Worth County beat Kickapoo Nation out of Kansas 68-14 in its final tuneup before its game against Mound City next Friday in Mound City in a game called at halftime. The Tigers ended the game early as the JV saw much of the playing time Friday.
Barrett Baker returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown as he ran straight up the middle and there was a hole big enough for a truck to drive through and he bounced to the right side for the score with 11:45 left in the first quarter. J.J. Mullock missed the extra point, but he would go on to nail six in what may have been a record-setting performance.
Kickapoo got the ball back on their own 13 and handed the ball off to Lumper Cadue. Listed at 6'1" and 206, that weight seemed low as he was a load to bring down as he was one of the bigger backs that the Tigers will see this year. It took three or four Tigers to bring him down at times. But on their first series, the Tigers stopped the Warriors cold as Barrett Baker and Dallas Greenland led a surge that stopped Cadue cold on third and four after he had bounced off one tackler. On the ensuing punt play, Josh Wagner shot up the middle and tackled the punter for a loss of three and the Tigers got the ball on the Kickapoo 16. The Warriors would shoot themselves in the foot with poor special teams play all night.
Worth County only needed two plays to get its second score as an encroachment penalty moved the ball to the 11 and then Barrett Baker took a sweep to the house with 9:50 left. Josh Wagner got the carry for the extra points and bulldozed his defender for the last yard to make it 14-0.
After Kickapoo got the ball on its own 15, Josh Wagner jumped the snap count and disrupted their first play from scrimmage and Alex Harmening was there to clean up Andrew Darnell for a one yard loss. A fumbled snap made it third and long and Cadue dropped a pass as Cody Green applied the pressure and Dallas Greenland made the hit on Cadue.
This time, Kickapoo got off a good punt and put the Tigers on their own 30. But Worth County only needed one play to score as Zach Harmening aired it out to Alex Harmening for a 50-yard strike to make it 20-0 with 7:59 left.
Cadue caught a short pass and turned it into a first down for Kickapoo, but an obvious block in the back penalty wiped it out. Adam Summers then intercepted a pass on third down to give the Tigers the ball on the Kickapoo 36. Once again, they needed only one play to score; this time, Eli Mullock took a sweep to the right side and outran everyone for the score to make it 26-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
Brian Hall and Adam Summers buried the Warrior's kick returned on the 13 and a false start penalty moved it back to the 8. The Warriors handed off to Cadue, but he was met by four Tiger defenders after two yards. He caught a screen pass for five yards but then Summers had perfect coverage on third and eight from the 15 and Kickapoo was forced to punt. Jordan Harding fielded the ensuing kick as Coach Chuck Borey began subbing his JV in at that point and he returned it for a touchdown with 4:32 left. J.J. Mullock nailed the first of six extra point kicks to make it 33-0.
Cadue finally found daylight against the Tigers as he got loose for a 31-yard sweep to the Tiger 35 on the next possession for Kickapoo. But the Warriors stalled there as a botched handoff made it second and 14. A flat pass to Cadue went nowhere as he was met by Mitch Andrews and Bryson Scott for a loss of 1. Two incomplete passes gave the Tigers the ball on downs; Adam Summers batted away the second pass intended for Cadue.
Once again, the Tigers would only need two plays to score. Josh Wagner took a counter sweep to the left, jumped to the outside, hurdled a defender, and ran for 39 yards before being brought down at the 11. Wagner would not be denied the end zone as he would take another sweep, barrell over a defender at the 3, and get into the end zone with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Mullock's second kick of the night made it 40-0.
The ensuing kickoff rolled under Andrew Darnell's legs and he had to fall on it at his own 3. But that only made things more interesting for Kickapoo's first score; Cadue jumped to the outside on a simple dive play up the middle and outran everybody on the Warriors' first play from scrimmage. Darnell ran in the extra points to make it 40-8. With nothing to lose, Kickapoo tried an onsides kick, but Dallas Greenland picked it up and returned it to the Warriors' 21. On their only play from scrimmage, the Tigers carried out a perfect fake to Eli Mullock and Barrett Baker was untouched on a sweep that gave the Tigers another score with 1:48 left. J.J. Mullock kicked his third extra point of the night to make it 47-8.
Kickapoo's special teams woes continued as they tried to let a punt go out of bounds, but it rolled dead in play at the 9; they barely fell on it in time to avoid the Tigers recovering it. Cadue's first carry went nowhere as Mitch Andrews and three other defenders met him for a two yard gain. Cody Straight and Adam Summers met Andrew Darnell for no gain to set up third and eight. On the ensuing pass play, Cody Straight, known by his nickname of "Tater," recorded the sack to force the Warriors to punt. Adam Summers took the punt and Jordan Harding took out a defender much bigger than himself to spring him free for the final 10 yards and a score.
Once again, Kickapoo had trouble with its special teams as Robbie Savago let a kickoff get by him and had to fall on it at the 8. Cadue got a pair of six-yarders for the Warriors, but after his second carry, he was stripped of the ball and Mitch Andrews fell on it at the Kickapoo 20. A fumble set the Tigers back third and 9 at the 19, but Dallas Greenland took a sweep, juked a defender at the five, and drove two other defenders into the end zone. J.J. Mullock's fifth extra point kick made it 61-8 with 9:41 left in the second half.
Worth County made a special teams miscue for once when their ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Warriors the ball at their own 35. Kickapoo responded with a 10 play 55 yard drive that took up most of the right of the first half. Cadue was a workhorse on the drive, getting six carries. Finally, Cadue got into the end zone with 2:58 left in the half to make it 61-14.
Another onsides kick was unsuccessful and the Tigers got the ball on their own 35. Coach Borey wanted to set up a field goal for J.J. Mullock, which would have been Worth County's first in decades, but you can't ask the players not to run the ball -- Adam Summers, playing reserve quarterback, carried out a fake that fooled everyone and nobody realized he had the ball on an end around until it was too late. His 37-yard run was the final score of the night for the Tigers and J.J. Mullock's sixth extra point kick made it 68-14 with 1:57 left. John Younce tried his hand at kicking off the ball and sent a towering kick that pinned the Warriors back at their own 19 and helped deny them a chance to score again before half.
The Tigers learned that backup center Logan Ridge would be out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL and MCL. However, Wyatt McClain saw action Friday on defense, where he forced a fumble from the nose tackle position. Alex Harmening was fine after a concussion suffered against CFX; he was given the go-ahead to play Friday.
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