Beavers rally late to defeat Smoky Valley

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Scott City found themselves in a familiar position on Friday night late in the fourth quarter. Just three weeks, ago, they were trailing Cimarron 9-6 with around three minutes remaining. They would score to go up 13-9 with 2:31 left, only to see the Bluejays rally to win 22-13. The Beavers would not let history repeat itself three weeks later. Trailing 16-10 with 2:56 left, Scott City found a way to go 82 yards and tie the game with 22 seconds left on a Harrison King to Kevin Serrano touchdown pass, and a Brady Welker extra point to put the Beavers up 17-16. An interception late would seal the deal at Darner Field, as they defeated the Vikings 17-6 in a thriller on Military Appreciation Night.

Scott City would take the opening drive down the field and score first with 8:52 remaining in the opening period. A seven-play, 64-yard drive was capped off by a 35-yard Jace Thomas run to put the Beavers up 7-0, with the Brady Welker PAT. The Beavers would march it down the field on their second drive, before an interception ended the drive at the Viking 24. The Beavers would force their first fumble of the year on the ensuing drive.

Neither team could get a consistent drive going in the second quarter, as it remained 7-0 Scott City at recess.

Smoky Valley would start their first drive of the second half at their own 11 yard line and were force to punt, giving the Beavers short field. Scott City would take off 5:09 of the third quarter clock, and march it 32 yards, and got a Brady Welker 22-yard field goal with 4:40 left in the third quarter to push their lead to 14-10.

The Vikings converted two fourth downs on the ensuing drive, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Kade Blanchat scored from 27 yards out with 11:53 remaining to pull Smoky Valley to within 10-8, with the two-point pass from Jake Lucas to Haven Lysell-Stewart. Each team would trade interceptions, and Scott City would punt on their next series. The Vikings would go down the field on their next possession, as they faced a fourth an nine from the Scott City 38 yard line. When it looked like the Beavers would get the stop, they would be flagged on a tough call against them, as the pass interference gave Smoky Valley a fresh set of downs at the 23. On the very next play, the Vikings took the lead on a Jake Lucas 23-yard run, as he just snuck it in the pylon to give them their first lead with 2:56 left at 16-10 with the Lucas to Blanchat two point conversion. That would be a nine-play drive that took 5:13 off the clock. Both of Smoky Valley’s scoring drives in the second half were a combined 10 minutes.

Scott City got the ball at their own 18 after a penalty on the kickoff set them back. They would convert a fourth an 10 at the Viking 40 on the drive. After the Beavers got it to the Smoky Valley 25 yard line, an incompletion would be followed by the game-tying score. Harrison King found Kevin Serrano open in the end zone from 25 yards out with only 22 seconds remaining to tie the game at 16. The all-important extra point kick by Brady Welker gave the Beavers a 17-16 lead.

The Vikings returned the kickoff back to the 40 yard line. On the very next play, the Lucas underthrown ball was intercepted by Blaine Culp and Scott City ran out the clock and pulled off the 17-16 win.

Jace Thomas led the ground game with 113 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, while Carson Faurot had 44 yards on 10 carries. Scott City ran for 186 yards on the night. Harrison King went 8-17 passing for 98 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Kevin Serrano led the Beavers with 35 yards on two catches and a touchdown. Scott City finished with 285 yards of offense, and had 15 first downs. They were 5-11 on third down and 2-2 on fourth down, but were penalized six times for 65 yards.

Jake Lucas ran for 52 yards on 17 carries for Smoky Valley and a touchdown, and was 5-9 passing for 59 yards with two interceptions. Haven Lysell-Stewart had 46 receiving yards on four catches. The Vikings ran for 118 yards and finished with 177 yards in the game. They had 12 first downs and finished 5-12 on third down, and were 2-4 on fourth down. Smoky Valley was plenalized five times for 45 yards.

Scott City wins the first game in the series between them and the Vikings, and improved to 50-15 all-time against current teams from the Central Kansas League. The Beavers are also 3-0 in district play for the 11th time in the last 13 years, and improved their district record in school history to 95-29. It was also their 149th consecutive game they have scored in. Smoky Valley fell to 2-1 on the road this year, after they won at Hillsboro by two and by one at Goodland last week. They are now also 2-1 in games decided by one possession or less.

Scott City is 4-2 overall, and 3-0 in district play, as they clinched their 15th consecutive playoff berth. They will host Colby for their home finale next Friday night. The Eagles are 5-1 overall, 2-1 in district play, after a 55-0 win at home against Russell on Friday night. Smoky Valley drops to 2-4 overall, and 1-2 in district play, as they host Southeast of Saline next Friday. The Trojans game with Goodland was cancelled Friday morning, due to Covid-19.

Assistant Coach Landon Frank Postgame