Several HOA teams lost key district football games in week 6. Sedgwick is ready for Class 3A district play, moving to 5-1 with a big win on Friday.
Sedgwick
The Cardinals will take some momentum into district play after a 52-7 win against Moundridge on Friday. Sedgwick jumped to a 40-0 lead on the way to that win. The Cardinals have now won three straight and will take a 5-1 record into Class 3A, District 10 play.
Three different Cardinals combined for a 19-0 lead in the first quarter. Dalton Brandt’s four-yard touchdown was followed by Logan Thompson’s three-yard score. Drake Standefer took a Brylie Ware pass 33 yards later in the first quarter. Thompson took in the next two scores from eight and 15 yards before Brandt added a 14-yard touchdown to give Sedgwick its big lead at the break. Thompson scored the final two touchdowns from 14 and 28 yards out. Moundridge scored its lone touchdown on a big 56-yard play in the third quarter.
Inman
The Teutons saw last week how weak district play could be. Friday night, they saw the other side of things. No. 1 LaCrosse scored 56 unanswered points to hand Inman a 56-13 loss, dropping Inman to 4-2 overall, 1-1 in district play where they are still favored to advance.
Things looked good against the reigning Class 2-1A runner-up in the beginning as junior Tyler Cottam returned the opening kick 80 yards for the first score of the game. It was all LaCrosse from there as the Leopards rushed for 422 yards en route to a 56-8 lead. Senior Tanner Mortimer tacked on the final touchdown from 10 yards out in the fourth quarter. Mortimer had the best night offensively for Inman, taking seven carries for 43 yards. Cody Seiler added 36 yards on eight attempts. Junior Justin Friesen became the first quarterback not to throw an interception against the Leopard defense this year, completing just 1-of-4 passes for an eight yard completion to Bryce Wenthe.
Hutch Trinity
The Celtics used a big second quarter to get past HOA-foe Marion on Friday. The Warriors outscored Trinity 19-16 in the other three quarters, but three Celtic touchdowns before the half were enough to propel the squad to a 37-25 win. Trinity improves to 4-2 overall.
The Celtics did not complete a pass in the game, going 0-for-4 and running for 368 yards to make up for it. Sophomore Elias Jasso-Cardenas led the way with 130 yards and a score on 18 carries. Sophomore David Thibault needed just three carries for two scores and 69 yards. Nathan Eisenbarth and Eric Banning split 117 yards on four carries each, and Banning scored the other rushing touchdown. Defensively, Cole Bredemier recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown. Joey Hale recorded 16 tackles, including a sack, and Christopher McDonald picked off a Marion pass.
Ell-Saline
Last week, the Cardinals took a huge step toward a district title with a 22-0 win against Plainville. Friday, the Birds headed to former powerhouse Smith Center, who entered the night with a 3-2 record. In the end, it was the two-point conversion deciding things. Ell-Saline scored first in overtime but could not get in. Smith Center answered, converting the two points to move to 2-0 in district play. Ell-Saline drops to 4-2 overall, 1-1 in Class 2A, District 6.
Both defenses worked hard in the first half, and Smith Center went to the half with a paltry 6-0 lead. Early in the second half, Garrett Walker broke a 45-yard run to tie things up. The two-point try failed. Four minutes later, Walker completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Keegan Hays for the go-ahead score midway through the third quarter. Again, the two-point try failed for a 12-6 lead. Smith Center punched it in with about two minutes to play in the game to force overtime. Walker scored on an eight-yard run before the Redmen answered for the win. Walker finished with 94 yards on eight carries, adding 68 yards on 7-of-12 passing.
Bennington
Class 2-1A, District 6 appears to be wide open after Smith Center downed Ell-Saline on Friday night. Bennington failed to capitalize on Ell-Saline’s loss, giving up the final 22 points of a 44-12 contest. Smith Center now stands alone atop the district at 2-0 (3-3 overall), while four teams, including Bennington, now sit at 1-1. The Bulldogs are 3-3 overall.
Quarterback Zack Fief’s one-yard touchdown in the second quarter sent the teams to the half with Plainville ahead 14-6. The Cardinals scored again, then Fief scored from 10 yards out for a 22-12 score in the third quarter. Plainville scored on plays of 32, 69, and 21 yards to pull away in the third and fourth quarters for the win. The senior Fief was responsible for most of the Bulldog offense, rushing for 167 yards and both scores on 18 carries and throwing for another 51 yards on 9-of-14 passing with an interception. Jake Stewart had the next best night with 42 yards on 11 carries, and B.J. Glanton added 31 yards on 10 carries. Glanton also had six receptions for 35 yards.
Marion
The Warrior football team outplayed a tough Hutch Trinity for three quarters Friday night. It usually takes all four to win a game. Marion outscored the Celtics 19-16 in three of the quarters, but a 21-6 second quarter doomed the Warriors to a 37-25 loss. They are now 2-4.
As they have done all year, the Warriors went for it on fourth down early, converting it and then using a quarterback keeper to get Taylor Heidebrecht across the goal line from two yards out. Trinity had a quick answer to start the second quarter, but Marion answered back behind a big run from Brody Carroll that eventually resulted in another Heidebrect touchdown and 14-13 score. Trinity went on to take a 21-13 lead into the break. With Heidebrecht injured late in the first half, Zac Robson took snaps the rest of the way. He was tackled in the end zone midway through the third quarter, but connected with Jacob Harper later in the quarter to cut the gap to 23-19. Late in the game, Trinity held a 37-19 lead before giving the Warriors a short field. Robson did not disappoint, scoring the final touchdown of the game with 4:28 to play.
