The Cimarron Bluejays made a good run into the playoffs; however, the reward was a battle on the road against the undefeated Scott City Beavers. The 7-2 Bluejays came into the postseason with a dominant running game but relied on their passing threat to compete with the Beavers. After a momentum burst at the end of the first half, the Beavers continue their pursuit of a state title over the Bluejays 55-6.
Scott City got their offense going quickly. With 8:35 left in the first quarter, senior quarterback Brett O'Neil started the game with a deep pass to senior receiver Devyn Eggleston in the back of the end zone. Two minutes later and Scott City's ground game also became a threat. Senior tailback Dalton Buehler shed a defender and hit the sideline for an 85-yard touchdown. He was the leading rusher on the night and in the first half alone he accumulated eight carries for 235 yards. At the end of the first quarter the Beavers had a dominant lead 14-0.
The second quarter gave Cimarron a blast of momentum. The Beavers turned the ball over to Cimarron three times within the second quarter. The Bluejays earned two fumble recoveries and one interception. None of them were converted for touchdowns.
Scott City responded late in the quarter with another Buehler 75-yard touchdown run. No one on the Bluejay defense could stop him once he got into space. Although the Beavers took a 21-0 lead Cimarron came back with its air attack. Sophomore quarterback AJ Cooper connected with senior tightend Josh Meis on a 20-yard catch. He kept his toes in bounds and the completion set up Cimarron's only touchdown of the game. After a six minute drive for 85 yards, Cooper found junior receiver Christian Fischer with 32 seconds left in the half on a slant just past the pylons. Cimarron got on the board 21-6. Although Cimarron had no positive rushing yards in the first half, Cooper threw for 114 yards and completed 11 out of 19 passes.
The Beavers got one more chance at the end of the half. A pass interference call gave the Beavers one untimed down. O’Neil fired a pass to senior tightend Drew Kite but it tipped off Kite’s fingers. Eggleston was right behind him to make the catch. It sucked the momentum from Cimarron and Scott City went into halftime ahead 27-6.
Buehler earned his third rushing touchdown to start the second half and it all went down hill for the Bluejays from there. Although they advanced the ball well they could not convert.The Beavers scored three more unanswered touchdowns as they took down the Bluejays 55-6.
