The Comeback Kid

Fort Scott running back Devin Taylor (5) gets by Iowa Central's Ke'Von Love to score the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds remaining in Saturday afternoon's contest at Frary Field. Taylor scored three second-half touchdowns as the Greyhounds rallied for a 24-17 win in their season opener. (Jocelyn Sheets/Special to the Tribune)

Fort Scott Community College football is power football. And head coach Curtis Horton doesn't care if everyone knows that because he thinks that when the Greyhounds execute, no one will be able to stop it.

Iowa Central wasn't able to stop it when it mattered most at Frary Field Saturday afternoon as freshman running back Devin Taylor plowed through the line with 32 seconds remaining in the game for the go-ahead score as the Greyhounds rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to win 24-17.

Taylor rushed for 70 of his 232 yards in the fourth quarter and scored all three second-half touchdowns for the 'Hounds, who were the only Kansas winner in the three season-opening games between Jayhawk Conference schools and the teams from Iowa.

Fort Scott averaged four yards per offensive play to just 2.2 for Iowa Central. The 'Hounds rushed the ball 33 times in the second half despite the deficit as the Tritons' defense wore down against the constant pounding of the FSCC offensive line.

"We talked about winning the 'fifth quarter,'" Fort Scott head coach Curtis Horton said. "Because the heat was going to be a factor.

"I feel like the story of today was the O-line and the D-line. They've obviously been shaped by (practicing) against each other. And you could tell as the fourth quarter went on."

Taylor, a 6' 1" freshman from Nicholasville, Kentucky, carried the ball 47 times, tied for the most rushes by a Greyhound back since 2007. He is the eighth 'Hound since then to run 40 or more times in a game and the 19th since 1996 to go for more than 200 yards. FSCC has records of 8-1 in the 40-carry games and 16-3 in the 200-yard games.

Basically, an average day's work for a Fort Scott running back, especially in Horton's three-plus seasons as head coach.

"We feel like we're talented enough up front that I don't care if they (the defense) know the play or not," Horton said. "We don't have any secrets -- we run power here. Everyone knows that. So let's just go play football."

The first quarter ended scoreless as the defenses dominated. The only big offensive play was a 25-yard pass by Greyhound wide receiver Shawn Thomas to Jamal Chevis on Fort Scott's first offensive play. That drive was killed by an interception by Oscar Opara, one of two suffered by starting quarterback Braxton Ross.

Iowa Central had just one significant offensive play in the first half as quarterback Kendall Jackson hit Joe Morrow on a 75-yard pass to get the ball to the Fort Scott 5-yard line early in the second quarter. They had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Hunter Meyer with 7:19 to go in the half.

Iowa Central gained just 10 yards on the other 27 plays it ran in the first half. But the Tritons extended the lad to 10-0 as Trent Jones ran 64 yards with an interception to the end zone with 5:36 remaining.

That pick got Ross pulled. His final stats: 3 completions in 6 attempts with 2 intercepted for zero yards. In-state sophomore Marc Walbridge took over under center on the next possession.

The 'Hounds got on the board as time ran out in the half as freshman kicker Blayke Lindenman connected for a 17-yard field goal.

The Greyhounds could have gone for it on fourth-and-goal at the 10 but after three incomplete passes into the end zone and only eight seconds left in the half, Horton wasn't going to turn down a chance to get three guaranteed points.

"If there's any time left, we're going to try and get some points," Horton said. "I've told them, 'Any points are good points, whether it's a field goal or a touchdown; we want them all.'"

The Tritons expanded the lead early in the third on a score set up by a short kick and a penalty at the Fort Scott 31-yard line. Jackson found receiver Trentan Bledsoe in the right side of the end zone to make it 17-3 with 12:07 on the clock.

After a punt later in the period, Fort Scott was set up with first-and-goal from the Iowa Central 8. Taylor gained four yards on each of two carries on the drive to bring the Greyhounds within 17-10 with 4:35 left in the third.

As Fort Scott's defense continued to dominate and force punts, the Greyhound offense took advantage. Taylor scored his second touchdown at the end of an 11-play, 71-yard drive with 11:36 remaining in the game on a 9-yard run over the lead side of the line. That tied the score at 17-17.

The next five possessions ended with punts. Fort Scott took over for the last time at the Iowa Central 48 with 3:06 to go. Taylor carried the ball six times on the drive, the last for the game-winning score.

"He's a fantastic running back," Horton says of Taylor. "He was about a 10,000-yard rusher in high school and we expect the same here. He's a hard-nosed, good kid. He's exactly what fits our program."

After the kickoff, Jackson was sacked by Dakota Jiskra for a 6-yard loss back to his own 31. Then with less than 10 seconds remaining, Iowa Central was called for an illegal snap while trying to scramble back to the line with no time outs. The penalty required a 10-second run-off, which ended the game.

The 14-point deficit was the largest a Greyhound team has overcome to win since coming back from a 12-0 deficit with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half to beat Garden City, 14-12, on Sept. 9, 2011.

"We really stressed character and class," Horton said. "If you have character and class and refuse to quit, you can win a lot of ball games."

Fort Scott finished the game with 20 first downs and 291 yards of total offense, 219 of those on the ground. Walbridge finished 7 of 9 for 47 yards at quarterback. Thomas caught 4 passes for 20 yards.

The defense held Iowa Central to 7 first downs and 130 total yards. Jackson threw for 116 yards but completed only 4 of 20 passes. The Tritons rushed for only 14 yards on 39 carries.

Fort Scott goes into Jayhawk Conference play on the road Saturday night as the 'Hounds head to Hutchinson, ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA pre-season poll, for a 7 p.m. contest. The Blue Dragons beat the Bethany junior varsity, 45-7, in their season opener Thursday night.

Iowa Central. . . 0 10 7 0 -- 17

Fort Scott . . . 0 3 7 14 -- 24

IC -- FG Meyer 23, 7:19 [5 plays, 75 yards, 2:04 time of poss.]

IC -- Jones 64 interception return (Meyer kick), 5:36

FS -- FG Lindeman 17, :00 [7, 15, :29]

IC -- Bledsoe 24 pass from Jackson (Meyer kick), 12:07 [3, 31, 1:27]

FS -- Taylor 4 run (Lindeman kick), 4:35 [2, 8, :34]

FS -- Taylor 8 run (Lindeman kick), 11:36 [11, 71, 3:16]

FS -- Taylor 2 run (Lindeman kick), :32 [9, 48, 2:34]

Rushing: Iowa Central -- Lowe 8-10, Minch 19-9, Bledsoe 1-2, Feldpausch 2-2, Morrow 1-0, Jackson 8-minus 9. Fort Scott -- Taylor 47-232, Ross 5-11, Chevis 1-2, Hammond 3-2, Walbridge 5-minus 28.

Passing: Iowa Central -- Jackson 4-20-0-116. Fort Scott -- Walbridge 7-19-0-47, Thomas 1-1-0-25, Ross 3-6-2-0.

Receiving: Iowa Central -- Morrow, 2-87, Bledsoe 1-24, Opara 1-5. Fort Scott -- Thomas 4-20, Chevis 3-29, Taylor 2-minus 3, Harvey 1-20, Love 1-6.

Missed field goals: None.