Injuries, interceptions plague ’Hounds in loss

Fort Scott Community College scored 45 seconds into Saturday night’s Jayhawk Conference battle with No. 13 Butler at Frary Field. But injuries and turnovers were major issues over the course of the game as the Grizzlies eventually took advantage of those things and went on a 35-14 victory in Jayhawk Conference play.

Moe Hill stepped in front of a Trae Self pass and returned it for a Greyhound touchdown on Butler’s second offensive play of the game. The defense, which came into the contest ranked 61st out of 65 teams in the NJCAA in total defense, actually held its own for the most part. The ’Hounds (1-5 conference, 2-5 overall) allowed only 217 total yards in the game, with just 49 of that coming in the second half.

Butler (5-1, 6-2) got on the board with 6:11 left in the first when Graham Roberts broke a couple of tackles on a 17-yard run, capping an 8-play, 45-yard drive.

Field position worked in Butler’s favor all night. The Grizzlies’ average starting field position was the Fort Scott 49-yard line and they started at the 50 inside it seven times.

Between Butler’s punting and its own offensive issues, Fort Scott’s average start was its own 19 and the Greyhounds started drives at its own 5 or worse five times.

Butler’s next two scores were set up by interceptions. The first by Juwan Mitchell was returned 42 yards to the Fort Scott 11. Three plays later, Roberts scored from the 2 to give the Grizzlies a lead they never surrendered.

Tay Gowan intercepted another pass on the ensuing possession and returned it 35 yards to the Fort Scott 5. Worse, starting quarterback Gunnar See, the Jayhawk Conference’s leading passer, was injured on the play and did not return.

Roberts needed just one play to score his third touchdown of the night to make it 21-7 with 2:19 left in the opening quarter. The Grizzlies scored twice in 44 seconds.

There was no scoring in the second quarter. Backup quarterback Justin Agner, playing for the first time this season, was trying to get acclimated while Fort Scott also found itself down to one running back after Donte Fils-Aime was injured during play. Even with that, Fort Scott managed to drive to the Grizzlies’ 18 before an incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs.

The defense managed to get a stop shortly into the second quarter as Charles Peeler batted away a fourth-down pass in Greyhound territory. There was another stop on the final play of the half from the Fort Scott 36 as the ’Hounds swarmed Self for a sack.

In the second half, Butler turned up the defensive pressure. Gowan returned his second interception of the night 32 yards for a touchdown 40 seconds into the half to make it 28-7. Butler also ended the Greyhounds’ next possession with an interception.

Later in the quarter, tipped pass fell into the hands of a Butler defender, who returned it 16 yards to the Fort Scott 10. The Grizzlies were set to kick a field goal from fourth-and-goal at the 5 but an offsides penalty made them change their mind. Instead, from the 2, Ja’Kevious Vickers ran around the right side to make it 35-7.

While Agner was able to lead an 86-yard drive late in the game that resulted in a 19-yard scoring pass to Jon Jiles with 5:55 remaining, the Butler defense had his number. They intercepted five of his passes and their total of seven set a new school record for most picks in a game.

Vickers, who played most of the second half, led all rushers with 91 yards on 20 carries. Roberts finished with 48 yards on 15 totes. The Grizzlies recored 156 rushing yards on 54 carries. Self completed only 4 of 11 passes for 61 yards.

Fort Scott finished with 224 yards of total offense. Agner was 13 of 23 for 136 yards and Steven Smothers caught 9 of those for 102 yards.

The Greyhounds rushed for 45 yards on 31 carries and were held to minus-7 yards on 17 second-half rushes. Damon Bonds had 50 yards on his first 7 carries but finished with 49 on 17 rushes.

The Greyhounds will be taking back-to-back trips to Iowa over the next two weekends. Saturday, they play No. 3 Iowa Western (6-1) at Council Bluffs. On Nov. 3, they’ll play Iowa Central at Fort Dodge.

NOTES — This was Butler’s eighth consecutive win over Fort Scott. The Grizzlies have won the last five meetings at Frary Field. Fort Scott’s last victory over Butler came in the 2009 Region VI Championship Game at Frary Field....

’HOUND BOX

FORT SCOTT........ 7 0 0 7 —14

Scoring plays

First quarter

FS — Hill 39 interception return (Rieser kick), 14;15

B — Roberts 17 run (Zentner kick), 6:11 [8, 45, 3:51]

B — Roberts 2 run (Zentner kick), 3:03 [3, 11, 1:14]

B — Roberts 5 run (Zentner kick), 2:19 [1, 5, :08]

Third quarter

B — Gowan 32 interception return (Zentner kick), 14:20

B — Vickers 2 run (Zentner kick), 7:32 [4, 10, 2:01]

Fourth quarter

FS — Jiles 19 pass from Agner (Rieser kick), 5:55 [14, 86, 4:35]

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Butler — Vickers 20-91, Roberts 15-48, Shabazz 13-34, team 2-minus 2, Self 4-minus 15. Fort Scott — Bonds 17-49, Fils-Aime 3-7, Agner 10-minus 3, See 1-minus 8.

PASSING: Butler — Self 4-11-1-61. Fort Scott — See 4-9-2-43, Agner 13-23-5-136.

RECEIVING: Butler — Wilson 2-38, Davis 2-23. Fort Scott — Smothers 9-102, Jiles 5-44, White 1-22, Fils-Aime 1-7, Jenkins 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.