Landon Wilmes racked up 250 yards as Worth County matched a school record with 94 points, downing Pattonsburg with a 94-32 win Friday. With the win, Worth County kept up the pressure on Albany, which faced a surprisingly stiff challenge from Stanberry before pulling away for a 46-6 win. Albany lost Elliot Mercer on the first play of the game. The last few years of the Albany/Stanberry wars have always resulted in key players being knocked out of the game. King City was also unbeaten in the conference going into Friday's game, but faltered 34-26 against St. Joseph Christian to go to 4-1.
The win for Worth County sets up a showdown at King City Friday. The game is a must win for both schools. Worth County has to beat King City and hope that Albany falters against either Pattonsburg or King City to clinch a share of the GRC West. If King City wins, then Worth County is out of the race while the showdown between Albany and King City will be for a share of the GRC Title for the Wildkats. Friday's win against Pattonsburg brought the magic number for a winning season for the Tigers down to one game; a win Friday night will give them a winning season for the ninth time in ten tries with the other season being a .500 season. The game will also be for district standings. Worth County can likely finish no higher than third in districts due to losses to Platte Valley and Albany; a win by King City would vault them ahead of Worth County to third place, forcing Worth County to travel to Albany.
The win matches a school record for most points in a contest by the Tigers. They scored 94 points in 2010 against South Holt, a 94-48 donnybrook which prompted the 275 conference to make a rule requiring schools down by 45 points to call the game for a time. They scored 94 points against Pattonsburg in 2015, and 94 points last year against Princeton.
Pattonsburg has been going through a tough luck season this year. After playing Rock Port and South Holt tough, they lost Wyatt Maize for the year (knee) during the latter game and have been in a tailspin for much of the season. They showed flashes of their old form, beating Stanberry handily, but struggling in a 50-8 loss to King City. They put some points on the board against a physical St. Joseph Christian squad last week, but lost 70-38. The hope was to show some spark against Worth County and then turn around and propel it into a win against Albany, like what happened last year. They showed flashes of promise against Worth County, but the Tigers, after some early lapses on defense that kept Pattonsburg in the game, got better as the game progressed and the Panthers couldn't buy a stop against Wilmes and the Tiger ground game, while Hayden Sanders completed enough passes to keep Pattonsburg's defense honest. And Worth County did not give up a pair of free possessions to Pattonsburg like Albany did in its first game with them last year and fuel their rush.
Pattonsburg got the ball on their own 18 and got a pass from Drake Sperry to the 29 for a first down. Lucas Frisch blew up a jet sweep, but then Alex Young was all alone for a pass to the Tiger 34. The Panthers were faced with a third and ten after Landon Preston was met by Sawyer Thurman, Lucas Frisch, and Bo Collins and Jude Archer broke up a pass, but then Camden Griffith scrambled for seven to the 27 and then scrambled for a touchdown as the black shirts overran him and he channeled Gage Iddings, weaving his way through traffic with 7:38 left to make it 6-0. But Worth County was ready for the swinging gate on the extra point try, having seen it against Platte Valley before, and broke up the extra point pass. They stopped all but one of Pattonsburg's extra point tries.
The Panthers nearly recovered an onside kick before it rolled out of bounds at the 34. Landon Wilmes started off with a seven yard sweep, getting a block from Lucas Frisch. Jude Archer lined up in the Wildcat formation and took it four yards to the 35 after getting a block from Landon Wilmes. Lucas Frisch picked up four to the 31, and then a shovel pass to Landon Wilmes went nowhere, stopped at the 30. But then Hayden Sanders moved a pile to the 25 and a first down and Landon Wilmes got a block from Carter Chapman and got six down to the 19. He got 11 more off blocks from Lucas Frisch and Ethan Lininger and then took a sweep to the house with 4:33 left. Hayden Sanders got good protection in the pocket and threw a strike to Lucas Frisch to make it 8-6.
But Pattonsburg marched right back down the field after starting at their own 32. Bo Collins got pressure on Griffith and forced a hurry, then Griffith scrambled for four to the 31. Hayden Sanders nearly picked off a pass before Gavin Humphrey nearly made a diving catch, but on fourth down, nobody picked up Humphrey and he was all alone for a strike with 3:32 left. Griffith tried to run in the extra points, but was pushed out and Pattonsburg led 12-8.
Sawyer Thurman ran back the ensuing kick to the Pattonsburg 36. Landon Wilmes got blocks from Bo Collins and Lucas Frisch for 11 yards and then Jude Archer took a snap out of the Wildcat and took a counter from 25 yards out to the house with 2:54 left. Once again, Hayden Sanders got good protection from the line and threw a strike to Archer for the two points to make it 16-12.
The Panthers have tried to establish a running game with some success this year, but Worth County was ready for it and blew it up for most of the night. Sawyer Thurman and Ethan Lininger dropped Alex Young for a loss, Sawyer Thurman broke up a pass after Lucas Frisch forced a hurry, and then Bo Collins got loose and forced an incompletion to a wide open Landon Preston. Camden Griffith tried to scramble for a first down, but this time, Carter Chapman showed his speed and ran him down to five the Tigers the ball back on downs at the 27.
Worth County rescued a dropped pass as Landon Wilmes got a block from Lucas Frisch and got 22 yards to the 5. Then, Jude Archer got a block from Karson Briner and took it to the house with 1:34 left in the first quarter to put Worth County up 22-12.
Pattonsburg went into the two twin formation that Mound City used with some success against Worth County, but this time, they were ready for it. Pattonsburg started off at its own 31 and a short pass to Alex Young netted four. But then Bo Collins and Karson Briner rang Griffith's bell. Carter Chapman tweaked his shoulder and came out, but the Tigers may have found a new defensive end as Karson Briner took most of the reps at that position after the first quarter and the Tigers showed no dropoff. Meanwhile, Chapman was still able to anchor the offensive line. The Tigers overcame a facemask penalty as Briner forced a hurry. Drake Sperry was all alone, but Griffith misfired, and a pass was too far for Landon Preston, giving the Tigers the ball back on downs at their own 39.
Worth County only needed three plays to get down the field. They aired it out to Karson Briner to the 13. Following an incomplete pass, Hayden Sanders threw a shovel pass to Landon Wilmes, who took it to the house with 11:33 left in the second quarter after getting blocks from Jude Archer and Bo Collins. A carbon copy was good for the two points as Landon Wilmes weaved his way through traffic to make it 30-12. But Pattonsburg came storming right back as a big battle between Landon Preston and Jude Archer resulted in a juggling catch and run that took it to the house with 11:20 left. Gavin Humphrey caught the extra point pass to make it 30-20.
Pattonsburg tried to follow the game plan against Albany last year, where they took control in the first game by recovering a pair of onsides kicks. But Worth County kept their heads against their tactics and didn't give up one all night. Karson Briner recovered one at the Panther 32, and then Landon Wilmes took a sweep and ran through Panther defenders like they weren't even there to make it 36-20 with 11:12 left. But Collin Mason and Jace Estrada combined on a sack of Hayden Sanders to keep the margin at two possessions.
That meant that the Panthers could make it one possession if they were to score. A late hit put it on the Tiger 34, and then passes to Gavin Humphrey and Alex Young moved it to the 21. But from there on out, Bo Collins started playing as one possessed, starting with the next series. A running play lost six as Bo shot through unblocked. Bo forced another hurry and an intentional grounding, and then got another hurry to set up fourth and 28 at the 39. Pattonsburg aired it out, and Gavin Humphrey nearly made a spectacular grab, but came up short as the Tigers took over on downs. From there, Worth County did not look back.
Jude Archer nearly broke one, but Gavin Humphrey made a shoestring tackle to hold him to five yards. Landon Wilmes got a block from Lucas Frisch, and cut back for seven more to the 29. From there, Hayden Sanders called his own number. The front line defenders overran him, he got a block from Lucas Frisch, and he took it to the house with 8:02 left. Like Bo Collins on defense, Lucas Frisch was playing possessed on offense, laying out defenders everywhere in sight and opening the holes for Landon Wilmes and the other Tiger backs. Hayden Sanders took in the option to make it 44-20.
Pattonsburg started at their own 32, and then Bo forced another quarterback hurry and an incomplete pass. Camden Griffith scrambled and managed to find Gavin Humphrey for eight yards, but then Pattonsburg started taking too much time to get the play off and then Sawyer Thurman flushed Griffin and Karson Briner got a sack. On fourth and eight at the Panther 34, Bo Collins once again got pressure and flushed Griffith, who threw it away to give the Tigers the ball back on downs.
Jace Estrada sacked Hayden Sanders on the first play, but then Jude Archer weaved his way eight yards and then six to set up fourth and three at the 27. Worth County then lined Landon Wilmes up in the Wildcat formation, and he weaved his way through the green shirts like they weren't even there as he took it to the house with 4:30 left to make it 50-20.
Worth County tried to give Pattonsburg a dose of its own medicine by trying an onsides kick, but Remington White fell on it at the 39. On their first play, Alex Young was all alone for a pass, but Griffith misfired. Lucas Frisch broke up a pass, and then dropped Griffith trying to scramble to set up fourth and nine. Bo Collins flushed Griffith and Hayden Sanders broke up the resultant pass and Worth County had the ball on downs at the 40. Once again, they only needed one play as Landon Wilmes ran through the Panther defense like nobody was there and scored with 3:20 left to make it 56-20.
Pattonsburg then switched quarterbacks and put freshman Gage Fortner in at quarterback and Griffith as a wide receiver. Bo Collins batted down his first pass, but then Fortner aired it out to Griffith for 60 yards to the house with 3:10 left to make it 56-26. But the ensuing onsides kick didn't travel the necessary 10 yards and Worth County had good field position at the Panther 34. Once again, Landon Wilmes wove through the Panther defenders like they weren't even there, getting blocks from Jude Archer and Lucas Frisch to get loose. He ran in the option to make it 64-20 with three minutes left.
The Panthers started off at their own 29. Landon Wilmes dropped Gavin Humphrey after a one yard pass. Bo Collins and Karson Briner combined on a sack, and then Bo Collins dropped Landon Preston for a loss after they tried to leak him out of the backfield. It was fourth and 19 at their own 20, too far for the Panthers to even consider going for it, and Landon Preston got off a great kick downed at the Tiger 13. But with 1:12 left, that only made things more interesting for the Tigers. Landon Wilmes weaved his way up to the 36, and then took a sweep to the Panther 17 before getting out of bounds with 42 seconds left. But Wilmes was finally stopped on the next play, forcing Worth County to use its last timeout with 36 seconds. Worth County took a shot into the end zone, but after a good battle, Alex Young broke up a pass intended for Karson Briner with 30 seconds. Landon Wilmes caught a short pass, but was tackled at the eight with 26 seconds, one yard short of the first down. On fourth and one, Jude Archer got three to the five to keep the drive going. Worth County threw it away with 8.1 seconds left, and then Jude Archer took a quick pitch, got a block from Karson Briner, and got in with 3.8 seconds to spare. Landon Wilmes took the Wildcat snap and turned himself into a human bowling ball to get into the end zone to make it 72-26 at the half.
Unlike previous years, Pattonsburg elected to play on this time and on Worth County's first possession, Parker Virtue got a huge hit, but Worth County recovered it at their own 30 for second and 15. Jude Archer took a Wildcat snap and was seemingly in the clear before Parker Virtue came out of nowhere to tackle him at the Panther 21 to save a touchdown. But Lucas Frisch took it three yards to the 18 and then Landon Wilmes weaved his way through traffic for his final score with 9:49 left in the third, Jude Archer caught the extra point pass to make it 80-26.
Pattonsburg got the ball back at the 20, and this time, they adjusted their blocking scheme to double team Bo Collins, who had hurt them in the first half. Sawyer Thurman blitzed on their first play and forced a hurry, and Jude Archer was there to break it up. Gavin Humphrey caught a short pass, only to be body slammed by Lucas Frisch straight out of the WWE. But then Fortner threw a long pass to Humphrey, who made a circus catch at the Tiger 28 to keep the drive going. Worth County forced another pair of hurries, but then Fortner aired it out again, this time to Landon Preston, who made another circus catch, this time for a score with 5:20 left to cut the Panther deficit to 80-32. Jude Archer broke up the extra point try.
After Karson Briner returned the resulting squib kick to the Panther 29, Worth County turned things over to its JV. Wyatt Hill picked up carries of two and four to the 23, and then got a block from Brayden Murphy and got loose, taking it to the house with 2:58 in the third. Hill got blocks from Reed Smyser and Liam Hayden to add the extra points and make it 88-32.
Pattonsburg started off on its own 30, but a sack by Karson Briner put them on their own 16. Drake Sperry got most of it back and would have gotten more had not Reyen Hansen come out of nowhere to tackle him at the 28. A pair of bad snaps gave the Tigers the ball back on downs at the Panther 10, and Franklynn Taute took it to the house to make it 94-32 before the Panthers threw in the towel and the rest of the game was played with reserves.
In reserve action, Reyen Hansen got a pick and a nice return to the Panther 25 before Wyatt Hill got loose again for the lone tally during that stretch.
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