Pittsburg eighth- graders defeat Tigers 38-8

Pittsburg dealt the Fort Scott Middle School eighth-grade football team its first loss of the season Thursday night, winning at Frary Field 38-8.

Both teams came into the game undefeated but the Dragons scored less than a minute into the contest on Caiden Barber’s 16-yard touchdown run. He also ran in the 2-point conversion.

Barber scored four touchdowns and another 2-pointer in the first half. He scored from 13 yards out with 3:14 left in the first. This time, the 2-point attempt was unsuccessful.

Barber also scored on a 26-yard run and a 2-point conversion with 6:39 in the second to make it 22-0 and on a 13-yard run with 4:22 left in the half. Quarterback Cooper Hayden threw to Braden Benson for the 2-pointer after that one, making it 30-0.

Pittsburg’s final score was a Hayden-to-Benson 48-yard touchdown pass with 5:11 left in the third quarter. Hayden ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 38-0 and also force the running clock to come into play.

Fort Scott got its lone score on the next drive, a six-play, 53-yard march, with Jacob Stinnett running in from one yard out with 6:27 left in the game. Calo Roberts ran in the 2-point conversion.

Stinnett led the Tigers with 39 yards on 12 rushes. Roberts finished with 35 yards on 2 carries.

Fort Scott managed 65 yards of total offense, all rushing, on 33 plays. Pittsburg gained 271 total yards on 30 plays. The Dragons rushed for 147 yards and passed for 124.

The Tigers’ record dropped to 3-1 on the season with the loss. They will look to regain their winning ways Thursday night when they face Labette County at Altamont. That game will begin about 15 minutes after the seventh-grade game concludes.