Broncbusters beat Independence 17-7 in 4th quarter surge

Garden City, Kan (WesternKansasNews.Com) – Winning is all that matters in the Jayhawk Conference, and Garden City did just that Saturday against Independence.

Late mistakes guided the Broncbusters to a 17-7 victory over the Pirates Saturday night at Broncbuster Stadium. Ty Perry threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and Garden City won its third game in a row. Minnick’s team improved to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

“We came out kind of slow,” defensive coordinator, Chenelle Jones said afterwards. “They had us on our heels. But I told our guys very early that our goal was to be the more dominate defense.”

While Garden City was slow to react, the Pirates marched 54 yards in just three plays on their first drive. Isaiah Jacobs found a crease and raced 20 yards to the end zone for a 7-0 advantage. 

“We knew we would eventually figure things out,” Jones said.

Nearly after a quarter and a half of action, Garden City started their stampede down field with minutes clicking away before the halftime break. With 11 seconds left in the half, Ty Perry would connect to James Jones, who would haul in a 17 yard touchdown pass to knot the game up at 7.

After a third quarter of defensive stops and possession changes, both teams went into the fourth quarter with the game still wide open.

Then some good fortune. 

Reggie Akles muffed Flores’ 34-yard punt. Holcomb native Cooper Henson recovered, and two plays later, Perry zipped a pass to Torey Morrison, who weaved 22 yards to the end zone to give the Broncbusters the lead. Later in the fourth, it was Antonio Barber dropping a fair catch that Mykel Campbell scooped up at the Independence 14. That eventually led to Flores’ 22-yard field goal that made it 17-7. 

Perry was 17-of-30 for 120 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for Garden City, which won the game despite being held under 100 total yards in the first half. Travis Dixon, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, totaled 76 yards on 14 carries while Morrison had eight catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Marcellus Wilkerson posted a game-high nine tackles, and Ohio transfer Jett Elad tallied three pass breakups. 

Jones finished 22-of-38 for 191 yards and was sacked four times for Independence, which dropped to 1-4 overall. Jacobs carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards and a touchdown, and Barber had eight catches for 63.