Second half surge pushes Scott City past Ulysses
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–For the first 24 minutes of the game, the Ulysses Tigers proved they have shown improvement over the past season. The upset-minded Tigers would push Scott City over the first two-plus quarters, but a 27-0 second half run by the Beavers would propel them to a 44-7 homecoming win, to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2019.
Ulysses controlled most of the first quarter, as they marched down the field on their second series, where they turned the ball over on downs. After Scott City had their second straight three-and-out, the Beavers would force the first turnover of the night on a strip and recover on the punt return at the Ulysses 48 yard line. Scott City would eventually score first on a Pablo Solis 25-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter to give the Beavers the 3-0 lead.
After the Beavers forced the Tigers into a second straight turnover on downs, they would score their first touchdown of the night. A one-yard Cayden Couchman run gave them the 10-0 lead with 6:44 left before halftime, with the Solis PAT. Ulysses would strike back quickly, thanks to special teams. Julian Meraz would return the kickoff 88 yards to pull the Tigers to within 10-7 with 6:32 left before the break on a Alvaro Moya extra point kick. Two possessions later, the Beavers added to their lead after they forced a turnover on downs. On fourth and goal from the Tiger four yard line, Couchman would catch a stand up touchdown from Drew Metzger to extend the lead to 17-7 with the Solis PAT. On the ensuing kickoff, Ulysses would overrun a shorter kick and the Beavers would recover at the 12 yard line. Without any timeouts and nine seconds to work with, they would complete a 10-yard pass play that ran out the half.
To open the second half, Scott City was driving, but a penalty and a fumble would end their drive. The Beaver defense forced a three-and-out, and they would drive the ball six plays to tack on seven more points. Metzger hit Peyton Bergner, who caught it in front of a Ulysses defender’s hand at the five and waltzed into the end zone on a 40-yard pass play with 5:08 left in the third frame to go up 24-7 with the Solis kick.
Scott City wore down Ulysses and added 20 fourth quarter points. The first game on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Bergner, the homecoming king, would take the third down handoff and rush 44 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 31-7. Nearly three minutes later, it was Matthew Wheeler with a three-yard plunge to put the Beavers up 38-7 with the Solis extra point. The final score came with 1:55 left on a 37-yard Bergner run to make the final 44-7.
Scott City would rack up a season-high 491 yards of offense, as Drew Metzger threw for 219 yards on 15-20 passing with two touchdowns. Cayden Couchman had 98 yards on five receptions and a touchdonw, and Peyton Bergner added 81 yards on six grabs and a score. The Beavers ran for 272, as Bergner had 94 yards on five carries and two scores, while Couchman had 85 yards and a score and Matthew Wheeler finished with 17 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Ulysses ended up with 243 yards, as aden Ledesma went 13-19 for 164 ayrds. Julian Meraz had six receptions for 65 yards. Stryker Berglund had 47 yards rushing on 10 carries, as the Tigers rushed for 75 yards.
With the win, Scott City continues the longest win streak in the series at 10 in a row, as they also improve to 45-30-1 overall in the series. The Beavers are 3-0 for the first time since 2019, when they started the season at 5-0. It was their 18th straight GWAC regular season win.
Scott City is 3-0, as they will enter district play next Friday at Hugoton. The Eagles are 4-0 after a 62-18 win at Colby to open up district play. Ulysses drops to 1-3 on the year, and will host Goodland next Friday for their final GWAC game of the year. The Cowboys are 2-2 after a 34-14 loss at home to Holcomb. This will be Goodland’s first road game of the year.
Coach Jim Turner Postgame
Box Score
Ulysses 0 7 0 0–7
Scott City 0 17 7 20–44
Scoring Summary
2nd QTR
SC 11:56 Pablo Solis 25 Yard Field Goal 5-42, 2:14
SC 6:44 Cayden Couchman 1 Yard Run (Solis Kick) 8-70, 2:38
UL 6:32 Julian Meraz 88 Yard Kick Return (Alvaro Moya Kick)
SC :09.3 Couchman 4 Yard Pass from Drew Metzger (Solis Kick) 8-52, 1:53
3rd QTR
SC 5:08 Peyton Bergner 40 Yard pass from Metzger (Solis Kick) 6-71, 1:54
4th QTR
SC 11:51 Bergner 44 Yard Run (Solis Kick) 5-67, 2:04
SC 8:58 Matthew Wheeler 3 Yard Run (Solis Kick) 5-54, 1:52
SC 1:55 Bergner 37 Yard Run (2-Pt Conversion Failed) 2-37, :17
Ulysses
Rushing
Stryker Berglund 10-47; Tyce Perez 11-21; Julian Garcia 4-17; Caden Ledesma 10-(-10); Total: 35-75
Passing
Caden Ledesma 13-19 164 0-0; Tyce Perez 1-3 4 0-0
Receiving
Julian Meraz 6-65; Stryker Berglund 3-50; Preston Hittle 2-40; Luis Contreras 1-7; Jaxon Curl 1-3; Edgar Porras 1-3
Total Yards: 243
Scott City
Rushing
Peyton Bergner 5-94; Cayden Couchman 9-85; Matthew Wheeler 17-80; Drew Metzger 7-13; Total: 38-272
Passing
Drew Metzger 15-20 219 2-0
Receiving
Cayden Couchman 5-98; Peyton Bergner 6-81; Matthew Wheeler 1-17; Mickey Gossman 1-14; Cooper Irvin 1-5; Adan Tarango 1-4
Total Yards: 491