On paper it was a game Scott Community High School wasn’t expected to win.
They were literally outmanned - at least in terms of numbers and depth by Class 6A Garden City.
In the end, that didn’t matter.
The Class 3A Beavers stunned Garden City with a 16-14 win that, statistically, shouldn’t have been that close.
SCHS dominated most of the game in terms of field position and time of possession, taking a 16-0 lead into the fourth quarter, before holding off a late rally by the Buffaloes. Despite the outstanding defensive effort by Scott City, the players and their fans had to watch nervously as a 46 yard game-winning field goal attempt landed short and right of the goal posts with 30.8 seconds remaining before they could breath a collective sigh of relief.
“I didn’t expect this at all,” says quarterback Ron Baker. “I knew we’d come down here and play hard, but to put together a game like this and come away with a win is awesome.”
After entering the halftime locker room in a scoreless deadlock it was the Beavers who were the more disappointed after squandering excellent field position and scoring opportunities.
Scott City’s first possession of the game took them to the Garden City 15 yard line where a field goal attempt was blocked. Moments later, linebacker Tyler Hess intercepted a pass at the 17 yard line and returned it four yards, but that drive netted all of one yard and no points when a potential touchdown pass was knocked out of wide receiver Braeden Robinson’s hands.
Garden City didn’t cross mid-field until midway into the second period and that drive ended with an interception by senior cornerback AJ Kough.
“There was a serious butt-chewing of the offensive line at halftime,” says senior center Jake Drohman. “We weren’t getting the job done. We had a talk with the line after the team left the locker room at halftime and said if we didn’t start playing better we weren’t going to get a win.”
TD on First Possession
The motivational talk seemed to make a difference as Scott City took the ball to start the second half and marched 66 yards in 11 plays - 10 rushing - before finishing off the series with a 27 yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Luke Hayes.
On fourth and seven, Baker found the 6-foot-4 Hayes open along the right side of the field. Hayes pulled down the pass at the seven yard line, broke away from a tackle and drove into the end zone for the first score of the game. The PAT kicked put SCHS on top, 7-0
A deep kick by Michael McEachern on the kickoff following the score put the Buffaloes at their own seven yard line.
After bringing pressure on Garden City quarterback Cody Bernbeck throughout the game, junior defensive end Colborn Couchman was finally able to get to the quarterback for a safety when he dropped back into the end zone on third-and-11.
“The guys they had on me were big and slow and I was able to use my quickness to get around them and bring pressure on the quarterback,” says Couchman.
Another GC Turnover
Four Garden City turnovers were another huge factor that tilted the game in favor of Scott City. In addition to a pair of interceptions, the Beavers also recovered a pair of fumbles. The first of those fumbles set up their second touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
The fumble was recovered at the Buffaloes’ 36-yard line late in the third period and set up a short, seven-play drive.
Staring at second and 16 from the 16-1/2 yard line, Baker rolled to his right and then scrambled toward the pylon at the goal line.
After eluding a pair of Garden City tacklers, Baker stretched the ball across the goal line just inside the pylon for an apparent touchdown, only to see the official indicate he had stepped out of bounds at the six-inch line. That only delayed the inevitable as a quarterback keeper on the next play extended Scott City’s lead to 16-0.
It was a Scott City turnover that finally gave Garden City some hope when a poor exchange between the center and quarterback was recovered by the Buffaloes at the Scott City 41-yard line with 8:31 remaining. Three plays later Garden City was on the scoreboard with a touchdown and two-point conversion for a 16-8 score.
After both teams exchanged the ball on turnovers - an interception by Scott City and a fumble by Garden City - the Buffaloes came up with a big defensive stop on fourth-and-one at their own 46. Two plays later, Garden City speedster Raul Silva split two defenders and hauled in a perfectly thrown pass for a 42 yard touchdown with 3:35 remaining in the game.
However, the Beavers were able to force an incompletion on the PAT conversion to maintain a 16-14 lead.
Last Minute Drive
That’s when things got really interesting for Scott City.
After a three-and-out forced a punt, Garden City took possession at their 40-yard line with only 2:04 to play. Three plays netted just 13 yards, but the Beavers were then flagged for pass interference and roughing the passer on consecutive plays to give Garden City a first down at the 11 yard line and a chip shot field goal attempt.
A bad snap over Bernbeck’s head in the shotgun formation forced the quarterback to recover the loose ball at the 32 yard line. Two plays later, the Buffaloes could only attempt a desperation 46 yard field goal.
“We played three great quarters defensively,” says assistant coach Jim Turner. “We gave up a couple of big plays and suddenly things aren’t looking so good, but we still played a heck of a defensive game.”
He says that some may consider the game an upset, but that wasn’t a sentiment shared by the SCHS players.
“You could tell by the way the boys played from the start they expected to win,” he says. “They didn’t come in here thinking they wanted to play a good game and feel happy about themselves. They wanted to win, thought they could win, and as the game went on they played with more and more confidence.”