BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Great Bend all-stater Ian Premer will always treasure his football Homecoming in a dominating 55-6 victory over previously unbeaten Liberal.

Notre Dame commit Premer delivered a world-class performance with four touchdowns, 126 yards receiving, two interceptions and a 72-yard touchdown run that was called back. Premer's second interception nearly turned into his second defensive score, but Liberal's Max Holman's hustling tackle saved a touchdown for two plays.

Quarterback Daxton Minton delivered 21, 26 and 62-yard touchdown passes to Premer. Ian's first run was a dazzling 62-yard touchdown run nullified on a holding penalty. Premer intercepted two passes, one returned 43 yards for a touchdown. His second theft set up his 21-yard touchdown reception for a 42-6 halftime lead.

"I was proud of the way our kids finished that first half," said Great Bend football coach Erin Beck. " Ian taking an interception back 80 yards was impressive."

Defending Western Athletic Conference champion Great Bend (5-0 2-0 WAC) scored on seven consecutive offensive drives.

"Our kids were excited for the opportunity to play on Homecoming against a Liberal team with a 5-0 record," Beck said.

The Panthers rolled up 389 yards on 30 offensive plays, a 13-yard average. Tailback Conner Holladay ignited a 42-point first half with an 18-yard touchdown. Minton dashed 64 yards for the Panthers' second touchdown. The Panthers have averaged more than 10 yards per play in three consecutive games.

"From the get-go, we had quick strikes and big plays," Beck said. "Liberal was playing (pass) coverage and were worried about those guys. We hit them with two quick-strike scores. That opened up our pass game." 

Minton completed 7 of 9 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns. Minton has completed 17 touchdown passes and thrown for 983 yards.  Great Bend's Conner Holladay (470 yards) and Minton (327 yards) have keyed a running game averaging 173 yards per game.

"Daxton was unbelievable tonight," Beck said. "That throw to Cooper (Ohnmacht) was outstanding, giving him a chance. Dax continued to make throw-after-throw. It was a gutsy performance. I loved the way Daxton ran the football. It was a pretty special night for that kid."

Liberal, averaging 43 points and 409 yards, was held to six points and 188 yards, less than half their average. 

Quarterback Tevin Cotter has thrown for 1,150 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Liberal averages 248 yards passing and 161 yards rushing per game. Receiver James Feiser has 599 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. Leading rusher Xavier Tafoya gained 77 yards.

"Overall, our secondary played outstanding," Beck said. "It's nice to have three huge interceptions again and Ian 'house-called' one. Koehn (Ribordy) made a nice pick to seal that thing up."

Beck liked how the defense accepted the challenge of facing the WAC's top-rated offensive team. Ian Premer saw the memo that Liberal's James Fieser, the leading receiver in the WAC was playing at Memorial Stadium Friday. 

"Our defense did an outstanding job," Beck said. "We hit their running back who runs hard." 

Panther cornerback Koehn Ribordy also intercepted a pass. Great Bend maintains an 18-2 turnover advantage through six games heading to a showdown against perennial WAC contender Hays High (5-1, 2-0 WAC).

Liberal 0 6 0 0 — 6

Great Bend 21 21 13 0 — 55 

GB—Conner Holladay 18 run (Cruz kick); GB—Daxton Minton 64 run (Cruz kick); L—Xavier Tafoya 5 run (kick blocked); GB—Ian Premer 62 pass from Minton (Cruz kick); GB—Ian Premer 26 pass from Minton (Cruz kick); GB—Ian Premer 49 interception return (Cruz kick); GB—Ian Premer 21 pass from Minton (Cruz kick); GB—Holladay 4 run (pass fails); GB—Cooper Ohnmacht 27 pass from  Minton (Cruz kick)

RUSHING—L—32-92; Xavier Tafoya 18-77; Blayden Betts 3-10; Tevin Cotter 11-5;  GB—21-191; Minton 6-88; Holladay 9-71; Hayden Kelly 2-21, Ian Premer 1-5; Cal Schartz 2-3.

PASSING—L—Cotter 11-20-3, 96  GB—Minton 7-9-0, 198.

RECEIVING—L—James Fieser 3-58; Ismael Calderon 4-22; Ethan Hernandez 2-10; Tafoya 1-4; Max Holman 1-2; GB—Ian Premer 4-126; Ohnmacht 3-72.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

Great Bend 2-0 6-0

Hays High 2-0 5-1

Liberal 2-1 5-1

Garden City 0-2 1-4

Dodge City 0-3 2-4

PASSING—Tevin Cotter, Liberal, 74-123, 1,122; Daxton Minton, GB, 58-80, 981; Tatum Heavner, GC, 82-119, 893; Ty Scheck, DC, 69-130, 841; Zane Viegra, Hays, 49-101, 550

PASSING TDS-INT—Minton, GB, 17-1; Cotter, Liberal, 17-6; Heavner, GC, 7-2; Viegra, Hays, 6-2; Scheck, DC, 1-5

RUSHING-TDS—Holden Lind, Hays, 1,026-8; Conner Holladay, GB, 490-7; Minton, GB, 318-4; Xavier Tafoya, Liberal, 315-6; TyJour Hooke, DC, 240; Culden Plankenhorn, GC, 233; Tevin Cotter, Liberal 219; Braxton Basgall, Hays, 208; Landen McNabb, Liberal, 203

RECEIVING-TDS—James Fieser, Liberal, 33-599-11; Mackoy Hemmert, GC, 34-475-3;  Ian Premer, GB, 20-413-9; Cooper Ohnmacht, GB, 22-329-4; Jarek Purdy, Hays, 22-293-6; Elliott Williams, DC, 15-258; Ismael Calderon, Liberal, 18-245; Ryder Carr, GC, 27-242; 8; Kordell Howard, DC, 15-189; Isai Reyes, DC, 153; Hayden Kelly, GB, 138-2; 

TACKLES—Jhett Price, GC, 81; Fabian Ortiz, DC, 68; Mason Phelps, DC, 68; Kale Kern, GB, 64; Trenton Kern, GB, 53; Tanner Geist, Hays, 51; John Rigler, Hays, 49; Jaxson Chartier, Hays, 49; Drew Strecker, GC, 45; Landry Fitzgerald, Liberal, 45; Reis Ochs, DC, 43; Cylis Saldana, GC, 40; Braxton Basgall, Hays, 40

SACKS—Blayden Betts, Liberal, 4; Tanner Geist, Hays, 4; Conner Holladay, GB, 3; Kale Kern, GB, 2; Jackson Chartier, Hays, 2; John Rigler, Hays, 2; Fabian Ortiz, DC, 2; Reis Ochs, DC, 2

TACKLES LOSS—Tanner Geist, Hays, 13; Jackson Chartier, Hays, 11; Kale Kern, GB, 10; Jhett Price, GC, 10; John Rigler, Hays, 8; Blayden Betts, Liberal, 7; Fabian Ortiz, DC, 6; Conner Holladay, GB, 6; Brayden Gaddis, DC, 5; Reis Ochs, DC, 4; Ismael Calderon, Liberal, 4

PASSING PER GAME—Liberal 198; Great Bend 183; Garden City 162; Dodge City 145; Hays High 93

RUSHING PER GAME—Hays High 244; Great Bend 176.5; Dodge City 155; Liberal 152; Garden City 105

OFFENSE PER GAME—Great Bend 359; Liberal 350; Hays High 337.5; Dodge City 300; Garden City 267

POINTS PER GAME—Great Bend 48; Liberal 37; Hays High 29; Garden City 20.5; Dodge City 19

DEFENSIVE POINTS PER GAME—Great Bend 9.33; Hays High 19.5; Dodge City 23; Liberal 25; Garden City 38

DEFENSIVE YARDS PER GAME—Great Bend 204.5; Liberal 288.5; Dodge City 297.5; Hays High 313; Garden City 396