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It's over! 'Hounds hold off Indy
Twenty-four-game
losing streak comes
to end as FSCC
holds off Pirates
It was Sept. 27, 2003. No one then could have suspected what was to come.
That was the last day Fort Scott Community College's football team was the winning team, a 15-13 win at Dodge City.
Until Sat-urday night, that is.
Saturday night, the Grey-hounds held off an Independen-ce rally and broke a 24-game losing streak by winning 28-21.
Although there was relief that the monkey was off their backs, head coach Rion Rhoades realizes -- especially after letting the Pirates back into the game after building a 21-0 lead -- that there is still much work to be done.
"It's a bittersweet feeling, as crazy as that sounds," Rhoades said after a round of hand shaking. "We don't have to worry about that stigma of the losing streak anymore. We hadn't made that a big issue anyway. It's nice to be done with that. But it's definitely disappointing as a coach, too, to know that we didn't play very good in the second half. We'll work to get those things corrected.
"I told all the coaches and players tonight to just enjoy the win and not think about the shortcomings. We'll get that stuff addressed on Monday. I'm proud of the way the team hung on there at the end. We definitely have a long ways to so, still, to get where we want to be."
Independence came into this game with a dramatic 7-0 win over Air Force Prep under its belts from the previous week. But this was the Pirates' first conference game.
Fort Scott, 1-1 in the Jayhawk Conference and 1-2 overall, moved the ball well on its first offensive possession but had to punt it away when the drive stalled at the Independence 37.
However, the Pirates fumbled a handoff on its first play after the kick and Jacob Conner fell on it for Fort Scott at the Indy 14. Tony Charles carried the ball on the next plays, gaining 11 yards, then two, then one to get into the end zone with 5:07 left in the first quarter. Jared Oshel converted the extra point.
This marked the first time Fort Scott held a lead at any point in a game -- 304 minutes of play -- since going ahead on Dodge City, 6-0, at 9:03 of the first quarter on Oct. 8 of last season in a game the Greyhounds eventually lost 27-20.
Independence moved well on its next drive, getting down to Fort Scott's 18-yard line. But a 36-yard field-goal attempt by C.J. Ellis was blocked.
Fort Scott took over at the 26 and marched downfield again. a 13-play, 74-yard drive resulted in Chaz Powell's one-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 10:27 on the clock in the second period to make it 14-0 after the PAT kick.
The Greyhounds would take advantage of yet another Pirate miscue and turn it into a score. Earl Richardson was on his way down the right sideline on a long rushing play when Kenny Hutcherson stripped the ball away and Fort Scott fell on it at its own 22-yard line.
On the very next play, quarterback Greg Cross hit Avery Kelly for a 78-yard scoring pass that made it 21-0 with 5:18 in the half.
Cross, a 6' 1" freshman from Brunswick, Ga., made a big step up in what was really only his second full game as a Greyhound. He missed a lot of playing time in the opener at Navarro, Texas with a leg injury and was really playing his first game last week against Coffeyville.
"We kind of expected this," Rhoades said. "Typically, you make the most improvement between your first and second game. I think that was proven with Greg."
Fort Scott turned the ball over on its first two possessions of the third quarter and also had the misfortune of an eight-yard punt after its third. Yet, the defense stepped up and held Indy to three-and-out on each of the ensuing drives.
Defensive pressure up front and good play in the defensive backfield were two of the reasons that Independence quarterback Brandon Marteniz without a completion on his first six passes of the second half. As a team, Independence gained 12 yards in the third quarter.
"We were able to get pressure early," Rhoades said. "I don't know why our pressure wasn't as good (in the fourth)."
Independence got on the board with 18 seconds left in the third as Josh Blanding was fortunate enough to land on a blocked punt in the end zone. Ellis converted.
"We had a good idea that (Independence) was going to bring a lot of pressure on the punt," Rhoades said. "We practiced, practiced, practiced on our punt, so it was disappointing that we gave up a block there. That was what gave them some hope."
Fort Scott was able to drive to the Indy 18 but Oshel -- performing the kicking duties this week instead of Stephen Doherty -- was wide left on a 36-yard field-goal try early in the fourth.
Independence took over and moved downfield quickly as Fort Scott committed two 15-yard penalties, one for pass interference and the other for a personal foul. That got the ball to the Greyhounds' 41.
There, Marteniz broke a 10-consecutive incompletions streak that began on the first half by hitting Adrian Holliday for 35 yards down to the six.
On fourth and goal from the one, Marteniz snuck over the goal line himself to cut the deficit to 21-14.
The Greyhounds stepped up one more time. Patrick Roberts returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Fort Scott 39. But Charles was tackled for a two-yard loss on the first play and Cross threw an incompletion on second down.
On third-and-12, Cross rolled left but Indy's line had broken through and Cross had to go back to his right. With two defenders about to pounce, he threw a pass that seemed to hang for a long, long time in the air before Kelly separated himself from double coverage to haul it in and sprint the rest of the way for what proved to be the game-clinching touchdown with 5:34 left in the contest.
Independence came back with Marteniz suddenly as hot as he had been cold, hitting 27- and 28-yard passes to move the Pirates to the Greyhound 5. After a one-yard run, Marteniz found Holladay in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown to bring Indy within 28-21 with 3:43 to go.
Independence tried to pooch an onside kick past the coverage team but the ball went out of bounds and Fort Scott took it at its own 47. The 'Hounds worked a little over two minutes off the clock even after Indy spent its last two time outs before punting the ball away.
The Pirates took over at their own 16 but Richardson fumbled on the first play and Hutcherson recovered at the 24 with 1:02 remaining.
All there was to do was have Cross kneel down twice.
Cross completed his first five passes and finished the night 12 of 21 for 215 yards. Kelly had six catches for 170 yards.
Marteniz, in contrast, was just six of 25 for 83 yards with one stretch where he was one of 15. He completed four of his last six for 66 yards, all of them to Holliday -- his only three catches of the night.
Charles rushed for 74 yards on 20 carries to lead the 'Hounds. Richardson led Indy with 92 yards in 12 attempts.
Fort Scott recorded 20 first downs and 373 total yards. Independence had 216 total yards.
The Greyhounds will have a bye this Saturday and won't play again until Sept. 23 at Dodge City.
NOTES -- This also marked the end of an 11-game home losing streak with the home last win coming a week before the 2003 victory at Dodge City.
The Greyhounds last win at Frary Field before Saturday took place on Sept. 20, 2003. Fort Scott won by a 54-20 score.
The opponent that night? Independence....
Fort Scott had also lost 18 consecutive conference games....
Fort Scott had not held a lead in the fourth quarter since leading Hutchinson 21-7 going into the fourth quarter last Sept. 3. The Blue Dragons scored 21 fourth-quarter points to win 28-21....
KJCCC commissioner Bryce Roderick was in attendance....
Cross' 215 yards were the most by a Greyhound since Willie "Fred" Marshall threw for 356 yards against Highland on Sept. 17, 2005. Fort Scott lost a shootout that night, 35-29....
Highland's bubble was burst Saturday night as the previously unbeaten Scotties lost at Coffeyville 38-0.
Well, at least that was better than Highland's last two meetings with Coffeyville. The Red Ravens scored over 80 points in both the regular-season game and the playoff meeting last season.
Billy Bob Orsagh, who went into the game as the nation's leading passer, was just eight of 21 for 52 yards for Highland, 1-1, 2-1. He was also noted for having minus-49 yards on 10 carries, most of which was likely attributed to Coffeyville sacks.
Tyrone Wilson rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown for the Red Ravens, 2-0, 2-1. Bryan Savage completed nine of 14 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, although he was intercepted twice....