Worth County capped off an unbeaten junior high season Monday with a 68-6 win over Pattonsburg. The current group of eight graders came a long way since last year, when they lost four and tied two. They had several horses to anchor the team this year, with Brock Healy at the quarterback helm and targets to hand the ball to or throw to like Jordan Dannar, Wyatt Scadden, Cole Hardy, and Bentin Roberts. But it was Silas Brown who stole the show Monday, ripping off four carries for 119 yards, the kind of performance Bo Collins put on two years ago against Pattonsburg. It was Worth County's third unbeaten junior high season in four years. Last year, Worth County played the numbers game and barely got a team on the field; this year, they had 23 players listed in the program.
Pattonsburg showed some promise this season, even though the scoreboard Monday didn't show it. They have a new quarterback in waiting for their pass-happy attack in Mason Preston, receivers like Colton Crone and Evan Mason, and two huge fullbacks in Meric Hansel and Cash Teel who showed some skill in carrying the ball for the Panthers. The numbers were up for the Panthers, who had 22 players out this year; last year, the varsity squad was down to 13 players at one point. They won a couple of games against Stanberry and North Andrew. "We should have won a third against Princeton," said coach Alan Koch. But Worth County showed the same kind of dominance that they did in 2021 and 2022, when Bo Collins and that bunch were in junior high.
The scoring started right off the bat for Worth County when Jordan Dannar took one to the house on the kickoff after getting a block from Hudson Cameron with 7:50 left. Brock Healy took the option in for the extra points and it was 8-0.
Cole Hardy had a big hit on the kickoff return to pin Pattonsburg on their own 25. Pattonsburg had a chance to make a game out of it on the next series as Preston, under pressure from Jace Burns, aired one out to an open Evan Mason, but he dropped it and the suspense was soon over. A good return by Bentin Roberts on the punt was called back to the Tiger 26 by a block in the back penalty, but that only made things more interesting as Brock Healy aired it out to an unguarded Wyatt Scadden, who took it to the house with 6:35 left. Brock Healy got blocks from Scadden and Dannar and added the extra points to make it 16-0.
Pattonsburg tried to establish the shovel pass, but Wyatt Scadden and Cole Hardy blew it up twice and Scadden added a sack to force a three and out. Bentin Roberts took the ensuing kick, got a knockdown block from Jordan Dannar, and took it to the house with 3:56 left. A counter play to Cole Hardy fooled everyone to make it 24-0.
On the next series, a running play went nowhere as Hudson Cameron met Gabe Jeswald for no gain. Hudson Cameron hurried Mason Preston into an incompletion, and a reverse went nowhere as Bentin Roberts did his job and stayed home and made the tackle. This time, Pattonsburg tried to go for it, but Liam Cordell picked it off on the Tiger 33. This time, Worth County only needed one score as Jordan Dannar took a dive, got a block from Jace Burns, and bounced out to the left side and to the house with 2:03 left. Cole Hardy caught the extra point pass to make it 32-0.
This time, Pattonsburg tried to go for it again, but Brock Healy broke up a fourth down pass and Worth County got a short field on the Panther 27. They elected to work on their passing game, and Scadden was tackled immediately after a one yard gain and an incomplete pass set up third down. But Brock Healy aired it out and Scadden outran everyone to the house with 7:48 left. Bentin Roberts flared out on a screen pass, juked a defender, and got in to make it 40-0.
It looked like more of the same for Pattonsburg after Jace Burns and Bentin Roberts tag teamed and body slammed Mason Preston in a move straight out of the WWE. But Preston, on fourth and five, had a short memory as he rolled out to his right, reversed field to his left on fourth and five, and scrambled for a first down to the Tiger 33. A short pass to Evan Mason set up a manageable down and distance at the 25, and Worth County jumped offsides on fourth and two to keep the Panther drive alive. But then Jakob Herbert stepped up and came up big for Worth County, dropping Preston for no gain, and an incomplete pass, a short pass than went nowhere, and a sack by Jordan Dannar gave the Tigers the ball back on downs at the 35.
Worth County ripped off a pair of big gains from Jordan Dannar to the Panther five, but elected to work on spiking the football; they executed it perfectly, but time ran out on them before they could get it grounded.
The ensuing second half kickoff was fumbled around before Xander Bodle pounced on it at the 15. They only needed one play to cash in as Jordan Dannar got a block from Bentin Roberts as he took it to the house with 7:20 left in the third to make it 46-0.
But Pattonsburg, which had called games like this in the past, changed their thinking this year and elected to play on; the varsity also played on after falling behind by more than 45. They continued to play hard even after the running clock kicked in; after Wyatt Scadden recovered a Panther fumble, they turned right around and Leon Robinson recovered a Tiger fumble. But then Jakob Herbert recovered a fumble for Worth County, and they turned to Silas Brown as a runningback. The seventh grader immediately showed some skill, ripping off 27 yards to the four and taking it to the house after getting a block from Wyatt Scadden. Jace Burns, who had anchored the offensive and defensive line all year, was rewarded with a carry and bulldozed his way into the end zone for the extra points to make it 54-0 with 2:43 left.
Desperate to try something that would work, the Panthers put Meric Hansel and Cash Teel in the backfield and it paid off after Pattonsburg started on their own 16. First, Hansel dragged the whole Tiger football team eight yards to the 24. Then, Cash Teel showed some skill and dragged a pile three yards before Gunnar Smith body slammed him at the 27. Then, Hansel went to work again, dragging defenders left and right for six more yards to the 33. That set up some daylight for Mason Preston, who bounced outside and took it to the house with 7:43 left in the fourth to put Pattonsburg on the board at 54-6. Mason Hiatt picked off the ensuing extra point try.
But then Worth County got the ball back on the 25 and Silas Brown went to work, getting loose and running through Panther defenders like they weren't even there. Wyatt Scadden ran in the extra points to make it 62-6 with 3:35 left. Cole Hardy pounced on the ensuing squib kick at the Panther 33, and that set up Silas Brown's last run in the closing seconds. Gracin Runde ran in the extra points to make it 68-6.
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