Victories turn to losses for 4 of 5 teams

By NICHOLAS KIMBALL

Staff writer

What a difference a week makes.

A week after Marion County’s five high school football teams went undefeated in lopsided victories, all but Centre found themselves on the short end of the scoreboard Friday.

Centre

The Cougars rolled over Altoona-Midway, 53-6, in their first home game of the season.

A 45-point “mercy rule” ended the game in the third quarter.

Centre had no punts as the Cougars found the end zone again and again.

Santiago Knepp scored the first touchdown and ran for a two-point conversion. After Midway turned the ball over on downs, Knepp ran 42 yards for another touchdown.

Gentry Holub then forced a fumble, which was recovered by Samuel Rziha. Kaigen Brewer followed up with an 18-yard gain after a pass from Knepp, and Knepp took it in for a touchdown.

Knepp scored again, and Holub scored the conversion on a pass from Knepp, making the score, 27-0.

The first quarter ended on a quarterback sack by Matthew Basore.

Robert Spohn ran for the only Cougar touchdown in the second quarter.

In Midway’s first possession of the third quarter, Nicholas Krch intercepted and went on to score a touchdown run.

Midway then had its only touchdown on a long kickoff return.

Knepp scored again, and a one-point conversion was successful. Kaigen Brewer intercepted a Midway pass, leading to a touchdown run by Spohn.

The Cougars, now 2-1, next will play at 7 p.m. Friday at Waverly.

Hillsboro

Hillsboro lost not only Friday’s home non-conference game against Hesston but also star back Pedro Nieto to a second-quarter ankle injury.

Nieto, who remained calm as he was promptly tended to by coaches and emergency medical technicians, left the game on a stretcher to a standing ovation from players, fans, and visitors.

Despite Nieto’s injury, quarterback Dawson Boldt piled up 238 yards passing, Wyatt Plenert rushed for 51, and slotback Nicholas Smith had 81 receiving yards.

But it wasn’t enough as the Trojans ended up losing, 28-18.

“Even though Friday night’s result wasn’t the outcome we wanted as a team,” Hillsboro coach Demetrius Cox said, “the guys showed amazing fight, toughness, and growth.”

Hesston was the first to score with two running touchdowns. Hillsboro answered with a running touchdown and a 63- yard passing touchdown.

The Trojans opened the second half with an 81-yard kickoff return to take the lead, but Hesston ultimately came back.

“Hesston is a great team, and we had opportunities to put ourselves in a great position to come out with a victory,” Cox said. “We are an inexperienced team that is continuing to get better every week.”

The Trojans (2-2) will be on the road Friday in Ellsworth (3-0).

Marion

A late five-yard touchdown tun by Trevor Schafers followed by a two-point conversion allowed Marion to escape a shutout, 21-8, at home against Hutchinson Trinity.

It was Trinity’s game until that point. Hutchinson’s Blake Hammeke scored on a 29-yard run and a 29-yard completion.

“The biggest thing was we just started out too slow and didn’t match their intensity,” Marion coach Shaun Craft said. “When you’re playing a good team like Hutch Trinity, we just can’t do that.

“The positive that came out of the game was that it showed we can play with one of the top teams in the state, and records mean nothing now heading into district play.”

Marion (1-2) will be at home again Friday against Remington (0-3).

“We have to learn from our mistakes and make adjustments so we’re prepared this week against Remington,” Craft said.

Peabody-Burns

Peabody-Burns lost its conference home game Friday against Wetmore, 44-6.

Wetmore senior Dierk Hanzlicek ended the game with 15 carries for 147 yards, including 3 touchdowns. Senior Jacob Carls had five receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.

“We came out very flat,” Peabody coach Kody Tegtmeier said. “It had been a long week for our kids, and you could tell that in the first half of Friday’s game, digging a hole down 32-0 at the half.

“After making a few adjustments at halftime, the second half was a much better showing, with a second-half score of 14-6. We were able to move the ball more successfully.”

Peabody-Burns (1-2) will be on the road Friday at Pawnee Heights (1-2).

Goessel

According to the Wichita Eagle, Chase County is the third best eight-player team Division I of Class 1A.

Goessel couldn’t withstand Friday’s barrage from its bigger opponent and lost to the Bulldogs, 48-0.

Chase County scored 20 in the first quarter and 14 in the second. The Bluebirds threatened several times, but turnovers ended the possessions.

“We were missing some players due to injury from last week, so it was a challenging night,” coach Garrett Hiebert said.

Goessel committed three turnovers, dimming their chances of success.

Jake Wiens rolled up 77 yards of total offense, and Caleb Burkholder and Eli Boden led the Goessel defense in tackles.

The Bulldogs scored 14 points in the third quarter to end the game under a mercy rule.

The Bluebirds (1-2) have completed the difficult non-district portion of their season and hope for a run in district games with a matchup Friday at Herington (1-2).

Staff writers Rowena Plett and Delbert Peters contributed to this story.