Indians Blank Wallace County 46-0
The 2019 football season kicked off on Friday, September 6. The Indians traveled to Sharon Springs to play the Wallace County Wildcats and returned home after only two quarters of action. St. Francis scored two quick touchdowns and rolled to a 46-0 win.
The Indians - ranked #2 in 8-man Division I - looked sharp from the beginning. Jake Willems (185 lb. soophomore) kicked-off for the Wildcats. The kick was returned by Tyson Poling to the Indian 23 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Shadryon Blanka sprinted 57 yards over the right side for the first Indian touchdown of the season. Dinkel carried up the middle for the conversion points. With only 19 seconds gone in the contest, the Indians led 8-0.
Brady Dinkel's kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback. On the Wildcats' opening play, Landon Johnson (122 lb. Jr.) ran around the right end gaining two yards before being stopped by Jesse Baxter. David Korbe (141 lb. junior) fumbled and recovered the football on the next play; Adam Krien tacked him for a 4-yard loss. On 3rd-&-12, Korbe ran around the right end gaining a yard. Facing 4th-&-11, Landon Johnson punted the ball back to St. Francis. Dinkel gathered in the football, and breaking tackles along the way, scrambled for 36 yards to score the Indians' second touchdown. Dinkel ran over the right side for the conversion points. With 10:15 remaining in the first period, St. Francis led 16-0.
Again, Dinkel's kick sailed into the end zone. After the ball was spotted at the 25 yard line, quarterback Landon Johnson ran over the right side gaining 3 yards. Korbe was stopped on 2nd down for no gain by Jesse Baxter and Colton Neitzel. On 3rd-&-7, Johnson completed a pass to Cody Seader (176 lb. senior) in the right flat. The play lost a yard due to excellent coverage by the Indians. The Wildcats punted on fourth down. The ball rolled out-of-bounds at the SF 39.
On the first play of the possession, St. Francis was called for a false start. Shadryon Blanka banged for 6 yards up the middle on the ensuing play. Blanka earned 7 more over the left side on the next play. On 3rd-&-2, the Wildcat defense swarmed Blanka on his run up the middle, and the play netted only a yard. Brady Dinkel then earned a first down running straight up the middle. The ball was now at the Wallace County (WC) 28 yard line. Adam Krien carried the football on a reverse gaining 4 yards on the next snap. Blanka then powered up the middle bringing the football within 1/2 yard of another first down. Josiah Sims then ran up the middle earning a first down, but a holding call on the Indians nullified the play. After the penalty was accessed, Dinkel banged up the middle for 4 yards. Facing 4th-&-4, the Indians went to the air. Dinkel's pass to Jayce Nider was dropped in the left corner of the end zone.
Wallace County took over on downs at their own 23. Before the first snap of the possession, WC took a time out. A pass to Cade Johnson (120 lb. freshman) was completed on the left side. The play advanced the ball to the SF 35 before Johnson was tackled by Kobe Tice. Tailback Corbin Smith (173 lb. senior) carried the football on the next play gaining 1 yard before Jayce Nider made the defensive stop. On the next play, quarterback Johnson completed a pass to Cody Seader over the middle. The play was good for a WC first down at the SF 19. The Wildcats were threatening. On the ensuing snap, Shadryon Blanka sacked Johnson for a 6-yard loss. Smith earned only 1 on a pitch play to the left side on the following play. The Indian defense was stiffening. On 3rd-&-16, Johnson attempted a pass, but was sacked again--this time by Jesse Baxter. On 4th-&-24, Johnson was flushed from the pocket, ran right, and heaved the football. Brady Dinkel intercepted the errant pass and returned it to the SF 30 yard line.
Before the first snap of the SF possession, WC was penalized for encroachment. The ensuing snap was low, but Shadryon Blanka managed to earn a yard up of the middle. Blanka carried again on the next play moving the ball to the WC 36. Brady Dinkel then carried up the middle for 6. On 2nd down, Dinkel's pass intended for Jayce Nider fell incomplete. Josiah Sims earned a first down running up the middle to the 22. On the following play, Dinkel dropped to pass, but then scrambled 22 yards for his 2nd TD of the period as the first quarter clock expired. Sims carried for the conversion points. St. Francis led 24-0 after one period of play.
David Korbe returned the kickoff to the 16 yard line were he was stopped by Josiah Sims. On the next play, Adam Krien tossed quarterback Johnson for a 9-yard loss. Though it appeared that Krien may have earned possession of the ball during the tackle, WC retained possession. Corbin Smith banged into the left side of the line on the next play but was stopped for a 1-yard loss by Nider and Krien. On 3rd-&-20, Krien and Jesse Baxter applied pressure on the WC quarterback. Johnson's pass was intercepted by Brady Dinkel and returned to the end zone. An illegal block nullified the score, and St. Francis took possession at the WC 13 yard line after the penalty assessment.
On the first snap, Brady DInkel started into the middle, bounced to the right side, and "walked" into the end zone. Josiah Sims ran over the right side for the conversion points. St. Francis led 32-0 with 11:09 left in the second period.
Corbin Smith returned the Indians' kickoff to the WC 24. Justin Seader (115 lb senior) carried the football for the Wildcats and was tackled by Ben Nelson on the play after a 1-yard gain. Smith carried the pigskin on the next two plays earning a few yards before being stopped by Shadryon Blanka and Jesse Baxter. With 9:16 left in period two, St. Francis called time-out. On 4th-&-4, a pass intended for Cody Seader was over-thrown and fell incomplete.
St. Francis took over at the WC 29 yard line. Shadryon Blanka ran up the middle on the opening play of the possession to the end zone. The play was nullified by a holding penalty on the Indians. On the "repeat" first down, Josiah Sims fumbled the snap but recovered the football. The play lost 5 yards. Facing 2nd-&-25, Brady Dinkel rambled around the right end for 21 yards before a touchdown-saving tackle was made by Connor Kuhlman (144 lb sophomore). On the next play, Dinkel tried the right side, and after breaking several tackles, found the end zone. Wallace County used another time-out before the extra-point try. Josiah Sims' conversion try was stopped short by Corbin Smith. With 7:40 left in the first half, the Indians held a 38-0 advantage.
Adam Krien and Jayce Nider tackled Corbin Smith on the kick return. WC set up offense at their own 18 yard line. With many St. Francis subs now in the game, Smith dove into the middle gaining 1 yard. On the next play, Ethan Korbe (130 lb. sophomore) earned 8 yards for the Wildcats running over the left side. Korbe ran right for a first down on the next play. Nider made a nice tackle on the play. Now at the WC 31 yard line, Korbe ran left, but was stopped by Josiah Sims after gaining 6 yards. Colton Neitzel's tackle stopped Korbe for no gain on the following play. A pitch to Smith on 3rd-&-4 earned two more. On 4th down, a slant pass to Cody Seader earned a first down at the SF 31. The Indian defense swarmed quarterback Johnson on the next snap. Johnson spun off several tackles but was stopped for no gain by Colton Neitzel. Smith then earned 5 yards running over the left side before being stopped by Sims. St. Francis took a time-out to slow the Wildcats' advance. On the 4th-down snap, Shadryon Blanka, Kobe Tice, and Krien smothered Smith for a loss.
St. Francis took possession on their own 29 with 1:53 remaining in the half. Shadryon Blanka powered up the middle, but only gained two yards due to a nice tackle by Cody Seader. Adam Krien then ran around the left end for good yardage. A touchdown-saving tackle by Cade Johnson (120 lb freshman) kept him from scoring. With the ball at the WC 15 yard line, Blanka ran over the right side for the 6th SF touchdown of the contest. Shadryon's strong running broke several would-be tackles. The Indians had taken exactly one minute to score. Josiah Sims forced his way into the end zone for the conversion points moving the margin to 46-0 with 53 seconds remaining in the half.
Dinkel's final kickoff also sailed into the end zone. The Wildcats' pass intended for C. Seader fell incomplete on first down. Jesse Baxter chased the Wildcat quarterback from the pocket on the next snap, and Shadryon Blanka's punishing tackle finished the play. On the final snap of the game, another pass intended for Seader fell incomplete. St. Francis defeated Wallace County 46-0
The Indians will travel to Holly, CO, on Friday, September 13. Please note that the game originally scheduled with Greeley County has been canceled and has been replaced with the contest in Holly. Holly is 150 miles from St. Francis and is located 21 miles west of Syracuse on US Highway 50.
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