poling ran the right end moving the ball to the 8 yard line. Tice gained two more on the next play. With 48 seconds left, the Indians kneeled in victory formation. St. Francis defeated the Greeley County Jackrabbits 38-0.
St. Francis will play Dighton on Greene Field in St. Francis on Friday, September 14. The game will be the Homecoming game for the Indians.