’Hounds triumph in overtime

Fort Scott sophomore linebacker Dominic Cizauskas sacks Iowa Central quarterback B.J. Phillips during the first half of play at Frary Field Saturday afternoon. During the game, Ciazuskas became the school’s all-time leader in tackes. The Greyhounds defeated the visiting Tritons, 26-17, in overtime.

Scott Nuzum/Tribune

The conclusion of Fort Scott Community College’s Homecoming game versus Iowa Central at Frary Field Saturday afternoon was likely one of the oddest in college football history after the Greyhounds scored 9 points in overtime.

Yes, 9 points. N-i-n-e.

The game was tied at 17-17 going into overtime after Iowa Central decided not to take an unnecessary risk and went to a knee after getting the ball at its own 16-yard line with 13 seconds left in regulation. The Tritons won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first with the Greyhounds choosing to drive to the north end zone, which put the wind behind them.

Starting at the 25-yard line, quarterback Dalton Sneed found Darious Abrams on the first play for 19 yards. But then Iowa Central’s Travis Hohbach broke through to sack Dalton at the 13. Sneed tried to go to Edward Aldred in the northeast corner of the end zone, which drew a pass interference penalty on the Tritons.

The ‘Hounds (2-3) got the ball on the 2-yard line but actually lost 7 yards on the next three plays and settled for Brody Southwell’s 26-yard field goal to take a 20-17 lead.

Iowa Central (0-7) got the ball at the 25 and receiver Carlton Todd ran a reverse to the 19 on the first play. Then Justin Daubaris carried the ball on consecutive plays, for 7 yards and first down at the 12 and again for three more to the 9.

Quarterback B.J. Phillips kept the ball on the next play but gained nothing. He ran on the net play but was stopped at the 7 by James King, Jr. After a time out, Iowa Central eschewed a chance to kick a game-tying field goal, likely because the Greyhounds had blocked two of Jose Fuentes’ attempts earlier in the game, although both of those kicks were of more than 40 yards. Had the Tritons tried a field goal here, it would have been a 24-yarder.

Instead, Central passed and Phillips was intercepted on the goal line by sophomore lineback Jordan Griffin, who took the ball back 100 yards to the other end zone for a touchdown.

In college football, apparently, the play is not blown dead in such a situation even though Fort Scott had already scored. So the touchdown stood and that’s how a team can score 9 points in overtime.

Although there were 43 total points scored, this was a defensive game. Both teams combined to average exactly 3 yards per play. Iowa Central averaged 2.9 yards per play, rushing for 173 yards on 59 carries and Phillips going 10 of 20 for only 57 yards. He was also sacked 7 times for 38 yards in losses by the Greyhound defense. Fort Scott managed 3.1 yards per passing play as Sneed went 21 of 41 for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns, although he was intercepted twice. The ‘Hounds managed just 22 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Nonetheless, it was the second overtime victory in the history of the Fort Scott program, which is now 2-4 all-time in overtime games. It was the first OT game for the Greyhounds since losing to Coffeyville 34-28 in double overtime on Sept. 12, 2012. The only other overtime victory in program history came in its first one, a 38-35 win over Hutchinson in double extras on Oct. 21, 2000.

Griffin’s 100-yard return is tied as the longest scoring play in program history as Darius Gunter also had a 100-yard interception return on Oct. 15, 2011 at Dodge City.

Iowa Central, meanwhile, lost for the 15th consecutive time to a team from Kansas and the 20th consecutive time overall. The Tritons are just 4-24 against Sunflower State teams in the four-year history of the series between Iowa and Kansas schools.

During the course of the game, sophomore linebacker Dominic Cizauskas became Fort Scott’s all-time leader in tackles, surpassing current Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David, who played at FSCC in 2008 and 2009.

Fort Scott scored first on Sneed’s 5-yard pass to Aldred with 8:27 left in the first quarter, capping a 12-play, 86-yard drive that accounted for 40 percent of its total offense for the day.

It took Iowa Central 10 plays and nearly six minutes to drive 30 yards for Fuentes’ 39-yard field goal with 12:16 to go in the second that brought the Tritons within 7-3. After Fuentes’ 41-yard attempt was blocked by Daeqwan Bailey later in the quarter, Fort Scott took over at midfield and scored in 7 plays when Sneed found Abrams along the left sideline for a touchdown with 7:25 on the clock.

Iowa Central held the ball for over 12 minutes on 3 possessions in the third quarter and scored on two of them. Phillips found tight end Ty Sohn from 3 yards out with 9:11 in the period. Phillips ran in himself on a 4-yard keeper with 13 seconds to go, giving the Tritons a 17-14 lead.

Southwell kicked a 41-yard field goal with 12:26 remaining in the game to tie the score. Central got a break on the next drive when Fort Scott’s returner fumbled the ball away after receiving a punt and the Tritons recovered at their own 45. However, they only got to the Fort Scott 25 and Fuentes saw a 42-yard field-goal try blocked by Bailey.

Other than the Iowa Central kneeldown, each possession over the course of the remainder of regulation play ended with a punt. Southwell averaged 40.5 yards on 7 punts on the day for the Greyhounds.

Kyle Harrison caught 7 of Sneed’s passes for 64 yards for Fort Scott while Abrams caught 6 for 81. Chris McLeod was Iowa Central’s leading receiver with 4 catches for 23 yards.

Abrams gained just 25 yards on 20 carries and he was the only rusher to finish with positive yards for the ‘Hounds. Daubaris led Iowa Central with 73 yards on 14 carries, gaining 62 of those yards in the second half on 11 rushes. Phillips rushed for 62 yards but needed 26 carries to do so.

Fort Scott returns to Jayhawk Conference play Saturday at Dodge City. The Conquistadors, who were ranked No. 15 in the September 19 NJCAA poll, have lost three straight games since then and stand at 0-3 in conference play and 3-4 overall. The Conqs lost at Iowa Central Saturday, 55-13. The Greyhounds are 1-2 in conference, which puts them in fifth place. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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IOWA CENTRAL... 0 3 14 0 0 — 17

FORT SCOTT... 7 7 0 3 9 — 26

Scoring plays

First quarter

FS — Aldred 5 pass from Sneed (Southwell kick), 8:27 [12, 86, 3:58]

Second quarter

IC — FG Fuentes 39, 12:16 [10, 30, 5:48]

FS — Abrams 10 pass from Sneed (Southwell kick), 7:25 [3, 15, :54]

Third quarter

IC — Sohn 3 pass from Phillips (Fuentes kick), 9:11 [9, 60, 5:39]

IC — Phillips 4 run (Fuentes kick), :13 [9, 62, 5:02]

Fourth quarter

FS — FG Southwell 41, 12:26 [10, 41, 2:41]

Overtime

FS — FG Southwell 26 [6, 18]

FS — Griffin 100 interception return (no conversion)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Iowa Central — Dubaris 14-73, Phillips 26-62, Edwards 15-42, Todd 1-6, Holston 2-minus 3, team 1-minus 7. Fort Scott — Abrams 20-25, Randle 1-minus 1, Sneed 6-minus 2.

PASSING: Iowa Central — Phillips 10-20-1-57. Fort Scott — Sneed 21-41-2-192, Sharp 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Iowa Central — McLeod 4-23, Edwards 2-20, Holland 1-11, Baker 1-3, Sohn 1-3, Daubaris 1-minus 3. Fort Scott — Harrison 7-64, Abrams 6-81, Aldred 3-3, Sharp 2-20, Gordon 1-10, Daughtry 1-8, Curry 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: Iowa Western — Fuentes 41 (blocked), 42 (blocked).