Second Half Turnaround Sparks Demons 35-19 Win Over South

Dodge City, KS (westernkansasnews.com) What a difference a half makes! Faced with the prospect of losing their third straight game and falling to 2-3 this season the Dodge City football team rallied from nineteen points down at halftime to beat Wichita South (3-2) 35-19.

Game Highlights

Dawson Williams lead the comeback with a 66 yard scoring touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to open up the scoring and give the Demons hope as they trailed 19-7.

With 5:23 left in the third quarter Titans sophomore quarterback Evan Cruz fumbled a shotgun snap that was returned for a touchdown by Demon linebacker Clay Carpenter. It was the first score by the Dodge City defense on the year and pull the Red Demons to within 19-14.

Dodge City would grab the lead for good with 11:18 to go sparked on a drive that took only three minutes and brought them from their own 15 for the go ahead score. The big run came from senior Tylor Garcia who rushed for 34 yards and set up Williams second rushing touchdown from 2 yards out giving him his second rushing td of the night and 13th of the season.

One play later after a touchback that had the Titans start their possession from the twenty yard line, Curz fumbled the exchange with his running back Trevaunte Hunt and the ball was batted around and picked up by Demon linebacker Carlos Rojas who took it to the house in giving Dodge City a 28-19 lead. Williams added a two yard touchdown run during the final series for the Demons as Dodge City scored 35 unanswered points in the second half for the win.

For all the success Dodge City had in the second half it was the complete opposite in the first half. The Demon defense did well pitching a shutout through the first quarter and intercepting Cruz on a third and goal from the Demon 5 with about 10 minutes left in the first half when the quarterback made an off balance throw to the right that was intercepted by Samuel Unruh at the goalline.

Unruh’s pick was his second of the year and atoned for a fumble he had just moments earlier setting up the Titans with great field position when he mishandled a reverse on the kickoff from Tylor Garcia.

Five minutes later, Wichita South was back at it and this time they used the big play to put points on the board when Cruz found his receiver A.J. Hopper on a blitz and easily threw the ball down the middle of the field for a fifty-three yard score to give the Titans a 7-0 lead.

The next play from scrimmage after Dodge City received the kickoff, Demon quarterback Dawson Williams fumbled the ball after being stripped by South’s Malcolm Tate on a safety blitz. The ball was snagged out of midair by linebacker Payton Collins for a touchdown. The Titans failed to convert on a two point attempt making it 13-0 Wichita South.

The next drive Tylor Garcia fumbled after a big gain setting up the Titans for their last score of the night when Cruz hooked up with Jeriah Taylor for a 42 yard pass play. Three plays later Hunt would run the ball 15 yards bowling over a Demon defender ion his way to making it a 19-0 game and bringing about Dodge City’s dramatic turnaround in the second half.

For the game, Dawson Williams carried the ball 22 times for 131 yards and three scores while Tylor Garcia rush 24 times for 108 yards in the win. The Demons had only 15 passing yards for the game, but the defense forced 4 turnovers two of which were fumble recoveries that resulted in touchdowns.

South’s Evan Cruz went 8-16 passing for 157 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Hunt had a nice night on the ground for South rushing 25 times for 125 yards and one score.

Of the 239 rushing yards Dodge City had in the game, 183 came in the second half. The Demons defense also limited the Titans to 112 of their 296 total yards past halftime.

Post-game Dodge City Coach Dave Foster