Demons Hold Off Rally, Beat South 27-20
WICHITA, Kan. – Alan Flores threw for three touchdowns and the Demons defense held in the fourth quarter as Dodge City edged Wichita-South 27-20.
The Demons came in to contest after a disappointing 17-point loss to Junction City in their home opener last week. Dodge City’s young defense never got into the flow of the game against the Blue Jays as they allowed 52 points, the most a Demon defense has allowed since the 2019 playoffs.
Wichita-South came into the game struggling significantly, having allowed 112 points in their first two contests while only scoring 21. Dodge City dominated the Titans in their meeting last year, cruising to 42-12 win.
The Titans came out firing though as they got a drive going on their first possession but it was cut out near midfield on a Gabriel Aguilera interception. The Demons punted it back after a three-and-out and the Titans got another drive going mainly off the legs of sophomore quarterback Rashawn Johnson. On third down inside the one, Johnson recovered from a low snap and jumped over the line to get the Titans on the board 6-0 late in the opening quarter after an unsuccessful two-point attempt.
The Demons offense woke up shortly thereafter, getting set up inside the Titans five to start the second quarter. On the first play of the frame, Ryan Gonzalez punched it in from 3 yards out to put Dodge City up 7-6.
Following a Titans punt, Flores connected with Jayden Amaro on the first play of the ensuing drive for a 37-yard touchdown that put the Demons up 13-6 after a missed extra point. After another punt from South, Flores went deep again and found Tochi Okoro down the sideline for a 54-yard touchdown that put the Titans on the ropes at the half as the visitors led 19-6 after a failed two pointer.
It looked like it might get away from South completely after Flores threw his third touchdown of the game, finding Bryson Unzueta for another long touchdown early in the third as the lead swelled to 25-6 following a missed extra point.
Unlike in previous weeks though, the Titans rallied. It started with a Johnson touchdown run from 26 yards out after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty looked like it might halt their drive. After forcing a punt, Johnson called his own number again, this time from 50 yards, to cut the deficit to 25-20 entering the fourth quarter.
The Demons offense went quiet in the fourth quarter but the defense stepped up in a big way, pitching a fourth quarter shutout and adding two points on a safety after Dodge City gave South the ball back on an Unzueta fumble at the one-yard line while the Demons were trying to put the game away.
The Demons also missed a field goal in the middle of the quarter as the wet field conditions at Carpenter Stadium continued to work against the kickers and holders.
WIth a chance to get the ball back with 1:37 left in the game and no timeouts, the Titans roughed Flores as he was punting on fourth down which allowed Dodge City to kneel out the game and come away with a 27-20 win.
“I thought when they made that little run we had guys…not running to the ball and then when it came down to a gut check at the very end whenever the kids needed to make a play, we had dudes flying around and getting to where they were supposed to be.” head coach Glenn O’Neil said following the game.
The Demons are back in action at Memorial Stadium for their annual homecoming game next Friday as they open up WAC play against an undefeated Liberal Redskins team. The game will be broadcast live on Z98 at 7 p.m. with pregame coverage starting at 6:30.
Glenn O’Neil Postgame Interview
