Indians Pluck the Golden Eagles
On Friday, October 12, the Indians wasted little time in disposing of the Trego Community Golden Eagles. In a contest played in Wakeeney, the Indians scored early and often to dominate the football game. St. Francis defeated Trego Community 64-14.
Trego Community (TC) won the toss and elected to receive. Gavin Garza (5' 7" 150 lb. So.) bobbled the kick-off, retrieved it, and was tackled at the 2 yard line. It was an ominous start for the Golden Eagles, but a sign of things to come. On the first snap, quarterback Keagen Shubert (6' 2" 175 lb. Sr.) rolled left and gained 5 yards on a nice carry. The second down play, an option to the right side, lost three yards. A shovel-pass to Dillon Dunn (6' 2" 230 lb. Jr.) on the ensuing play regained the yardage lost on the previous play. Facing 4th-&-5 deep in their own territory, the Eagles punted. The punt was short an came to rest on the TC 32 yard line.
Quarterback Brady Dinkel had trouble handling the first snap, and lost a yard going into the middle of the Eagle defense. On the next play, Jordan Raby sprinted over the right side for a 33-yard touchdown run. The conversion attempt, a carry by Shadryon Blanka, was stopped by a host of Golden Eagle defenders. With 9:15 left in the first period, St. Francis led 6-0
Garza returned Brady Dinkel's kick-off to the TC 11 yard line where he was met by Conner Keller and Adam Krien. Before the next snap, a procedure penalty on the Eagles backed them up five yards. A carry by Dallas Schneider (5' 11" 175 lb. Sr.) earned one yard on the first play from scrimmage. On second down, a pass from Keagan Shubert to Kobi Shubert (6'1" 160 lb. So.) gained good yardage. Facing 3rd-&-a long 1, TC called their first time-out at 7:48. Schneider's carry to the left side ended in a fumble.
St. Francis took over on downs at the TC 21. Brady Dinkel's carry earned 9 yards on first down. Another Dinkel run resulted in a first down just inside the 10. On the next play, Jordan Raby bolted over the right side for a 10-yard touchdown run. Raby started the conversion run going right, but cut to the left to score the additional points. With 6:58 left in the first period, St. Francis led 14-0.
It didn't take long for Trego Community to answer. Dallas Schneider returned the Indian's kick-off 79 yards up the right side to paydirt. The conversion points resulted from a pass from Shubert to Carter Minson (5' 10" 165 lb. Jr.) on the right side. The Eagles had scored quickly narrowing the margin to 14-8.
Nathaniel Werth's (5' 10" 180 Sr.) kick-off was fielded by Jordan Raby and returned approximately 70 yards for a touchdown. On the conversion, Raby ran untouched into the end zone behind good line blocking. The Indians now led 22-8.
Garza returned Dinkel's kick-off to the TC 27. After an option play earned zero yardage on first down, a pass to Kobi Shubert was good for a new set of downs at the TC 38. The Eagles next pass attempt, intended for Cooper Desormiers (6' 2" 170 Jr.) in the right flat, fell incomplete. Schneider ran into the middle, cut left, and earned a first down at the SF 29. The Eagles were threatening again. On the following play, Schneider earned three more over the right side. A procedure penalty cost the Eagles five yards before the next snap. On the next play, Shubert ran right and was tackled by Raby, but a holding penalty slowed the Eagles momentum even more. Facing 2nd-&-22, Shubert attempted a pass to Desormiers, but the ball fell incomplete. Going for the deep ball on 3rd-&-22, Shubert's pass was intercepted by Tiernan Poling on the sideline with 3:23 remaining in the first period.
St. Francis set up offense at the TC 19 yard line. Raby earned 8 yards on a run to the right. On 2nd-down, Shadryon Blanka broke several tackles on a strong 61-yard run for the next Indian touchdown. Raby's right-side conversion run was also good. With 2:35 left in the first period, St. Francis led 30-8.
A fumble on the kick return was covered by the Golden Eagles at the 3 yard line. A dive by Schneider was stopped for a one-yard loss by the Indian defense. On the next play, a pitch to Schneider was foiled by a tackle by Jordan Raby. The play resulted in a safety for the Indians and extended the margin to 32-8.
Jordan Raby's strong return moved the football out to the Trego 35. Two Raby carries resulted in 3-&-5. Brady Dinkel then carried the football to the 25 earning another 1st down. A powerful run by Shardyon Blanka earned four more over the right side as the first quarter clock expired. On the first play of the 2nd period, Raby ran right, cut left, and sprinted 21 yards for his fourth touchdown of the game. Dinkel carried over the left side for the conversion points. St. Francis led 40-8 eight seconds into the second period.
Schneider was stopped at the 9 yard line on the kick-off return by the Indians' good coverage before he could reach the wall set up on the right side of the field. After a quarterback run into the middle on first down, Shubert's pass was caught out-of-bounds on the next play. On 3rd-&-9, Shubert found Dunn open, and the pass resulted in a first down at the TC 24. Shubert's next pass attempt was tipped incomplete by the Indian front line defenders. After being penalized again for procedure, Shubert tried the middle and was stopped by Hunter Helton. The next Eagle pass was dropped. Facing 4th-&-15, the Eagles suffered another procedure mark-off before punting.
The punt rolled dead at the St. Francis 36 yard line. Two Raby carries were well-defended by the Golden Eagles and earned only three yards. On the next snap, Raby ran over would-be tacklers to earn a first down at the Trego 34. Three carries over the right side, two by Raby and one by Adam Krien, gained four yards. On 4th-&-6, Brady Dinkel passed to Cody Baxter running a flag route on the left side. The 29-yard touchdown stopped the clock at 7:11. Shadryon Blanka's conversion run up the middle accounted for the conversion points. St. Francis led 48-8.
The St. Francis kick-off resulted in a touchback. On the Eagles first snap, Shubert found Desormiers on the right side for a new series at the TC 34. A 6-yard pass to Kobi Shubert in the right flat was followed by a quarterback run to the right side. Cody Baxter stopped Shubert for a very short gain. On 3rd-&-3, Shubert found his younger brother in the left flat earning a first down at the SF 31. After a 1st-down run by the TC quarterback, a 2nd-down pass was well-defended by Jordan Raby and was incomplete. On the next play, Minson caught a pass from Shubert in the right flat, broke tackles, and ran 45 yards for the second Trego touchdown. The conversion pass attempt fell incomplete leaving the scoreboard at 48-14.
Raby;s next touch resulted in his 5th touchdown of the contest. Raby sprinted 75 yards for his second kick-return score of the night. Brady Dinkel powered over the left side to earn the conversion points. With 4:27 left in the second period, St. Francis led 56-14.
Dinkel's kick-off sailed into the end zone. After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Shubert connected with Kobi Shubert in the left flat gaining 9 yards. A quarterback sneak resulted in a new set of downs at the 28. The next Shubert-to-Shubert pass was complete, but resulted in zero yardage. Two Shubert runs into the middle moved the situation to 4th-&-4. Shubert slipped on the next play, and the Indians took over at the TC 35 with 2:11 left in the half.
Dinkel's first run carried a pile of Eagle defenders for 7 yards. On the next play, Dinkel rounded the right end and sprinted 28 yards for another St. Francis touchdown. Connor Keller carried up the middle for the conversion points. With 1:34 on the clock, the margin increased to 64-14.
After another touchback, Trego began at the 15. A Shubert-to-Shubert pass attempt was tipped incomplete by Indian defenders. A 2nd-down pass was over-thrown. On 3rd down, Shubert completed a pass to Dunn earning 9 yards. Shubert's sneak on 4th down was measured and determined to be just short of a first down. The stop was made by Hunter Helton and others.
St. Francis took over at the TC 25 with 54 seconds remaining. Three kneel-downs expired the clock. St. Francis defeated Trego Community 64-14.
The Indians will play Rawlins County on Friday, October 19, in St. Francis.
