Thursday, October 31, 2024

Tigers Pitch 60-0 Shutout Against Stanberry in District Opener

Worth County pitched a 60-0 shutout against Stanberry in their district opener Thursday as they were able to go home early at halftime. The game was moved up to Thursday due to the Stanberry softball team going to state for the first time ever. 

With Brayden Stevens back, Worth County was able to develop depth that it didn’t have at the start of the year. The focus of the game was to get a clean win and get tuned up for Platte Valley next week. The road will be much harder for Worth County; Platte Valley has been battling injuries all year, but got a big win against Rock Port to clinch the conference title and got a first round bye to rest and heal up. Ball security will be a key for the Tigers, as Platte Valley forced a ton of turnovers in the Rock Port win after they pulled ahead.

Colby McQueen was back for Stanberry, but Stanberry moved him to end, seeking to develop a freshman quarterback in Drew Parman as they seek to climb out of the hole next year.

This game was over early as the Tigers scored early and often. Stanberry kicked off and Brayden Stevens got blocks from Lucas Frisch and Sawyer Thurman and got loose to the Stanberry 32. Jude Archer got a sweep and got a block from Landon Wilmes as he took it 28 yards down to the Bulldog 4. Landon Wilmes got blocks from Lucas Frisch and Brayden Stevens as he took it to the house with 11:35 left in the first quarter. Landon ran in the sweep for the extra points to put the Tigers up 8-0.

The ensuing kick was shanked and Stanberry had good field position at the Tiger 39, but on the first play from scrimmage, Ethan Lininger pounced on a fumble at the Stanberry 39. Landon Wilmes got a block from Ethan Lininger to the 31. An incomplete pass set up third and two, but Brayden Stevens got a block from Bo Collins and took it 18 yards to the 13. Landon Wilmes got a block from Ethan Lininger and carried it six yards to the seven. Karson Briner caught a pass from Hayden Sanders and the Tigers were on the board again up 14-0 with 10:04 left in the first quarter.

Stanberry started at its own 25. They started with an incomplete pass, and then a keeper only went for two yards. The next pass was tipped and Stanberry was forced to punt. Worth County started at its own 27 and Landon Wilmes picked up 19 yards to the Stanberry 34 after getting a block from Carter Chapman. Jude Archer picked up seven more to the 27. A holding penalty moved it back to the 30, but then Lucas Frisch made a diving grab of a pass from Hayden Sanders for a score. Brayden Stevens caught a short pass for the extra point try and got a block from Carter Chapman to make it 22-0. 

Stanberry started at the 40, and Decker Heyde found daylight to the 35 and an offsides put it on the 30. Heyde slipped and fell on the wet field on the next play at the 36, and a short pass set up fourth and five at the 35. Quarterback Drew Parman scrambled for a first down to the 28 to keep the drive alive. But a counter went nowhere as Sawyer Thurman snuffed it out. A false start moved Stanberry back to the 32, and an incomplete pass set up third and 14. Stanberry tried to set up a screen, but Lucas Frisch blew it up and Stanberry was driven back all the way to the 40 and was forced to punt.

Landon Wilmes ran back the ensuing kick from the 9 to the 33. Wilmes got a block from Ethan Lininger and bounced outside to the 13. Jude Archer lined up in the Wildcat formation and got a block from Landon Wilmes down to the 5. Brayden Stevens caught a short pass and ran it in with 3:44 left in the first quarter. Landon Wilmes took an option pitch and laid out a would be tackler to make it 30-0.

Stanberry started on its own 25. On its very first play from scrimmage, Landon Wilmes pounced on a fumble at the 21. Worth County aired it out to Karson Briner for a score and they were on the board again in just a 16 second span. Landon Wilmes took a sweep and got a block from Karson Briner for the extra points to make it 38-0 with 3:28 left in the first.

Stanberry started on its own 30, and then Decker Heyde picked up three to the 33. On the next play, Heyde bounced outside for 38 yards to the Tiger 9 before being pushed out of bounds. But then Landon Wilmes blew up a pitch play for a loss at the 15. A false start moved it to the 20. On the next play, Parman dropped back to pass for Stanberry. Carter Chapman got a helmet on the ball, which popped up in the air. Bo Collins caught it in midair and took it to the house with 1:47 left. Karson Briner caught the extra point pass to make it 46-0.

Stanberry started at their own 25, and immediately picked up a false start to the 20. Ethan Lininger dropped Heyde for no gain, and then Carter Chapman dropped Parman on a keeper. Lininger then blew up a pitch and Stanberry was forced to punt. Worth County started at its own 36, and two running plays went for only five yards. But then Brayden Stevens lined up in the Wildcat formation and instead of running with the ball, threw a shovel to Landon Wilmes, who got loose for 26 yards to the 13. On the next play, Landon Wilmes took a quick pitch to the house with 10:29 left in the second quarter. Worth County tried a screen pass and Brayden Stevens and a wall of blockers had nobody in front of them as the Tigers went ahead 54-0.

The JV squads played out the rest of the half. On the next series, Stanberry started at its own 28. A holding penalty put them back on the 18. Reyen Hansen recovered a fumble at the 15, and Wyatt Hill got a block from Lance Runde, back from a scary injury, and took it to the house for Worth County’s final score. 


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