Scott City grounds Bluejays for District title

Cimarron, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It didn’t take long for Scott City to impose their will on Thursday night’s game in Cimarron. The Beavers threw the early punches and the Bluejays never had a chance to recover, as Scott City pushed their way to their seventh straight district championship with a 48-6 win over Cimarron that guaranteed them a Bi-District home playoff game Tuesday night.

Scott City scored 21 first quarter points, with the first coming with 10:08 remaining in the first quarter on a two-yard run by Cooper Griffith. Griffith would also have a 43-yard run nearly three minutes later and Wyatt Kropp, returning to play for the first time since Hugoton, found the end zone from 12 yards out with 3:23 left in the opening quarter. Tre Stewart knocked in three extra point kicks for the 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

Cimarron (6-3, 2-1 District 16) threatened early in the second quarter, driving down to the Beaver 14 yard line. Drake McRae would pick off a Nick Ast pass at the goal line and return it to 22 yard line that set up Scott City’s next score. Seven plays into the drive, Stewart bounced it right and found the end zone from 21 yards out with 8:21 left before halftime. He would kick in the extra point to make it 28-0 Beavers. The next score would come through the air, as Bo Hess connected with Justin Faurot on a 46-yard touchdown pass with 5:36 remaining before the half to make it 34-0, which would be the score at the break. Faurot broke through a couple tackles and outraced two Bluejay defenders on his way to the end zone.

The remainder of the scoring would end in the third quarter. Scott City (9-0, 3-0) saw Griffith rumble downhill for a 66-yard touchdown with 7:20 remaining in the third frame to make it 40-0. Stewart’s PAT pushed the Beaver lead to 41-0. Cimarron got on the board 21 seconds later for their lone points of the night. Blake Neuschafer ran down the Bluejay sideline 75 yards for the touchdown to cut the score to 41-6, as the two-point conversion failed. The Beavers put the final touches of the night on the board on the ensuing drive. A 10-play drive that lasted almost five minutes was capped off by a five yard Wyatt Hayes run with 2:05 left in the third quarter, and Stewart’s PAT conversion made it 48-6 Scott City, a lead that would hold up for the final 14:05 of the game.

Scott City ran for a season-best 462 yards on the ground. Cooper Griffith led the charge with 178 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns, while Kevin Aguilera had 10 carries for 77 yards and Wyatt Hayes had 74 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Bo Hess was 4-10 through the air for 79 yards and a touchdown. Justin Faurot led the team with one reception and one touchdown for 46 yards. The Beavers had a season-best 541 yards of offense.

Cimarron struggled for most of the night moving the football. Blake Neuschafer led the charge with 96 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. The Bluejays had 119 yards of rushing and 179 yards of total offense. Nick Ast was 6-22 passing for 60 yards and an interception. Justin Fugitt was the leading receiver with 26 yards on two receptions.

With the win, Scott City has now won nine games for an eighth straight year, and for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. It’s also their eighth district title in the last 10 years and the seventh time they’ve finished the regular season undefeated in the last 10 years. Cimarron has now qualified for the playoffs for the fourth time in the past six seasons, and the second straight year they will take a 6-3 record into the playoffs.

Scott City will host Lyons on Tuesday night, while Cimarron visits Hoisington. The Cardinals won the 3A, District 15 title game over the Lions 40-7 Thursday night in Lyons. Hoisington is 9-0 on the season, while Lyons is 3-6.

Assistant Coach Josh Burnett Postgame