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Tigers bounce back for big win over Indy
A little home cookin’ always seems to cure what ails ya and Fort Scott High School’s football team got heaping helpings of it against Independence at Frary Field Friday night in Southeast Kansas League play.
After being drubbed by Paola in Week Two, the Tigers came out, scored the game’s first 36 points and rolled up 20 first downs and 467 yards of total offense in a 55-12 roast of the Bulldogs.
The Tigers (2-0 SEK, 2-1 overall) scored on their first five possessions and quarterback Matt Campbell bounced back from a four-interception game at Paola to complete 11 of 12 passes for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“This was a good overall win,” Fort Scott head coach Bob Campbell said. “All three phases were pretty good. We were balanced on offense, ran it well, threw it pretty effectively. Overall, a really good all-around win.”
The Tigers’ first possession ended with quarterback Campbell finding a wide-open C.J. Horton in the middle of the end zone to cap a 7-play, 55-yard drive with 8:47 on the clock. From the swinging gate, holder Cooper Bradbury threw a pass that stuck to Horton’s hand somehow for the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.
After forcing a punt, the Tigers needed only three plays to score again. Treyton Wilson went 43 yards on the second play to set up Alec Michaud’s 1-yard plunge with 5:25 remaining. Jacob Zubieta kicked the extra point to make it 15-0.
Dalton Colvin stopped Indy’s next drive by intercepting a pass. The Tigers scored on the next play as Campbell found Ty Gorman streaking down the left side of the field wide open for the third touchdown of the night. The PAT kick made it 22-0.
“Tyler, even with a cast on, made a great catch,” Campbell said. “We’ve missed his speed on offense because he has the ability to run past people.”
Independence (0-2, 0-3) finished the first quarter with only 25 yards of total offense and gained only another 12 in the second, none of it via the pass. Fort Scott had 187 yards after one with Campbell going four-for-four for 110 yards.
“Our defense was huge,” Campbell said, “Independence has some things they do that makes it tough on you. Farley’s a good running back. (Wilson’s) a talented runner. The quarterback is a good runner. Our defense kept them in check. I thought, overall, they played really well.”
The Tigers needed only five plays and less than two minutes to get on the board again as Bradbury ran in from 8 yards out and also threw another pass for the conversion, this to Nick Lawrence, making it 30-0.
Despite a couple penalties on the drive, the Tigers’ fifth score came quickly as Campbell again found Horton for a score, this time from 38 yards out. The extra point was unsuccessful, leaving it at 36-0.
“Independence was playing a six-man front, selling out to try and stop the run,” Campbell said. “It was a credit to out O-line. Even against that, they played well. Matt had some good throws and guys came up with big catches. I thought it was good we got our passing game going a little bit.
Independence got on the board early in the third on a 29-yard pass from Brayden Coller to Wyatt Chism, his only completion of the night. Two plays after the kickoff, though, Connor Fess ran 19 yards for the first of his two touchdowns to make it 43-6.
Treyton Wilson picked a fumble out of the air and scored from 25 yards out with eight minutes left in the third, extending the lead to 49-0.
Fess scored his second touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run.
With a running clock from that point on as the margin was more than 35 points, Travereus Wilson scored on a 43-yard run versus the junior varsity as time ran out.
Fess led the Tigers with 86 yards rushing followed by Wilson with 71 and Michaud with 52. Horton caught 4 passes for 78 yards.
The Tigers travel to Pittsburg next Friday.
INDEPENDENCE.................. 0 0 6 6 —12
FORT SCOTT...................... 22 14 13 6 — 55
| Team stats | Independence | Fort Scott |
| First downs | 8 | 20 |
| Rushes-yards | 39-226 | 30-356 |
| Passing yards | 29 | 211 |
| Total offense | 255 | 467 |
| Passing (c-a-i) | 1-2-1 | 11-12-0 |
| Sacked-yards lost | 3-22 | 0-0 |
| Punt returns-yards | 0-0 | 1-9 |
| Kickoff returns-yards | 9-171 | 2-59 |
| Interception returns-yards | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-avg. | 4-33.3 | 1-23.0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 6-4 | 3-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-75 | 8-70 |
Scoring plays
First quarter
FS — Horton 9 pass from Campbell (Horton pass from C.Bradbury), 8:47 [7, 55, 3:04]
FS — Michaud 1 run (J.Zubieta kick), 5:25 [3, 51, 1:01]
FS — Gorman 71 pass from Campbell (J.Zubieta kick), 3:09 [1, 71, :11]
Second quarter
FS — C.Bradbury 8 run (Lawrence pass from C.Bradbury), 10:46 [5, 54, 1:50]
FS — Horton 38 pass from Campbell (kick failed), 4:51 [5, 67, 1:50]
Third quarter
Ind. — Chism 29 pass from Coller (run failed), 9:57 [3, 22, 1:52]
FS — Fess 19 run (J.Zubieta kick), 9:28 [2, 46, :16]
FS — Wilson 25 fumble return (pass failed), 8:00
Fourth quarter
FS — Fess 5 run (kick failed), 11:46 [9, 50, 4:17]
Ind. — Wilson 43 run (no conversion attempted), :14 [3, 62, 3:50]
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Independence — Wilson 16-103, Farley 12-46, Coller 11-28. Fort Scott — Fess 11-86, Wilson 5-71, Michaud 7-52, Colvin 1-27, C.Bradbury 3-21, Withrow 1-1, Franks 2-minus 2.
PASSING: Independence — Coller 1-2-1-29. Fort Scott — Campbell 11-12-0-211.
RECEIVING: Independence — Chism 1-29. Fort Scott — Horton 4-78, Colvin 2-29, Michaud 2-27, Gorman 1-71, Daniels 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.