Week 8: Great Bend blitzes Garden City early, cruises 41–14
Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 — Great Bend, Kan.
Great Bend slammed the gas from the opening series and never lifted, detonating a 41–0 halftime lead behind an Ian Premer first-half hat trick plus two Jacob Hall scoring grabs, then coasting to a 41–14 win over Garden City with a running clock in the second half. The Panthers, the West’s No. 1 seed, showcased why they’re atop the WAC pecking order; Garden City fought back with two late touchdowns, but the deficit was too steep to threaten the result.
How Great Bend Won
Explosives and efficiency. Great Bend opened with a 30-yard Premer rushing TD at 9:30 of Q1 (PAT blocked), then stacked a pair of quick strikes: Premer’s 8-yard TD reception at 6:55 and a 4-yard Premer rushing TD at :56 for a 20–0 first-quarter avalanche. The waves kept coming in Q2 — Jacob Hall’s 35-yard TD at 9:36, a 52-yard Premer TD reception at 3:49, and Hall again from 32 yards out with :04 left — ballooning the margin to 41–0 at the break. With the running clock on in the third, Garden City broke through: Ryder Carr’s 40-yard TD reception at 5:34 of Q3 made it 41–7, and Drew Strecker added a 21-yard TD at 6:43 of Q4 for the 41–14 final, but the Panthers had already salted it away.
Garden City Takeaways
The Buffaloes were buried by the opening blitz but showed backbone out of halftime. Carr’s 40-yard touchdown on a shot play provided a spark, and Strecker’s fourth-quarter score capped the best sustained sequence of the night. Still, the early downs and explosive-play prevention that defined the first half will headline the self-scout: Great Bend found space on the perimeter and over the top before the game could settle, forcing GC to chase the script for the final two quarters.
Matchup Breakdown
Explosive plays vs. long fields. Great Bend’s first-half scoring map (30-, 8-, 4-, 35-, 52-, and 32-yard TDs) turned short possessions into seven points, while Garden City faced longer fields until the running clock.
Early leverage, constant stress. With Premer toggling between RB and receiver touches and Hall stretching the secondary, the Panthers forced GC to widen and then punished inside fits; by halftime the geometry — and scoreboard — were tilted for good.
Pride points late. The Buffaloes’ third- and fourth-quarter touchdowns were well-executed counters that will carry forward, but the gulf in first-half execution defined the outcome.
Final Game Numbers
Final: Great Bend 41, Garden City 14.
Score by Quarters:
- Great Bend: 20 | 21 | 0 | 0 — 41
- Garden City: 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 — 14
Program snapshot (GCHS): In year one under Joe Price, Garden City’s second-half response showed fight, but the tape will center on shoring up early explosives and first-down fits before postseason play.