Indians District Champions
The Indians defeated the Rawlins County (RC) Buffaloes in Atwood on Friday evening, October 25, to remain undefeated and claim the Northwest Kansas League and District Championships. The Indians dominated the Buffs winning 46-0 in two quarters of action.
The Indians now advance to post season play and will compete with Washington County on Thursday evening, October 31, in St. Francis. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. start due to the long distance between the schools.
Freshman Kenneth Micek's kick-off was returned 17 yards by Jayce Nider to the St. Francis 30 yard line. On first down, Shadryon Blanka sprinted around the right end to RC 37, but an illegal block on the Indians nullified the good run and placed them on the 20. Blanka's next run picked up two yards before he slipped near the right sideline attempting to change direction. On the third play from scrimmage, Blanka sprinted around the left end for a 58 yard touchdown. Adam Krien ran for the conversion points. With 11:27 remaining in the first quarter, St. Francis led 8-0.
Freshman Jayden Reed returned the St. Francis kick-off to the RC 20 yard line where he was tackled by Kobe Tice. On the initial play from scrimmage for RC, the Buffaloes faked a run to the right and then passed to senior Iean Hemmel earning a 1st down at mid-field. A bit of confusion in the Buffs backfield resulted in a broken play on the next snap. Jesse Baxter tacked the Buff's quarterback, freshman Drew Withington, for a 3-yard loss. (Rawlins County's usual starting quarterback, junior Travis Chvatal, and junior Kendrick Woody did not play in the game due to injury.) On the next play, Colton Neitzel and Adam Krien crushed Reed for another loss. Before the next play was snapped, RC was penalized for illegal procedure resulting in 3rd-&-21. Withington tried the middle earning two yards on the play and was stopped by Krien, Tyson Poling and Jesse Baxter. On 4th down, the Buffaloes punted the football. The Indians were penalized for roughing the kicker gifting RC a first down at the St. Francis 39. The Buffs were penalized for a procedure penalty before the next snap. After a tackle by Baxter resulted in a 2-yard loss, Withington passed to junior Cyrus Green on the right side. The play was good for 7 yards. On 3rd-&-10, Green earned 8 yards with a powerful run up the middle. Adam Krien sacked Withington on 4th down returning the football to St. Francis on downs.
The Indians took over at their own 35. Brady Dinkel picked up 5 yards over the left side and then Adam Krien gained 2 going right. On 3rd-&-3, Dinkel sprinted around the left end for the second Indian touchdown. Krien powered up the middle for the conversion points. With 5:04 remaining in the first quarter, the Indians led 16-0.
Freshman Josh Popp returned the SF kick-off to the 19 yard line where he was stopped by a tackle by Kobe Tice. After a RC time-out, Cyrus Green banged into the line and was stopped by Adam Krien. An illegal procedure penalty backed the Buffs up and made the situation 1st-&-19. Green's next carry was stopped after a short gain by Jayce Nider. Withington was pressured and sacked on the next play. After a short third down gain, the Buffs punted again. The ball was downed by freshman Brandon Chvatal at the SF 28.
A botched snap on initial play of the possession was retrieved deep behind the line of scrimmage by Shadryon Blanka. Blanka picked up some yardage, but was forced out-of-bounds for a loss of 7. A run by Brady Dinkel earned 11 yards on the following play. Blanka then ran around the left end and was forced out-of-bounds inside the RC 15. On the next play, Josiah Sims rounded the right end to score a 14-yard touchdown for the Indians. Blanka run up the middle for the conversion. With 2:49 left in the first period, St. Francis led 24-0.
Cyrus Green had an excellent return on the kick-off advancing the ball to the Buffs' 37 yard line where Brady Dinkel made a touchdown-saving tackle. Green earned a yard on first down but was swarmed by Colton Neitzel, Adam Krien, and Jayce Nider. Jesse Baxter stopped Green for a short loss on the next play. On 3-&-10, RC was first penalized for a false start, and then Withington was pressured and scrambled to the left side where he was met by Baxter. The play lost two more yards and caused the Buffs to punted again. The first quarter expired before the punt.
The punt included a good roll and came to rest at the Indians' 9 yard line. Dinkel carred into the middle following good line blocking to the 21. Blanka ran middle on the next three plays resulting in a 4th-&-1/2 yard situation. Dinkel then carried the football over the left side to the 34. The next snap was bobbled by Blanka and recovered by RC's Henry Kastens.
Drew Withington was sacked by Adam Krien on the ensuing snap. The play resulted in a loss of 8 yards. Withington then tried the right side losing two more. On third down, Brady Dinkel intercepted Withington's pass and returned it into RC territory before being tackled by Henry Kastens.
St. Francis was now at the RC 35. After Brady Dinkel ran left for 4 yards, Josiah Sims rounded the right end and bolted 31 yards for his second touchdown of the evening. Shadryon Blanka ran for the conversion points. St. Francis led 32-0 with 8:53 left in the second period.
The kick-off was returned to the Buffs' 29 where the play ended on a tackle by Josiah Sims. Two runs by Cyrus Green resulted in a loss of one yard. On 3rd down, Jesse Baxter and others sacked Withington for no gain. The Buffs' punt rolled to the SF 19.
Two runs by Adam Krien, one to each side, were followed by a personal foul mark-off against the Buffs. The result was a 1st-&-10 at the 39. On the next snap, Brady Dinkel ran right and cut back to the left to score the next St. Francis touchdown. Krien ran for the conversion points over the left side. With 5:24 remaining in the half, St. Francis led 40-0.
Shannon Rethke tackled Green on the return at the RC 27. The Buffs fumbled the football on the next play. Brady Dinkel scooped up the fumble, scrambled all over the field evading would-be tacklers and eventually found the end zone for another SF touchdown. Jaron Berig carried the football on the conversion try but was stopped by the Buffalo defenders. The margin grew to 46-0 with 4:57 remaining.
The Indians kick-off went out-of-bounds and the Indians were penalized and forced to re-kick. Jayce Nider tackled Green on the return. Three consecutive carries by Green resulted in a Buffs' first down at midfield. Four more carries by Green resulted in a measured first down at the 30 that was good by just inches. On the next play, Green attempted to pass but was pressured by Adam Krien and Jesse Baxter. The play lost 5 yards. Green then picked up 6 yards over the left side. RC called time-out with 18.6 seconds remaining. When the Indians saw the Buffs alignment before the next snap, the Indians called time-out to make adjustments. Two final pass attempts by the Buffs were both incomplete.
St. Francis took over on downs. Caleb Todd carried up the middle gaining positive yardage for the Indians on the last play of the contest. St. Francis defeated Rawlins County 46-0.
