BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
The Hays Indians executed a run-oriented game plan to upend Great Bend 19-14 in a second-round 5A playoff showdown on a cold and rainy night. Hays (6-4) plays Hutchinson (8-2) in the 5A quarterfinals.
Great Bend (9-1) ended its best football start in 46 years since coach Mike Zoffuto's team started 10-0 in 1978. The Panthers battled adversity when shotgun snapper Karter Brown was replaced by Blaine Ensley after a first-half injury. Josue Bustamante also shifted into the offensive line.
"When your season is over, that's tough. The tough part of this job, sports in general, is when it comes to an end," said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. "I never questioned our team's toughness. We fought through adversity all game long. Blaine did a great job, but losing Carter hurt us. We couldn't quite make a few plays when we needed them."
Hays rushed for 302 yards on 58 carries and ran 64 offensive snaps to 42 by the Panthers. Indian back Holden Lind gained 198 yards on 41 carries, rushing for multiple yards after contact. Ian McGuire busted an 81-yard touchdown and gained 113 yards. Quarterback Carter Graham delivered a 26-yard touchdown strike to Johnny Cano and scored on a 2-yard run.
The Indians (6-4) intercepted a pair of Daxton Minton passes and led 14-0. Hays capped a 16-play drive on Cano's reception after Cooper Lindenmeyer's interception. The Indians converted a key first down after a Panther offside flag on 4th-and-6. McGuire's dash made it 13-0. An interception by Hayden Kelly kept the Panthers close.
The Panthers kept battling until the final whistle.
A scrambling Daxton Minton converted a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Hall on a 55-yard drive. Ian Premer rumbled 16 yards and caught a 12-yard pass.
The Indians received a lucky break when game officials overruled an apparent onside kickoff recovery by Cooper Ohnmacht to start the second half. Panther kicker Omar Razo executed the kickoff perfectly when the Indians front defenders backed up.
The Indians covered 48 yards capped by Graham's 2-yard scoring dive for a 19-7 lead on their second drive after halftime. Minton responded with a dazzling 65-yard touchdown run keyed by blocks by Kale Kern and Jacob Hall for a 19-14 score.
The Indians' powerful offensive line ran 30 second-half plays to eight snaps when the Panthers had their final offensive chance in the fourth quarter.
Premer rushed the football four times for eight yards on the Panthers' final offensive series of the season. Hays converted a third down pass to Parker McGuire and a 4th-down conversion by Lind to run the clock out.
"Their offensive line put it to us a little bit," Beck said. "We knew they'd run the football. They controlled the game from the get-go. We didn't create turnovers that we rely on. That made it tough."
Premer rushed for 92 yards and besides Minton's 65-yard dash, the Panthers managed four yards on 11 rushing attempts. The Panthers had averaged 166 yards passing, but were slowed by poor weather. Minton completed 4 of 12 passes for 57 yards on a rainy, 40-degree night with the wind a key factor.
The Panthers reached the Hays 13-yard line on one promising drive. A Caleb Thompson interception stopped another drive.
"The weather elements took some things away from our game plan," Beck said. "We thought we'd run the ball better on the outside."
Hays High (6-4) 6 7 6 0 — 19
Great Bend (9-1) 0 7 0 7 — 14
H—Johnny Cano 26 pass from Carter Graham (run fails); H—Ian McGuire 81 run (Carson Moore kick); GB—Jacob Hall 33 pass from Daxton Minton (Diego Soto kick); H—Graham 2 run (pass fails); GB—Minton 65 run (Soto kick)
RUSHING—H—58-302; Holden Lind 41-198; Ian McGuire 6-113; Graham 7-23; team 3-(-31); GB—30-161; Ian Premer 18-92; Daxton Minton 6-71; Jace Schartz 4-4; Cooper Ohnmacht 2-(-6)
PASSING—H—Graham 3-8-0, 46; GB—Minton 4-12-2, 57
RECEIVING—H—Johnny Cano 2-37; Parker McGuire 1-9; GB—Hall 1-33; Premer 2-21; Hayden Kelly 1-3
5A QUARTERFINALS—Hutchinson 8-2 vs. Hays High 6-4; Goddard Eisenhower 8-2 vs. Topeka Seaman 8-2; St. Thomas Aquinas 10-0 vs. Mill Valley 9-1; Lenexa St. James 5-5 vs. BV North 4-6
5A SECOND ROUND—Hays High 24, Great Bend 14; Hutchinson 33, Liberal 13; Goddard Eisenhower 37, Maize South 26; Topeka Seaman 43, Valley Center 16; St. Thomas Aquinas 28, Pittsburg 14; Mill Valley 42, Spring Hill 6; BV North 41, Leavenworth 14; Lenexa St. James 37, Basehor 19
5A FIRST ROUND—Great Bend 49, Newton 7; Hays High 31, Andover 0; Hutchinson 42, Salina South 7; Liberal 17, Wichita Carroll 6; Goddard Eisenhower 55, Emporia 10; Maize South 56, Salina Central 35; Topeka Seaman 65, Topeka West 7; Valley Center 7, Goddard 6; St. Thomas Aquinas 35, KC Turner 6; Pittsburg 49, Highland Park 18; Mill Valley 77, KC Harmon 0; Spring Hill 48, Shawnee Heights 14; BV North 34, DeSoto 27; Leavenworth 47, KC Washington 7; Basehor 21, BV Southwest 18; Lenexa St. James 48, Blue Valley 22
