Buoyed by three red-zone stops and three forced turnovers, Holcomb’s defense rose to the occasion in Friday’s GWAC showdown at Scott City.
After thwarting two Scott City drives with a goal-line stand and a blocked field goal in the second quarter, Holcomb took a 6-0 lead into halftime and broke away in the second half for a 32-7 victory to set up a battle of unbeatens with Hugoton this week.
“We were so tough,” Holcomb sophomore quarterback/defensive back Cooper Cranston said. “It was awesome to see some guys step up in those tough situations. We really showed how tough we are. I'm just so proud of my teammates.”
Scott City finished with 368 yards of offense but struggled to finish off drives deep into Longhorn territory.
“I tell you what, our defense is pretty solid,” Holcomb coach Trey Teeter said. “When we read our keys and play disciplined football, our defense has played really, really well.”
The Longhorns and Beavers appeared headed for another defensive slugfest early on. Scott City won last year’s regular-season matchup 9-0 but Holcomb took a 10-7 win in the 3A quarterfinals.
Holcomb (6-0) made a pivotal stand on the first play of the second quarter after Cranston and Javid Corral stuffed a run up the middle on a 4th-and-goal from the Longhorn 1.
“It’s mano a mano,” Teeter said. “You're big on big. You know that they're probably going to run the ball, and they ran iso and we stuffed it right at the goal line. I'm really proud of our kids for that. Tough stop.”
Later in the quarter, James Bishop blocked a Scott City 32-yard field goal attempt to keep it scoreless.
Holcomb took a 6-0 lead into halftime after Cranston threw a 12-yard TD pass to Korbin Johnson. A dominant ground game helped the Longhorns put the game away in the second half.
Chasyn Cosner made it 12-0 with a 34-yard run midway through the third quarter and Cranston put the Longhorns in firm control after breaking loose for an 82-yard touchdown run.
“Great blocking,” Cranston said. “I mean, that's all I can say is our perimeter blocking there was awesome. Korbin and Javin and Luke (Thyne), I'm just really proud of them.”
Cosner added touchdown runs of 15 and 14 yards in the fourth quarter.
Cranston finished with 210 yards on 17 carries while Cosner ran for 94 yards and three TDs on eight carries.
Holcomb has gradually worked freshman quarterback Ryan Wickwar into the offense, allowing the dynamic Cranston to move to receiver and running back at times. Wickwar took several snaps on Friday and threw for 40 yards.
“Ryan's a big part of our offense,” Cranston said. “It gives a very unpredictable look to the defense. It's awesome. And he's doing a great job.”
Cranston, Johnson and Corral each had an interception. With Holcomb leading 18-7 early in the fourth quarter, Corral helped seal it by picking off a screen pass in the flat.
“He's supposed to be our flat defender, and he had been carrying guys too far down field,” Teeter said. “And I just said, ‘One of these times, they’re going to throw that screen. You need to go pick it off.’ They tried to block him, and he split the block and picked off that little screen. That’s kind of what sealed it. Heck of a play, man. That's a really tough play.”
Scott City’s lone touchdown came on a 44-yard halfback pass from Cayden Couchman to Peyton Bergner. The Beavers dropped to 3-2.
Hugoton, also 6-0, will play host to the Longhorns on Friday in a high-stakes showdown.
“You're talking about league title, you're talking about district title, talking about a lot of things that could play out for playoff seedings,” Teeter said. “And it's tough because we had a really emotional week, and we're going to follow it up with another big emotional week. But it should be a lot of fun.”
HUGOTON RIDES BIG RUSHING ATTACK PAST CIMARRON
After knocking off Scott City on a hail mary the week before, Hugoton stayed unbeaten with a 35-7 win over an improved Cimarron team to move to 6-0 for the first time since 2009.
The Eagles had a pair of 100-yard rushers with Miguel Hernandez and Isa Guardado. Hernandez ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries while Guardado finished with 123 yards and three scores on 17 carries.
Friday’s home game with fellow unbeaten Holcomb will decide the district title.
“This week we find out who we are,” Hugoton coach Jay Witt said.
HAYS’ LIND RUNS WILD AGAINST DODGE CITY
Hays running back Holden Lind continued his tremendous senior season with a huge game in the Indians’ 42-19 win over Dodge City.
Lind ran for 303 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries as the Indians moved to 5-1 heading into this week’s showdown with unbeaten Great Bend in Hays.
Lind has already rushed for 1,026 yards on the season.
GREAT BEND’S PREMER DAZZLES AGAINST LIBERAL
Notre Dame commit Ian Premer caught three touchdowns, had 126 receiving yards and made two interceptions including a 43-yard pick-six in Great Bend’s 55-6 win over Liberal.
All four of Premer's touchdowns were scored before halftime. His touchdown catches went for 21, 26 and 62 yards from Great Bend quarterback Daxton Minton. Premer also had a 62-yard touchdown run called back by penalty.
No. 2-ranked Great Bend will travel to Hays on Friday for one of the season’s marquee matchups.
ELKHART ENDS LONG DROUGHT
Elkhart ended a 15-game losing streak dating back to the 2023 season with a 44-30 win over Spearville.
Elkhart, which trailed 18-16 at halftime, was led by senior quarterback Elijah Torres, who ran for four touchdowns and threw for another, accounting for over 230 yards of offense. Torres was also crowned homecoming king.
“It was a great team win. We played well on both sides of the ball,” Elkhart coach Craig Maynard said.
OTHER WESTERN KANSAS WEEK 6 FOOTBALL STANDOUTS
– Joey Stirn had 182 yards rushing on 10 carries and completed 5 of 7 passes for 99 yards in Tescott's 54-6 win over Otis-Bison on Friday.
– Rawlins County scored with under 30 seconds left to outlast St. Francis, 28-24. Dominique Paz had 204 yards rushing with a touchdown, and threw for three TDs. On defense, he logged 15 tackles, two caused fumbles and one fumble recovery. Tanner Lankas notched 21 tackles. Justice Farr caught two touchdowns, including the game winner, and also recorded 12 tackles.
– Osborne saw three freshmen – Tate Tiernan, Donovan Holloway and Ethan Conrad – account for almost 600 yards (593) in a 72-42 win over Norwich.
– St. John’s Braxton Alpers accounted for seven touchdowns (three passing, four rushing) in a 56-28 win over Minneola. Alpers completed 6 of 10 passes for 188 yards and rushed for 202 yards on 22 carries. He also made 16 tackles and two interceptions.
– Garden City’s Jhett Price had 14 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack in the Buffaloes’ 21-10 loss to Wichita Southeast.
– Central Plains’ Brodie Crites threw for three touchdowns in the Oilers’ 58-8 win over Canton-Galva.
– Ellsworth’s Tucker Goss ran for 111 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries in the Bearcats’ 42-14 win over Halstead. Jackson Minear added 105 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
– Russell’s Walker Middleton ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in the Broncos’ 46-14 win over Norton. Max Evans ran for a touchdown and also returned a kick for a score.
– TMP-Marian’s Jackson Gillespie ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns in the Monarchs’ 52-21 win over Oakley. Grant Nehls made five catches for 122 yards and a TD.
– South Central’s Easton Huck passed for two touchdowns in the 6-0 Timberwolves’ 56-0 win over Udall.
– Ashton Wynn threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as WaKeeney-Trego remained unbeaten with a 52-6 win over Ness City.
– Wichita County’s Cashton Young ran for 189 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries and threw for 106 yards and two TDs in the Indians’ 52-6 win over La Crosse.
– Hill City’s Tyler Ashbaugh ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries in the Ringnecks’ 64-14 win over Hoxie. Slade Rohr racked up 21 tackles and caught a touchdown while Ryan Budig ran for two touchdowns and returned a fumble for a score.
– Thunder Ridge’s Tate Foreman threw for 252 yards and four touchdowns on also ran for 180 yards and a TD in the Longhorns’ 76-48 win over Beloit-St. John’s.
– Brody Schroeder had two interceptions in Hodgeman County’s 48-0 win over Macksville.
– Case Ashmore ran for 153 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in Logan-Palco’s 56-14 win over Greeley County. Taden Gottschalk had three TDs on the ground.
– Karsyn Wright ran for 232 yards and four touchdowns on just seven carries in Weskan’s 73-15 win over Golden Plains.