Indians Whack the Buffaloes
The final regular season game for the Indians was over quickly. St. Francis scored each time they had possession of the football and rolled to a 58-8 win over the Rawlins County Buffaloes. St. Francis received the opening kick-off. Jordan Raby returned the kick to the SF 32, but an illegal block penalty on the Indians backed them up to the 15. Brady Dinkel scored on a 65 yard run over the left side on the first scrimmage snap. Shadryon Blanka rambled over the left side for the conversion points. St. Francis led 8-0 21 seconds into the contest.
Sophomore quarterback Travis Chvatal returned the kick-off, but an illegal block on the Buffaloes backed Rawlins County (RC) up to the RC 9. Chvatal tried the left side on the first play from scrimmage and was met by Cody Baxter and Hunter Helton for a 1-yard loss. On the next play, junior Dominic Cassaw tried the right side and was met by a host of Indian tacklers including the Baxter brothers. On 3rd-&-11 Chvatal ran a keeper to the left and was ran out-of-bounds by Cody Baxter, but not before he had gained good yardage. Facing 4th-&-6, the Buffaloes punted. The punt was shanked short and out-of-bounds on the right sideline.
St. Francis set up offense at the RC 20 yard line. Jordan Raby earned a first down at the 9 on the first play of the possession running over the right side. Another Raby carry to the right moved the ball to the 5. On the next play, Brady Dinkel scored on a 5-yard run over the left side. A hard run by Shadryon Blanka accounted for the conversion points. St. Francis led 16-0 with 9:24 left on the first quarter clock.
Brady Dinkel's kick sailed into the end zone for a touchback. Chvatal was forced to scramble due to pressure from Jesse Baxter and Adam Krien and was eventually tacked by the two for a large loss. On 2nd-&-22 at the 3 yard line, Chvatal attempted a pass intended for Iean Hemel (Jr.). The pass was incomplete in the right flat. The Buffs punted again.
The punt rolled dead at the RC 37. A first-down run into the middle by Brady Dinkel picked up 4 yards. On the next snap, Jordan Raby broke several tackles on his way to the end zone. Behind good line blocking,Raby ran untouched into the end zone for the conversion points. With 7:18 left in the first period, St. Francis led 24-0.
Rawlins County set up at the 15 after another touchback kick by Dinkel. A run by sophomore Cyrus Green gained one yard before the tackle was made by Adam Krien and Hunter Helton. On 2nd down, Cassaw tired the right side and was tackled by Helton. The ball was fumbled and scooped up by Jesse Baxter heading toward the goal. Jesse was tripped up just before scoring.
On 1st-&-goal at the 1, Connor Keller ran into the end zone plowing straight up the middle. A carry by Tiernan Poling on the conversion try was stopped short by the Buffalo defenders. The score had quickly ballooned to 30-0 with 6:04 left in the first period.
A short kick-off was returned by Cassaw to the RC 34 where Richard Johnson's tackle stopped the progress. On first down, Cody Baxter's tackle on Cassaw caused a four-yard loss. On the next play, Hunter Helton tackled Chvatal for a one-yard loss near the left sideline. On third down, Chvatal was chased out-of-bounds by Cody Baxter resulting in no gain. The Buffs punted yet again.
Jordan Raby returned the punt 42 yards for another St. Francis touchdown. Tiernan Poling ran for the conversion points. With 4:23 left in the first period, St. Francis led 38-0.
The Indians' kick-off was short and recovered by Hemel at the RC 27. Cody Baxter, Jesse Baxter, and Adam Krien sacked Chvatal for a four-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage. On the next play, RC earned their third positive offensive play of the game, getting a four-yard gain by Green into the middle of Sainty defense. On the following play, Green's run to the right side was stopped by Jesse Baxter after a very short gain. Facing 4th-&-9, the Buffaloes punted again.
Jordan Raby returned the punt to the RC 24 where he was tackled by Green. After a two-yard run by Tiernan Poling to the right side, Connor Keller carried the football around the left end earning a first down at the 14. On the next play, Keller tried the right side earning 8 more. On 2nd-&-2, a high snap was bobbled, but Keller found the handle and cruised around the right end for another St. Francis touchdown. Keller carried up the middle for the conversion points. With 43 seconds left in the first period, St. Francis led 46-0.
With several Indian substitutes seeing action, the game continued. After the touchback kick-off, Cassaw earned two yards over the left side. The play ended the first period. After switching directions, another Cassaw run earned 5 yards going left. A tackle by Richard Johnson prevented a larger gain. Chvatal's third down carry was just enough for a first down at the 25. It was the first earned first down of the game for the Buffs. Green was met by a host of Indian tacklers on his next carry. The play resulted in a one-yard loss. Jesse Baxter's tackle stopped Cassaw for another short loss on the next play. On 3rd-&-12, Chvatal was forced to scramble by pressure from Jayce Nider and Johnson. Chvatal was run out-of-bounds by Nider to end the play. On 4th-&-15, the Buffs punted the football away. Shadryon Blanka returned the punt to the RC 27.
Before the ball was snapped, St. Francis called time-out to make sure everyone was in the correct position offensively. Two runs by Tiernan Poling resulted in a new series at the RC 17. Poling then ran right where he was met by a Green tackle. The play earned two yards. Jayce Nider carried the ball over the left side earning 3 on the next play. On 3rd-&- 5, Nider rounded the right end and sprinted into the the end zone for the Indians 7th touchdown. On the conversion play, the Indians bobbled the snap, recovered, but did not score. The margin grew to 52-0 with 7:09 left in the first half.
The Buffaloes began at their own 15 after another touchback. On first down, Jayce Nider stopped Cassaw for a one-yard gain. On 2nd down, Hunter Helton's tackle stopped Cassaw for no gain. Pressure by Richard Johnson forced Chvatal to scramble on 3rd down losing 5 yards. A fake punt on 4th-&-14 ended in an incomplete pass from Tanner Hayes (Jr.) to Chvatal.
St. Francis took over at the RC 21. Poling's run into the middle of the Buffs' defense was stopped for no gain by a Green tackle. The next Indian snap was low and difficult to handle. Jayce Nider was tackled by Henry Kastens (Jr.) losing 10 yards. Kobe Tice banged up the middle for 13 yards on the next play. On 4th-&-7 Nider ran over the left side scoring on an 18-yard touchdown play. The conversion try failed. With 2:57 left in the half, St. Francis led 58-0.
With everyone on the Indians' roster seeing playing time, the Buffaloes put together a sustained drive to score. Green's kick-off return was stopped at the 15 by a tackle by Brady Dinkel. On the next play, Chvatal passed to Green earning a first down at mid-field. Green earned four yards on the next play before being tackled by Seth Hilt. Tice's tackle stopped Chvatal for no gain on the ensuing play. Chvatal then earned five yards on a run around the right end. Blanka made the tackle preventing a first down. On 4th down, Green ran to the SF 19 earning a new set of downs. A gain of 8 on the next snap ended in another Blanka tackle. The next carry moved the ball to the 3 yard line where Tice and Jaron Berig made the stop. Dominic Cassaw scored from 3 yards out running over the right side on the following play. Before the conversion snap took place, RC was penalized for procedure. Cassaw rambled over the right side into the end zone from 8 yards out for the conversion points. With 15.4 seconds on the first half clock, the score stood at 58-8.
Adam Krien downed the kick-off at the SF 15. The Indians kneeled in victory formation to expire the clock on the next snap. St. Francis had defeated Rawlins County 58-8, and in doing so, had won the Yoke Bowl and completed an undefeated regular season. The Indians now advance to post-season play.
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