Grizzlies bump Tigers out of SEK lead

ALTAMONT — Labette County quarterback Easton Dean was responsible for 256 yards in total offense and three touchdowns at Lucas Field here Friday night as Labette County gained control of the Southeast Kansas League race with a 34-7 win over Fort Scott.

The Grizzlies improved to 2-0 in the SEK, 4-1 overall. Their only loss came in Week Two to Andale, a 39-0 defeat to a program that usually contends for State championships. LCHS is a half-game ahead of Coffeyville (1-0, 3-2). Fort Scott fell to third place at 3-1, 3-2 with its second consecutive loss.

The Tigers aren’t out of the league race. If they beat Coffeyville at Frary Field this coming Friday night and Labette County loses one of its two league games, Fort Scott could be in a position to be co-champions. The SEK does not use tie-breakers.

The Tigers were missing a couple of players as Gunnar Brown and Jessie Lawrence missed the game due to injuries Also, lineman Colby Page played despite battling an injury.

LC scored on its second possession of the game. KeShaun Anderson ran for 29 yards on the first play to advance the ball to the Fort Scott 35-yard line. Four plays later, Dean found Kale Irwin on a 16-yard scoring pass with 5:51 on the clock to make it 7-0.

T.J. Mayhue scored on a 2-yard run with 5:19 to go in the second quarter, one play after Dean found Josh Walters for a 23-yard gain. It was 14-0 at that point.

Dean made several big plays on the Grizzlies’ next possession. He found Tanner Russell for 7 yards to the LC 33, then found Owyn Back for 18 and a first down at the Fort Scott 49. He kept the ball for 16 on the next play, then hit Back again for another 18 before running the ball into the end zone from 15 yards out with 1:08 to go. This time the conversion failed, so the score remained 20-0.

The Tigers scored on the first possession of the second half. Zarek Fewell returned the kickoff 33 yards to his own 41. Then he ran the ball on the next three plays for gains of 6, 5 and 5 yards. Derek Bollinger gained 2 on the next play. Then Fewell took an option pitch 40 yards to the house and Dalton Colvin kicked the extra point with 9:42 on the clock.

Whether or not the Tigers intended to, they recovered the ball on the squib kickoff and took possession at the Labette County 31. However an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the drive quashed any momentum the Tigers had and they turned the ball over following a fourth-and-30 play at the 38.

LCHS moved downfield from there with Dean finding Russell for a 21-yard gain during the ensuing drive that got the ball to the Fort Scott 13. Mayhue ran on the next two plays, gaining 12 and the scoring from the one to make it 26-7 with 3:30 left in the third.

The final score of the game was a 6-yard run by Dean with 8:59 to go. Mayhue ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 34-7.

Fort Scott finished with 242 yards of total offense. They rushed for 175 yards as Fewell gained 149 yards on 23 carries. C.J. Horton caught 3 passes for 23 yards for the Tigers.

Dean completed 12 of 19 passes for 160 yards. Back caught 4 for 68 yards. Dean also finished as LC’s leading rusher with 96 yards on 10 carries. Labette County rushed for 209 of its 169 yards of total offense.

The Tigers’ game with Coffeyville kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday night. Labette County will step outside of the league and travel to Frontenac.

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FORT SCOTT........................ 0 0 7 0 — 7

LABETTE COUNTY............ 7 13 6 8 — 34

Scoring plays

First quarter

LC — Irwin 16 pass from Dean (Phillips kick), 5:51

Second quarter

LC — Mayhue 2 run (Phillips kick), 5:19

LC — Dean 15 run (kick failed), 1:08

Third quarter

FS — Fewell 40 run (Colvin kick), 9:42

LC — Mayhue 1 run (pass failed), 3:30

Fourth quarter

LC — Dean 6 run (Mayhue run), 8:59

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Fort Scott — Fewell 23-149, Bollinger 7-28, Colvin 1-6, Michaud 6-5, Wilson 1-2, Jones 5-0, Horton 1-minus 2, team 1-minus 13. Labette County — Dean 10-96, Mayhue 19-65, Anderson 6-51.

PASSING: Fort Scott — Jones 7-18-3-67. Labette County — Dean 12-19-1-160.

RECEIVING: Fort Scott — Horton 3-23, Shoemaker 2-22, Campbell 1-14, Fewell 1-8. Labette County — Back 4-68, Russell 2-28, Mayhur 2-17, Irwin 2-14, Walters 1-23, Sorrell 1-10.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.