Wildcats roll to big win over Cody-Kilgore

HARRISBURG - Banner County closed out the home portion of its schedule in style.

The Wildcats outscored visiting Cody-Kilgore 41-18 in the second half as they rolled to a 60-24 victory on Friday afternoon. Banner grabbed a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter and controlled the game from that point.

The Cowboys challenged on their first drive and went deep into Wildcat territory. It was the first of several nice defensive stands from Banner. With the ball at the Banner 17-yard line, Cody-Kilgore managed just two yards on its first two downs. Wyatt Galloway gained five yards on third down, before he was tackled by Banner's Tyson Dalgrin for just a gain of a yard to force a turnover.

Banner took over at its own 9-yard line with 6:44 left in the opening quarter and went to work. Dalgrin started the drive with an 8-yard run, and Mike McKown moved the chains with an 11-yard pass to Garrett Grubbs. Banner gained five yards on a Cody-Kilgore offsides penalty, before Dalgrin gained big chunks of yardage to move the ball to the 21-yard line. He gained nine yards on a rush, then hauled in a 19-yard pass from McKown. McKown took it in himself on the next play, rushing 21 yards for the touchdown to give Banner a 6-0 lead. He was stopped on the point after attempt run and the home team held a one-score advantage with 3:58 left in the first quarter.

Banner held Cody-Kilgore to just four plays before forcing a turnover on downs on the Cowboys' next drive. The Wildcats took over at the Cowboy 34-yard line and needed just three plays to score. After a loss of three yards and a gain of a yard, McKown tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Huber to extend the lead. McKown's pass on the PAT was incomplete, and the Wildcats held a 12-0 lead with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The two teams each had a drive that ended on a turnover on downs, before the Cowboys got on the scoreboard. Cody-Kilgore needed just two plays as Casey Lamie scored on a 54-yard run on a sweep for the visiting team's first score of the game. Galloway's PAT run was stuffed and Banner held a 12-6 lead with 5:47 left until halftime.

The Wildcats responded immediately to add to their lead. McKown opened the drive with a 25-yard run to the Cowboy 33-yard line. McKown gained four yards on the next play, and then was thrown for a loss of six yards on second down after he caught a pass from Huber. The Wildcats quickly made up the ground on third down as McKown found Dalgrin on a 12-yard pass play. On fourth and five from the 23-yard line, McKown found Dalgrin for the second straight play, this time on a 23-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead. Dalgrin also ran in the PAT to put the Wildcats up 19-6 with 3:42 left until halftime.

Cody-Kilgore had one final chance to score, but Banner's defense came up strong once again. The Cowboys marched down the field to the Banner 12-yard line on eight plays. Lamie gained four yards on the ninth play of the drive, and a pass from Dawson Gourd to Jordan Cady gained another yard. The Cowboys lost 10 yards due to a bad snap on the next play, and their fourth down pass was incomplete as Dalgrin pressured Gourd to end the half.

A big swing early in the third quarter put the game away. The Cowboys started at their own 15-yard line and went deep into Wildcat territory with a 30-yard pass from Gourd to Lamie, followed by a 21-yard run by Galloway. On first and goal from the 9-yard line, Galloway gained five yards. Banner was called offsides on the next play, and Cody-Kilgore had its second and goal play from the 2-yard line. With their backs to the wall, the Wildcat defense came up stout. Lamie was thrown for a loss of three yards on second down as Dalgrin and Grubbs combined for the stop. Dalgrin made another nice tackle on the next play, holding Galloway to a gain of a yard. On fourth and goal from the 4-yard line, Huber and Dalgrin stuffed Lamie for a loss of a yard as the Wildcats' defense held firm.

After a great defensive stand, Banner's offense needed little time to add to the lead. McKown opened the two-play drive with a 29-yard run. On the next play, Dalgrin broke through an attempted Cody-Kilgore tackle up the middle and raced down the field for a 46-yard touchdown run with 3:49 left in the third quarter. McKown connected with Dalgrin on a PAT pass to give the Wildcats a 26-6 lead.

The Cowboys responded with a 35-yard pass to make it a 26-12 game, but the Wildcats got those points back quickly. Banner put together a six-play, 38-yard drive that ended on a 1-yard touchdown pass from McKown to Bryce Olsen with four seconds remaining in the third quarter. The pass was incomplete on the PAT and Banner led 32-12 heading into the final frame. The Wildcats led by at least 20 points the rest of the game. They outscored the Cowboys 28-12 in the fourth quarter. The final four scores came on a 12-yard Dalgrin run, a 35-yard Dalton Jordan run, an interception return of about 60 yards by McKown and a kickoff return of about 40 yards by McKown.

The Wildcats wrap up the regular season Friday with a 2 p.m. contest at Sioux County. The Warriors are 8-0 on the season.

Score by quarter

C-K 0 6 6 12 - 24

BC 12 7 13 28 - 60

Individual stats (Unofficial)

Rushing

Tyson Dalgrin 9-108 (2 TD), Mike McKown 11-102 (TD), Kaden Huber 4-42, Dalton Jordan 1-35 (TD).

Passing

Mike McKown 9/11, 127 yards, 3 TD. Kaden Huber 1/1, (-6) yards.

Receiving

Tyson Dalgrin 4-56 (TD), Garrett Grubbs 2-15, Kaden Huber 1-36 (TD), Dalton Jordan 1-19, Bryce Olson 1-1 (TD), Mike McKown 1-(-6).