BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
For a change of pace, Great Bend's dominant running game sparked the Panthers with seven rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Daxton Minton rushed for 193 yards and scored three touchdowns to ignite a 49-7 victory over Wichita Bishop Carroll in the second round of the 5A football playoffs.
The Panthers (10-0) earn a rematch with Western Athletic rival Hays High (8-2) in next week's 5A quarterfinals.
Minton showed off breakaway speed on 57- and 59-yard scoring dashes.
"I've always thought I was fast, but I'm proving it this year," Minton said. "I credit everything to our offensive line. They blocked their bottoms off and created holes for us."
All-stater Ian Premer rushed for 138 yards and two scores. Conner Holladay scored two touchdowns to trigger a running clock. The Panthers rushed for 399 yards against a solid Carroll defense.
Panther tackles Trenton Kern and Colby Spore, guards Blaine Ensley and Jace Deines and center Karter Brown handled Carroll's physical defensive front.
"Our guys up front did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage," said Great Bend football coach Erin Beck. "Our guys were locked in because Carroll gives you different stunts and looks. We ran the ball effectively, and stuck with it."
The Golden Eagles battled to a 0-0 tie after one quarter. The Eagles' Nathan Goertz had a pass to the 3-yard line nullified on a penalty. Carroll's Hank Hartman missed a 35-yard field goal.
Linebacker Kale Kern had two tackles for loss and 10 stops. Grant Watkins contributed eight tackles and assists and Conner Holladay seven tackles and assists.
"We leaned on our defense that first quarter when our offense stalled," Beck said. "Our defense is ferocious. They'll hit you. I love that."
The offensive line helped Premer and Minton take charge with three touchdowns in four plays.
Premer rumbled 81 yards keyed by Trenton Kern's trap block. Premer was used as a primary offensive weapon in the backfield.
"Our coaches had a great game plan and wanted me to run the football more," Premer said. "That was a lot of fun. I'll do whatever they ask me to do the best I can. Our offensive line was amazing. We had seven rushing touchdowns."
Minton's 34-yard cutback run was followed by Premer's 8-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead. Minton raced 59 yards on a perfect cutback run for a 21-0 lead keyed by Jacob Hall's crushing block on Keatyn St. Vrain. Minton escaped two Carroll tacklers in the backfield.
"We miss a block and one guy wasn't blocked, but Dax made both guys miss," Beck said. "That was all Daxton. He's improved so much running the football."
Koehn Ribordy had an interception nullified on a penalty. But Cooper Ohnmacht followed with an interception that set up a 63-yard scoring drive. Premer rumbled 16 yards for a key first down. Minton snuck over the goal-line from the 1-yard line for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Minton added another highlight-reel run on a 57-yard second-half touchdown dash. Panther tailback Conner Holladay rushed for 63 second-half yards and scored on 3- and 43-yard scoring runs for a 49-0 lead.
Premer knows the Panthers' 41-19 victory over Hays means nothing.
"You've got to prove you're a better football team every week," he said.
Wichita Carroll 0 0 0 7 — 7
Great Bend 0 28 14 7 — 49
GB—Ian Premer 81 run (Geovanni Cruz kick); GB—Ian Premer 8 run (Cruz kick); GB—Daxton Minton 59 run (Cruz kick); GB—Minton 1 run (Cruz kick); GB—Minton 57 run (Cruz kick); GB—Conner Holladay 3 run (Cruz kick); GB—Holladay 43 run (Cruz kick); WC—Wyatt Sauber 1 run (Cooper Koontz kick)
RUSHING—WC—36-159; Jonah Mull 15-77; Landon Steven 7-43; Cooper Herrman 8-31; John Corrigan 2-4; Sauber 4-4;; GB—26-399; Minton 8-193; Ian Premer 9-138; Holladay 5-63; Blake Suppes 3-13, team 1-(-8).
PASSING—WC—Mull 7-11-1, 70; Corrigan 5-13-0, 58; GB—Minton 8-13-0, 70
RECEIVING—WC—Nick Wineland 6-67; Nate Goertz 2-37; Harrison King 1-14; Laine Graf 2-11; Zach Helten 1-1; GB—Ohnmacht 5-42, Ian Premer 2-23, Jacob Hall 1-5
5A QUARTERFINALS—Great Bend (10-0) vs. Hays High (8-2); Salina Central (9-1) vs. Salina South (3-7); Basehor-Linwood (10-0) vs. Leavenworth (8-1); Mill Valley (8-2) vs. Lenexa St. James (9-1)
SECOND ROUND WEST—Great Bend 49, Wichita Carroll 7; Hays High 27, Hutchinson 6; Salina Central 62, Goddard 32; Salina South 22, Liberal 16
FIRST ROUND WEST—Great Bend 49, Newton 14; Wichita Carroll 14, Valley Center 0; Hutchinson 35, Emporia 0; Hays High 49, Goddard Eisenhower 30; Salina Central 68, Topeka West 22; Goddard 27, Maize South 24; Salina South 24, Andover 20; Liberal 41, Topeka Seaman 17
SECOND ROUND EAST—Basehor-Linwood 35, Blue Valley North 28; Leavenworth 35, Blue Valley North 21; Mill Valley 28, St. Thomas Aquinas 27; St. James 26, Spring Hill 14
FIRST ROUND EAST—Basehor-Linwood 28, BV Southwest 10; DeSoto 49, Highland Park 16; Blue Valley North 49, KC Washington 18; Leavenworth 32, Pittsburg 22; St. Thomas Aquinas 49, KC Turner 0; Mill Valley 35, Blue Valley 26; Spring Hill 74, KC Harmon 0; St
5A QUARTERFINALS—Great Bend (10-0) vs. Hays High (8-2); Salina Central (9-1) vs. Salina South (3-7); Basehor-Linwood (10-0) vs. Leavenworth (8-1); Mill Valley (8-2) vs. Lenexa St. James (9-1)
HAYS HIGH (8-2)—W—Derby 22-21; W—Choctaw, Okla. 21-19; L—Manhattan 8-10; W—Garden City 48-20; W—Junction City 34-28; W—Dodge City 42-19; L—Great Bend 19-43; W—Liberal; 49-28; W—Goddard Eisenhower 49-28; W—Hutchinson 27-6
GREAT BEND (10-0)—W McPherson 42-7; W Olathe South 40-21; W Buhler 38-14; W Wichita South 75-8; W Dodge City 41-0; W Liberal 55-6; W Hays High 43-19; W Garden City 41-14; W Newton 49-14; W Wichita Carroll 49-7
PANTHERS vs. WICHITA CARROLL—Panthers 24, Carroll 0 (2004); Carroll 23, Panthers 0 (2005); Panthers 21, Carroll 14 (2006); Carroll 17, Panthers 14 (2007); Carroll 49, Panthers 13 (2010); Carroll 36, Panthers 33 (2018); Carroll 28, Panthers 14 (2019)
5A QUARTERFINALS—Great Bend (10-0) vs. Hays High (8-2); Salina Central (9-1) vs. Salina South (3-7); Basehor-Linwood (10-0) vs. Leavenworth (8-1); Mill Valley (8-2) vs. Lenexa St. James (9-1)
HAYS HIGH (8-2)—W—Derby 22-21; W—Choctaw, Okla. 21-19; L—Manhattan 8-10; W—Garden City 48-20; W—Junction City 34-28; W—Dodge City 42-19; L—Great Bend 19-43; W—Liberal; 49-28; W—Goddard Eisenhower 49-28; W—Hutchinson 27-6
GREAT BEND (10-0)—W McPherson 42-7; W Olathe South 40-21; W Buhler 38-14; W Wichita South 75-8; W Dodge City 41-0; W Liberal 55-6; W Hays High 43-19; W Garden City 41-14; W Newton 49-14; W Wichita Carroll 49-7
PANTHER OFFENSE—2 WR—Cooper Ohnmacht; 5 WR—Jacob Hall; 12 QB—Daxton Minton; 14 TE—Ian Premer; 22 RB Conner Holladay; 51 LT—Trenton Kern; 52 LG—Jace Deines; 55 C—Karter Brown; 56 RG—Blaine Ensley; 58 RT—Colby Spore; 7 WB—Kale Kern or 3 WB—Alec Premer
PANTHER DEFENSE—1 CB—Cal Schartz or 20 CB—Grant Watkins; 2 FS—Cooper Ohnmacht; 5 LB—Jacob Hall; 7 LB—Kale Kern; 10 DE—Cole Fanshier; 11 CB—Koehn Ribordy; 14 SS—Ian Premer; 22 DT—Conner Holladay; 24 DE—Jaxon Wondra; 51 LT—Trenton Kern; 73 DT—Josue Bustamante
PASSING (TD-INT)—Minton, 93-138, 1,505 (23-3); RUSHING-TD—Holladay, 86-725-9; Minton, 67-770-10; Ian Premer, 35-484-13.; RECEIVING-TD—Ian Premer, 31-635-13; Ohnmacht, 40-538-4; TACKLES—Kale Kern, 106; Trenton Kern, 93; Hall, 52; Premer 46; Wondra 46; TACKLES LOSS—Kale Kern, 13; Holladay, 7; INTERCEPTIONS—Ian Premer, 6; Ribordy, 4; Ohnmacht, 5; SACKS—Fanshier, 3; Holladay, 3.
VIDEO—youtube.com (GBHS athletics); Facebook (KCMC sports)
RADIO—104.3 FM (Great Bend); 96.9 FM (Hays)
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend football coach Erin Beck constantly "self scouts" his team during the year.
Beck understands the value of breaking tendencies and being flexible running plays from a variety of formations.
It's especially important when the Panthers (10-0) face a rematch for the third time in the playoffs when rival Hays High (8-2) invades Memorial Stadium for a 5A quarterfinal showdown.
Hays won the rematch 19-14 last year and Wichita Northwest completed a 2-game sweep in 2019 (31-0, 48-14).
"We self-scout every week to see tendencies," Beck said. "There's small wrinkles you want to implement this time of year. It's making your team aware of tendencies you can break. It happens more offensively. You try and find a weak spot you can exploit."
The Panthers average 48 points, 217 yards rushing and 167 yards passing per game. Quarterback Daxton Minton has thrown for 23 touchdowns and 1,505 yards. Ian Premer has contributed 635 yards passing, 484 yards rushing and 28 total touchdowns.
Conner Holladay has rushed for 725 yards and nine scores. Ian Premer has contributed six interceptions, Cooper Ohnmacht five and Koehn Ribordy four.
Hays tailback Holden Lind has rushed for 1,984 yards, a 198-yard average. He rushed for 253 yards against the Panthers in the first meeting.
"He's fast, a home-run hitter who can change the scoreboard," Beck said. "Lind is patient where he gets back behind those offensive linemen and wait until he sees a seam. Hays put some drives together, but our defense bowed up and made plays. You want to limit the big plays."
Hays quarterback Zane Viegra has hit several long-yardage pass plays off play-action fakes. He completed four passes for 120 yards last week.
"When you run the ball effectively, you'll get 'eyes' in the backfield," Beck said. "You've got to read your 'keys' and play disciplined defense. If not they can catch you sleeping."
Carter Dreiling and Blake Soupes led the Panthers' kickoff coverage with Wichita Carroll's average drive starting at the 20-yard line. Placekicker Geovanni Cruz has kept improving after Beck recruited him from a physical education class.
Coach Braden Shultz, coach Bill Maddy and Beck have focused on sharpening up kickoff coverage.
"Geovanni's kickoffs have been placed perfectly," Beck said. "We've made adjustments on our kickoff teams."
"You want to play your best football in November," Beck said. "You start off in September, and you want to keep getting better every week and every day in practice. We're appreciating the moment of playing football in November."
(2007); Carroll 49, Panthers 13 (2010); Carroll 36, Panthers 33 (2018); Carroll 28, Panthers 14 (2019)
5A QUARTERFINALS—Great Bend (10-0) vs. Hays High (8-2); Salina Central (9-1) vs. Salina South (3-7); Basehor-Linwood (10-0) vs. Leavenworth (8-1); Mill Valley (8-2) vs. Lenexa St. James (9-1)
HAYS HIGH (8-2)—W—Derby 22-21; W—Choctaw, Okla. 21-19; L—Manhattan 8-10; W—Garden City 48-20; W—Junction City 34-28; W—Dodge City 42-19; L—Great Bend 19-43; W—Liberal; 49-28; W—Goddard Eisenhower 49-28; W—Hutchinson 27-6
GREAT BEND (10-0)—W McPherson 42-7; W Olathe South 40-21; W Buhler 38-14; W Wichita South 75-8; W Dodge City 41-0; W Liberal 55-6; W Hays High 43-19; W Garden City 41-14; W Newton 49-14; W Wichita Carroll 49-7
PANTHER OFFENSE—2 WR—Cooper Ohnmacht; 5 WR—Jacob Hall; 12 QB—Daxton Minton; 14 TE—Ian Premer; 22 RB Conner Holladay; 51 LT—Trenton Kern; 52 LG—Jace Deines; 55 C—Karter Brown; 56 RG—Blaine Ensley; 58 RT—Colby Spore; 7 WB—Kale Kern or 3 WB—Alec Premer
PANTHER DEFENSE—1 CB—Cal Schartz or 20 CB—Grant Watkins; 2 FS—Cooper Ohnmacht; 5 LB—Jacob Hall; 7 LB—Kale Kern; 10 DE—Cole Fanshier; 11 CB—Koehn Ribordy; 14 SS—Ian Premer; 22 DT—Conner Holladay; 24 DE—Jaxon Wondra; 51 LT—Trenton Kern; 73 DT—Josue Bustamante
PASSING (TD-INT)—Minton, 93-138, 1,505 (23-3); RUSHING-TD—Holladay, 86-725-9; Minton, 67-770-10; Ian Premer, 35-484-13.; RECEIVING-TD—Ian Premer, 31-635-13; Ohnmacht, 40-538-4; TACKLES—Kale Kern, 106; Trenton Kern, 93; Hall, 52; Premer 46; Wondra 46; TACKLES LOSS—Kale Kern, 13; Holladay, 7; INTERCEPTIONS—Ian Premer, 6; Ribordy, 4; Ohnmacht, 5; SACKS—Fanshier, 3; Holladay, 3.
Hays tailback Holden Lind has rushed for 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns.
