Tigers roll by Atchison; Bobcats next up

Several Fort Scott players including Logan Hall (82), Jacob Stinnett (40), Hunter Zubieta (6) and Korbyn Reyes (56) swarm Atchison running back Xavier Cushinberry during the second half of play at Frary Field Friday night. The Tigers won this first-round Class 4A playoff game by a score of 40-12 to advance to a Regional contest at Basehor-Lindwood next Friday.

Scott Nuzum/Tribune

Two Fort Scott High running backs rushed for over 100 yards each and quarterback Matt Campbell threw for 120 yards as the seventh-seeded Tigers dispatched 10th-seeded Atchison, 40-12, in a first-round playoff game at Frary Field Friday night.

Dalton Colvin gained 161 yards on 19 carries and scored on a rush and an interception return. Cooper Bradbury gained 104 yards on 13 totes. Campbell completed 9 of 16 passes, hitting Ty Gorman on 6 of them for 79 yards and a score.

The win puts the Tigers (7-2) in the Regional round of the playoffs at second-seeded Basehor-Linwood (8-1) next Friday night. The Bobcats got by Eudora, 44-16, in their playoff opener at Basehor.

Fort Scott senior receiver Ty Gorman (2) looks to get by Atchison’s Christian Arnold during the first half of play. Gorman caught 6 passes for 79 yards and a touchown for the Tigers.

Scott Nuzum/Tribune

The Tiger defense impressed as well, holding a run-heavy Redmen team (4-5) to 157 rushing yards on 43 carries, an average of 3.7 yards per carry. Xavier Cushinberry, a 6’ 2”, 220-pound sophomore, got only 56 yards on 14 carries while leading rusher Sercy Duncan, back after missing last week’s game, only got 14 yards on 9 totes although he did score both Atchison touchdowns.

The Tigers had a chance to get on the board early but were held out of the end zone when Campbell overthrew Gorman on a fourth-and-5 pass from the Atchison 10 with 5:04 to go in the first quarter. But the Tiger defense forced Atchison to punt on the ensuing drive, one play after defensive end Jarrett Shoemaker batted down a third-and-10 pass from Braydon Dame.

The punt was short and the Tigers took over at their own 47. Colvin and Bradbury alternated carries with Bradbury scoring over the left side from 16 yards out with 57 seconds to go in the period. When the Redmen didn’t seem to show that they respected the option on the swinging gate, holder Ty Gorman rolled to his right and hit Nick Lawrence for the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.

Fort Scott got another short field when Atchison’s punter was unable to handle the snap and had to fall on it at his own 43. Campbell hit Treyton Wilson for 31 yards on a fourth-and-9 screen pass to get a first down at the 11. Colvin carried the next two plays, the second a 6-yard score with exactly five minutes left in the half. Again, Atchison didn’t play the option on the swinging gate but this time, the 2-point attempt failed, leaving it at 14-0.

Another short punt gave the Tigers the ball at their own 41 with just under three minutes to go. Colvin found 17 yards on the first play. On the fifth play, Campbell rolled to his right and got the pass over the defender into Gorman’s hands from 32 yard with with 1:22 to go. Jacob Zubieta’s kick made it 21-0.

Atchison finally got a drive going, moving from its own 19 to the Fort Scott 26. But Wilson intercepted a pass for the Tigers to end the threat.

At the half, The Tigers had 225 yards of total offense to just 87 for Atchison — 55 of which came on that final possession of the half.

Fort Scott received the second-half kickoff, which was also a short kick, and Connor Fess returned it 26 yards to the Fort Scott 33. Five plays and a roughing-the-passer penalty later, Wilson scored on a dive play over the left side of the line from 8 yards out a minute and 59 seconds into the half. The extra point failed, leaving it at 27-0.

Atchison got on the board with 5:20 left after a 10-play, 61-yard drive that took nearly five minutes. Duncan went in from one yard out but Hunter Zubieta blocked the extra point.

Colvin’s scoring interception return from 30 yards out came with 3:14 left in the third, one player after the Tigers had fumbled the ball away themselves. An attempted 2-point conversion was unsuccessful, so the score remained 33-6.

Atchison, trying to keep itself in the game, held the Tigers on a fourth-and-12 play at the 14 early in the fourth. They then took the ball downfield for the second score, a 24-yard pass from Dame to Duncan, who leaped over the defender. It was 33-12 after Dame was stopped in the extra point but the drive took 11 plays and over four minutes, not exactly the desired pace for a team that was still at least three scores behind.

The Redmen tried an onside kick but Jonathan Daniels fell on it for the Tigers at his own 49. Six plays later, Campbell snuck the ball over the goal line with 4:34 left for the game’s final score.

Luke Bradbury came up with the Tigers’ third interception of the night to kill Atchison’s next drive.

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NOTES — Parsons, Coffeyville and Pittsburg were winners in their first-round playoff games. Parsons beat Girard, 6-0, in Class 3A Thursday night. In Class 4A, Pittsburg got by Spring Hill, 37-15, and Coffeyville beat El Dorado, 46-12. The Golden Tornado, the fifth seed in the West bracket, will be at home again next Friday as No. 13 Arkansas City upset Mulvane, 29-26. Pittsburg will face Bishop Miege at home and Parsons will travel to Caney Valley....

Parsons broke an 11-game playoff losing streak with its win over Girard. The Vikings hadn’t won in the post-season since beating Fredonia on Nov. 9, 1976....

Chanute’s season came to an end as they fell to Tonganoxie, 48-36. Labette County was hammered by Bishop Miege, 76-8. And Independence concluded a winless season after being routed by the West’s No. 1 seed, McPherson, 71-13....

Two games were rematches of Week Eight games: Ulysses at Abilene and Kansas City-Piper at Bonner Springs.

Ulysses lost at Abilene last week, 26-21, then came back and shutout the Cowboys, 28-0, Friday night — again at Abilene. The Tigers, who beat Labette County and lost to Pittsburg earlier this season, will travel to McPherson for Regionals.

Piper, on the other hand, won both games. The Pirates won at home against Bonner Springs last week, 69-20, then went to Bonner Friday night and won 46-40. The ninth-seeded Pirates will face top-seeded Louisburg next week in the East bracket....

All the other Class 4A games were won by the higher seed, which can be seen at the left....

ATCHISON............................ 0 0 6 6 — 12

FORT SCOTT........................ 8 13 12 7 — 40

Scoring plays

First quarter

FS — C.Bradbury 16 run (Lawrence pass from Gorman), :57 [5, 53, 1:49]

Second quarter

FS — Colvin 6 run (pass failed), 5:00 [6, 43, 2:20]

FS — Gorman 32 pass from Campbell (J.Zubieta kick), 1:22 [5, 59, 1:21]

Third quarter

FS — Wilson 8 run (kick failed), 10:01 [5, 38, 1:53]

A — Duncan 1 run (kick blocked), 5:02 [10, 61, 4:53]

FS — Colvin 30 interception return (run failed), 3:14

Fourth quarter

A — Duncan 24 pass from Dame (run failed), 6:33 [11, 85, 4:03]

FS — Campbell 1 run (J.Zubieta kick), 4:34 [6, 51, 1:58]

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Atchison — Cushinberry 14-56, Vick 5-44, Dame 11-32, Herrig-Brittian 2-17, Duncan 9-14, Simpson 1-10, Kellerman 1-minus 16. Fort Scott — Colvin 19-161, C.Bradbury 13-104, Wilson 2-10, Fess 2-4, Gorman 1-2, Campbell 2-1, Wunderly 1-0, team 1-minus 1.

PASSING: Atchison — Dame 8-22-3-117. Fort Scott — Campbell 9-16-0-120.

RECEIVING: Atchison — Duncan 4-72, Vick 2-33, Scott 1-7, Arnold 1-5. Fort Scott — Gorman 6-79, Wilson 1-31, Horton 1-5, C.Bradbury 1-5

MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.