Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Banner County quarterback Mike McKown, left, looks to evade the rush of Minatare's Chance McAllister during Friday night's game.
The Wildcats' Tyson Dalgrin, right, rushes the ball in Friday's 66-31 loss at Minatare. He ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Banner County's Kaden Humber, left, attempts to look in a pass over Minatare defender Yovan Perez. Perez deflected the ball on the play.
Special teams set the tone early on Friday night.
Minatare scored touchdowns on a pair of kickoff returns and a punt return in the first quarter and went on to defeat Banner County, 66-31.
The scoring started off quickly as Minatare's Yovan Perez opened the game with a kickoff return to give the homestanding Indians a 6-0 lead with just 13 ticks off the clock. Banner's first possession ended on an interception, but the Wildcats stopped the Indians on the ensuing drive. The Wildcats drove to the Indian 28-yard line and were stopped.
Minatare's next possession did not last long as Banner recovered a fumble and took over at the Indians' 20-yard line. Banner needed just one play to get on the scoreboard as Mike McKown found Tyson Dalgrin on a 20-yard pass play to tie the score at 6-all with 2:15 left in the first quarter.
The tie did not last long. Perez took the kickoff for a 70-yard return as Minatare retook the lead. Juan Garfio's point after touchdown attempt put the Indians up 14-6 with 2:03 left in the opening quarter.
Banner lost three yards on its next drive and was forced to punt. Minatare once again responded with a big special teams play as Garfio returned the punt over 40 yards for a touchdown to give the Indians a 22-6 advantage with 16 seconds left in the first quarter. All three of Minatare's first quarter scores came on special teams plays.
Banner struggled offensively early in the second quarter as Minatare added to its lead. The Wildcats lost nine yards on their first drive of the second quarter, and the Indians needed just two plays to take a 28-6 lead. Penalties hurt Banner on its next possession as the Wildcats were flagged for a block in the back and a false start. The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs at the Indians' 36-yard line.
Minatare struck quickly once again. Tyler Koke found Garfio on a 39-yard touchdown strike on the second play of the drive to give the Indians a 34-6 lead with 5:21 left in the first half.
Banner came back for another score late in the half. McKown started the drive with a 12-yard run, then found Dalgrin on a 9-yard pass play to advance the ball to the Minatare 22-yard line. McKown began the next series with a 5-yard run, then tossed a 14-yard pass to Kaden Huber to give the Wildcats the ball at the Indians' 3-yard line. Dalgrin punched it in on the next play as the Wildcats cut the lead to 34-12 with 1:12 left in the half.
Minatare quickly responded, however, as Koke tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Perez to extend the Indians' lead to 42-12 with 15.9 seconds left until halftime. Minatare held the same advantage at the break.
Banner had the ball to open the second half, but a turnover kept Minatare's advantage going strong. The Indians' Chance McAllister returned a McKown fumble for a touchdown just over a minute into the third quarter and put Minatare up 50-12. The Indians held a 58-12 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The Wildcats closed the gap in the fourth period. On a fourth and goal play at the 19-yard line, McKown shook free of an Indian defender on a would-be sack and then found Bryce Olsen slanting to the left for the touchdown pass. The score made it a 58-24 game with 4:32 left in the game.
The Indians once again showed their special teams prowess as Perez returned his third kickoff for a touchdown in the game and Minatare went up 66-24 with 4:16 remaining.
Banner responded with a final scoring drive of its own. McKown had runs of eight and 13 yards to move the chains for the Wildcats, and then Dalton Jordan added an 8-yard run. Dalgrin then scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, this time a 32-yard run, to make it a 66-31 game with 1:35 left on the clock.
The Wildcats fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in district play with the loss. The Indians moved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in district with the victory.
Banner is back on the road this week with a 1:30 p.m. game Friday at Arthur County.
Score by quarter
Banner Co. 6 6 0 19 - 31
Minatare 22 20 16 8 - 66
Individual statistics
(unofficial)
Rushing
Mike McKown 18-102, Tyson Dalgrin 10-84 (2 TDs), Dalton Jordan 3-17.
Passing
Mike McKown 10/26, 116 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT.
Receiving
Kaden Huber 3-54, Tayson Dalgrin 3-33 (TD), Roby Fonseca 2-13 (TD), Bryce Olsen 1-19 (TD), Garrett Grubbs 1-(-3).
