Jones' hat trick carries Tigers

Fort Scott senior Jonah Jones (7) looks to get by Columbus' Toby Danner during first-half action at Ellis Park Tuesday afternoon. Jones scored all three goals in the Tigers' shutout victory over the Titans. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

Jonah Jones scored his second career hat trick Tuesday afternoon to lead Fort Scott High's soccer team to a 3-0 win over Columbus in a non-league match at Ellis Park.

Jones, a senior, scored twice in the second half, when the Tigers (2-10) took control of the pace of play. His first hat track came on Sept. 9 of last year in a road game at Columbus.

Fort Scott won its first game of the season at at Coffeyville Tornado Tournament on October 4, beating Columbus, 4-2, in the third-place match after getting "run ruled" by Maize South, 10-0, in the first round. The win against the Titans in the tournament broke an 11-match losing streak which began with a loss in last year's Regional game versus Spring Hill.

Jones' first goal came in the 29th minute on a penalty kick, beating Columbus goalkeeper Matt Harris high and to his right. His second goal came in the 53rd minute of play and he completed the hat trick just a couple of minutes later.

Fort Scott has scored 7 goals in its last two matches. In their first 10 games, the Tigers had only scored twice.

Goalkeeper Bret Pickert only had to make 3 saves for the Tigers. The Titans only got 5 shots off. Fort Scott managed to take 15 shots, 8 in the second half.

The Tigers will travel to Coffeyville on Thursday as they seek their first victory in Southeast Kansas League play this season. The last one came on October 22 of last season at home against Coffeyville. The Golden Tornado will be playing its third match in three days. They also played Tuesday at Riverton and will be playing a make-up match today at Pittsburg.