4th Down “Hail Mary” by Hugoton stuns Scott City
Hugoton, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–In a battle of unbeatens, it would come down to the very end of the game. The Eagles would lead for a majority of the night, only to see Scott City take the lead in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line, Hugoton connected on a 4th and goal from the Beaver 29 yard line with 17 seconds left, as Miguel Hernandez hit Adrian Adigun 9 1/2 yards deep in the end zone on an over the shoulder catch, as the Eagles rallied late to stun Scott City 17-14 in an instant classic at Hugoton.
The Beavers would be stuffed on their opening possession at midfield Hugoton responded with a 49-yard drive on their opening series, capped off by a Miguel Hernandez four-yard run with 7:16 left in the first quarter to give them the early 7-0 lead, with the Alan Ornelas PAT. On the next series, a high snap for the punter for Scott City would put the ball at the Beaver 11. However, the Eagles would miss a field goal, and the score remained 7-0.
In the second quarter, the Beavers had one lengthy drive that took them in to the red zone to the Hugoton five. However, two plays that pushed them back nine yards would thwart any momentum and they were forced to turn the ball over on downs. After that, it was back and forth for the rest of the half, as Hugoton took a 7-0 lead into intermission.
In the third quarter following an Eagle three-and-out, Scott City had prime field position at the Hugoton 49 yard line. They would not be able to convert a fourth down at the 40, and the Eagles would take the next drive and get a 37-yard Ornelas field goal with 4:23 left in third frame to extend the Hugoton lead to 10-0.
Scott City stormed back in the fourth period. Their first score came on the opening play of the fourth quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Drew Metzger to Adan Tarango nine yards deep in the end zone, and the Kade John PAT pulled the Beavers to within 10-7. Following an Eagle three-and-out, Scott City took advantage of a roughing the punter call, and took the lead on a Cayden Couchman nine-yard run with 6:51 left to go up 14-10 with the John extra point. The Beavers would recover the onside kick at the Hugoton 32 yard line on the ensuing kick. Scott City’s drive took them to the Eagle five, but a snap on second down lost the Beavers 12 yards and on fourth down, they would have a 32-yard field goal blocked with 2:46 left.
Hugoton took over at their own 23 yard line, and converted a third down. On the next play, their first completion of the night would be a 32-yard halfback pass play down to the 28-yard pass play to the Scott City 39 yard line. The Eagles eventually had first and goal at the nine. A holding and sack pushed the ball back to the 29 yard line. On fourth and goal, Hernandez would complete his lone pass of the night, as he tossed the “Hail Mary” pass to Adrian Adigun 9 1/2 yards in the back of the end zone, as Adigun make a spectacular over the shoulder catch with 17 seconds left to give the Eagles a 17-14 lead. Scott City had one final chance, as the first down pass was incomplete, and a sack ended the game, sending Hugoton to a 5-0 record in a 17-14 win.
Miguel Hernandez completed his lone pass of the night for 29 yards and a touchdown on 1-11 passing. Adrian Adigun caught both Eagle passes for 57 yards, all on the last drive. Cooper Nix had 14 rushes for 72 yards to lead the ground attack, as they finisehed with 118 rushing yards, and had 175 yards of offense.
For Scott City, Drew Metzger went 12-19 for 125 yards and a touchdown. Cayden Couchman had five receptions for 48 yards. Matthew Wheeler had 88 yards on 15 carries to lead the ground game, as the Beavers finished with 132 rushing yards and 257 yards of total offense.
With the win, Hugoton snaps a 13-game losing streak to Scott City that dates back to 2005, when they won in Class 4A district play 19-13. Scott City still leads the series 35-11-1. The Beavers lost their district opener for the first time since 2005, and saw a 12-game district win streak come to an end. Hugoton is 5-0 for the first time since 2009, when they went 10-1 that season.
At 5-0 overall and 2-0 in district play, Hugoton will step out of district play with a trip to Cimarron next Friday. The Bluejays are now 3-2 on the year following a 48-0 win at home against Larned. Scott City is 3-1 overall and 0-1 in district play, as they will host a 5-0 Holcomb team who’s 2-0 in district play following a 53-24 home win against Colby.
Coach Jim Turner Postgame
Box Score
Scott City 0 0 0 14–14
Hugoton 7 0 3 7–17
Scoring Summary
1st QTR
HU 7:16 Miguel Hernandez 4 Yard Run (Alan Ornelas Kick) 6-49, 2:11
3rd QTR
HU 4:23 Alan Ornelas 37 Yard Field Goal 7-41, 3:27
4th QTR
SC 11:51 Adan Tarango 26 Yard Pass from Drew Metzger (Kade John Kick) 13-76, 4:23
SC 6:51 Cayden Couchman 9 Yard Run (John Kick) 8-71, 2:43
HU :17 Adrian Adigun 29 Yard Pass from Miguel Hernandez (Ornelas Kick) 10-77, 2:19
Scott City
Rushing
Matthew Wheeler 15-88; Cayden Couchman 11-69; Peyton Bergner 3-10; Drew Metzger 8-(-16); Kade John 1-(-19); Team: 38-132
Passing
Drew Metzger 12-19 125 1-0
Receiving
Cayden Couchman 5-48; Mickey Gossman 2-29; Adan Tarango 1-26; Matthew Wheeler 1-18; Peyton Bergner 2-4
Total Yards: 257
Hugoton
Rushing: Cooper Nix 14-72; Hunter Garza 2-26; Miguel Hernandez 19-14; Jair Saldana 1-6; Team: 36-118
Passing
Miguel Hernandez 1-11 29 1-0; Eli Camacho 1-1 28
Receiving
Adrian Adigun 2-57
Total Yards: 175