Beavers pull away from Colby
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Two teams fighting for the third place spot in District 8 of Class 3A on Friday met up on Friday night at Darner Field, as Scott City played host to the Colby Eagles on Senior Night.
After seing the first three home games be scoreless after the first quarter, Scott City changed that right away on their opening drive. On third down from the Eagle 25, Drew Metzger would hit a wide open Peyton Bergner from 25 yards out to give the Beavers the early 7-0 lead with 10:52 remaining in the opening period. The extra point was kicked in by Pablo Solis. It wouldn’t take Scott City long to extend their lead. After an Eagle three-and-out, Bergner would return the punt 55 yards for a touchdown with 9:38 left in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead with the Solis PAT. That was Scott City’s 25th non-offensive touchdown since 2013 and the first punt return since Case Armendariz’ 25-yard punt return last season against Hugoton. Colby would strike back quickly on their second play of the next series. Their first rush of the night would go for 71 yards, as Cody Wright put the Eagles on the board with 9:13 left in the first quarter. Maxson Smiley connected with Wright for the two-point conversion to pull to wihtin 14-8.
The teams would trade punts for most of the half. That is until late in the first half when the Beavers scored twice within a 66-second time span. Their first score came on a Metzger one-yard run with 1:28 left before halftime to extend the lead to 21-8 with the Solis kick. Following an Eagle three-and-out, Scott City scored on a seven-yard pass from Metzger to Cayden Couchman with 22.7 seconds left before halftime to extend the lead to 28-8 with the Solis kick.
Drives would be a minimum for both teams in the second half.
Colby would stall out on their opening drive at the Scott City 35 yard line. The Beavers would keep the football for the next nine minutes, that would sandwich an Eagle score. On Scott City’s 10th play of their opening drive of the second half, Wright would intercept a Metzger slant pass and return it 77 yards for a touchdown with 3:31 left in the third frame to pull Colby within 28-16 with 3:31 left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion was successful from Neale Morrison to Gage Krohn.
The Beavers would run over four minutes on their next drive. With 11:27 left, Couchman scored from five yards out to extend the lead to 35-16 with the Solis PAT. Scott City scored two more times, including on a 21-yard pass from Metzger to Brodie Holstein to push the lead to 41-16, and the Beavers would put the final nail in on a Couchman 11 yard run wiht 4:10 left, and the Solis kick made the final 48-16.
Drew Metzger threw for 214 yards on 13-25 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Peyton Bergner had 102 receiving yards on four receptions and a touchdown, while Cayden Couchman had five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Wiebe had 115 yards rushing on 20 carries. He became the fourth different back to rush for over 100 yards this year. The Beavers rushed for 163 yards and finished with 377 yards of offense.
Cody Wright rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries and a score. Maxson Smiley was 6-26 passing for 55 yards. Nathan Cates caught two passes for 35 yards, as the Eagles finished with 181 yards of offense, with 126 coming on the ground.
With the win, Scott City has defeated Colby for the 11th straight time at Darner Field and its their fourth consecutive win in the series. They now lead the all-time series 32-18. Scott City has won at least two district games for a 20th consecutive year, and are now 112-35 all-time in district play. The Beavers finished third in the GWAC with a 4-2 record. They are now 73-9 in GWAC play in 16 seasons, and have 20 more wins over second the second most by a league school.
Scott City is 5-2 on the year and will be on the road to begin the playoffs next week at Clay Center. The Tigers are 5-3 on the year and finished second in District 5, after a a 33-7 road win at Marysville on Friday. Colby is 3-5 and will be on the road as well next week, likely at Holcomb in the first round of the playoffs. The Longhorns finished the regular season 8-0 after a 55-14 win over Southwestern Heights. Holcomb defeated the Eagles earlier this year 53-24 on October 3.
Coach Jim Turner Postgame
Box Score
Colby 8 0 8 0–16
Scott City 14 14 0 20–48
Scoring Summary
1st QTR
SC 10:52 Peyton Bergner 25 Yard Pass from Drew Metzger (Pablo Solis Kick) 4-46, 1:08
SC 9:38 Bergner 55 Yard Punt Return (Solis Kick)
CO 9:13 Cody Wright 71 Yard Run (Wright Pass from Maxson Smiley) 2-71, :25
2nd QTR
SC 1:28 Metzger 1 Yard Run (Solis Kick) 10-44, 4:59
SC 22.7 Cayden Couchman 7 Yard Pass from Metzger (Solis Kick) 4-41, :29
3rd QTR
CO 3:31 Wright 77 Yard Interception Return (Gage Krohn Pass from Neale Morrison)
4th QTR
SC 11:27 Couchman 5 Yard Run (Solis Kick) 7-48, 4:04
SC 9:01 Brodie Holstein 21 Yard Pass from Metzger (PAT No Good) 3-41, 1:12
SC 4:16 Couchman 1 Yard Run (Solis Kick) 6-69, 2:51
Colby
Rushing
Cody Wright 13-111; Talon Wark 2-14; Maxson Smiley 4-5, Neale Morrison 3-1, Team 1-(-5); Total: 23-126
Passing
Maxson Smiley 6-26 55 0-0; Neale Morrison 0-2
Receiving
Nathan Cates 2-35; Gage Krohn 2-13; Tage Sullivan 1-7; Cody Wright 1-0
Total Yards: 181
Scott City
Rushing
Kevin Wiebe 20-115; Cayden Couchman 9-50; Peyton Bergner 6-14; Pablo Solis 1-1; Martin Purma 1-1; Jackson Harris 2-(-8); Drew Metzger 3-(-10); Total: 42-163
Passing
Drew Metzger 13-25 214 3-2
Receiving
Peyton Bergner 4-102; Cyaden Couchman 5-61 Brodie Holstein 3-42; Cooper Irvin 1-13
Total Yards: 377