Sloppy play and weather leads to loss for CCHS
Josh Slaughter/Special to the Gazette
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The one thing that could be seen through the mud on Friday at Cottonwood Falls was an amazing football game as the West Franklin Falcons knocked off Chase County Bulldogs 18-8.
The game saw seven fumbles and only 384 yards of combined total offense. The game also featured several inches of rain onto an already soaked grass throughout the game.
“It was terrible, the whole bus ride over here we thought we were going to get called back,” West Franklin quarterback Collin Brady said. “Snapping was hard, handing it (the ball) off, and running it would just slip off my arms that’s how I fumbled a couple times, I was glad we got it back once or twice.
The game started with two drives that went three and out and resulted in punts. The next Chase County possession looked to be ending in a punt when the snap got by the punter setting up the Falcons first and goal at the 3-yard line. It took two plays for Brady to push the ball across the line for a one-yard score. The point after rush failed and WFHS took a 6-0 early lead.
On the following drive Shawn Talkington and the Bulldogs answered through the air. They started with a 37-yard pass from Talkington to Alec Wold. The drive was then capped by a 17-yard pass from Talkington to Greg Davis. Talkington took the ball in himself for two points giving CCHS the 8-6 lead.
“His (Talkington’s) passes were good, they were on the spot,” Brady said. “They were hard (for the defense) to catch. The pass he threw to No. 2 (Wold)that went over our defense was great.”
Talkington’s two passes on the drive split defenders and found receiver’s hands through a driving rain.
“Shawn does a good job for us,” Chase County coach Derick Budke said. “When we lost Brian Palermo to graduation, we knew we were going to have to spread the load a little bit. We told Shawn all summer that he was going to have to come in and play, and he has, he’s done a great job.”
Following an interception by Lucas Humerickhouse West Franklin punched in its second score with a five yard TD jaunt by Chris Mills to give the Falcons a 12-8 lead. The PAT failed again and that score held going into halftime.
The Bulldogs would come out of halftime without the services of junior running back Jesse Cole who left the game due to injury.
“Losing our tailback in the end of the first half definitely hurt us, but it didn’t kill us,” Budke said.
After halftime it seemed like both teams were stuck in the mud as neither could seem to mount a substantial drive. After a Chase County fumble in the fourth quarter, recovered by Humerickhouse, the Falcons would mount its final drive. Taking over at the CCHS 48-yard line, Brady found his passing game, hitting Humerickhouse twice for 32 yards to put the team within striking distance. After penalties took a first and goal from the 1-yard line to a first and goal from the 16, the Falcons went to the air again converting two straight passes capped off by a five-yard pass to Trey Wadkins.
“It was a good (block) by the line, and my hands were dry from a timeout,” Brady said. “The throw was good. I was just hoping it was caught.”
For West Franklin, it was the second win on the young season.
“A game like this kids will remember for a long time, a little rain, inclement weather.” West Franklin coach Chuck Lee. “It was a hard-hitting game and an enjoyable night. We’re not a very pretty team, but we minimized the turnovers and the things that cost us points. While we still had some mistakes, none of them cost us six points.
Chase County, who moves to 1-1 on the season, will face Mission Valley next week.
“It was a hard fought game. It was disappointing. We came back and I really thought we should have had a stop late, but we didn’t,” Budke said. “We’re going to have to have a rubber ball mentality and bounce back next week.”
Olpe 55, Northern Heights 14
West Franklin 6 6 6 0 — 18
Chase County 8 0 0 0 — 14
First quarter
West Franklin — Brady 2 run (Kick failed)
Chase County — Davis 5 pass from Talkington (Talkington run)
Second quarter
West Franklin — Mills 2 run (Pass failed)
Fourth quarter
West Franklin — Wadkins 5 pass from Brady (Run failed)
GAME STATISTICS
W. Franklin Chase Co.
First Downs 8 7
Rushes-Yards 32-172 28-100
Comp-Att-Int 6-12-0 6-12-1
Passing Yards 68 104
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing— WF: Brady 7-48, TD; Mills 10-48, TD; Humerickhouse 5-40; Justin Sims 10-36. CC: Jesse Cole 7-35; Johnny Lang 13-35; Talkington 8-30.
Passing — WF: Brady 6-12, 68 yards, 1 TD. CC: Talkington 6-12, 104 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving — WF: Humerickhouse 2-22; Cord Cunningham 1-15; Wadkins 2-13, TD; Bryant Harmon 1-7. CC: Wold 2-46; Brandon Line 2-21; Lang 2-21; Davis 1-17, TD.
Tackles — CC: Talkington 13; Lang 12, 1 FR; Trenton Heathman 11, 1 TFL; Davis 10; Brendan Potter 9, 1 TFL.