Longhorns fight hard but fall to Mitchell

Kimball battled Mitchell tough until the final gun, but the visiting Tigers came away victorious with a 35-21 win over the Longhorns Friday night at Keith Staehr Field.

The teams each stalled on their first drive of the game, before the Longhorns got things going a bit on their second offensive series. The Longhorns (0-3) started with a handoff to Jaden Withrow, who was thrown back for a loss of five yards. The Tigers held onto Withrow's helmet during the tackle, however, and Kimball gained yardage on the penalty.

Logan Stahla carried next, and was brought down after a 1-yard gain. Withrow then carried again with a gain of four yards to set up third down needing six yards. The Longhorns were at the 50-yard line when quarterback Tyler Magninie completed a pass to Ethan Land for a first down. More carries, alternating between Withrow, Stahla and Magninie, kept the drive alive, before Magninie connected with Stahla on a pass play to the 19-yard line. The Tigers eventually held the Longhorns by forcing them to turn the ball over.

The Tigers were held on their next drive by the tough play of the Longhorn defense. Players with takedowns on the drive were Angel Flores, Dakota Flores, Creg Barker, Kody Kirby and Trent Rutledge. Eventually the Tigers were forced to punt, with Kimball taking over at the 44-yard line.

The Longhorns responded with their first score of the game. Withrow's big run set Kimball close to the end zone, and he followed that with a scoring run to put Kimball up 7-0 near the end of the first quarter.

Kimball recovered its onside kick after the touchdown, but Mitchell stopped the Longhorns' drive. The Tigers responded with their first touchdown of the game. The Tigers started their drive with a run by Drake Gilliland with a big gain of 17 yards, ending at the Longhorns' 42-yard line. A run by the Drew Gilliland pushed the ball to the 18-yard line, where he was pushed out of bounds by Barker. Mitchell scored a touchdown two plays later, but could not hit the extra point as Kimball held onto a slim 7-6 lead.

The clock showed 9:43 left in the second quarter as the Tigers' kick to the Longhorns rolled out of bounds. A run by Stahla looked to gain five yards but a penalty moved it back. The drive eventually ended on a fumble as the Tigers recovered the Longhorns' miscue. It did not take long for Mitchell to take the lead as Drew Gilliland scampered in for the score. Mitchell hit the extra point for a 13-7 lead.

Kimball answered to tie the game. Dakota Flores had a nice return to give Kimball the ball ad the Mitchell 49-yard line. Three successive carries by Withrow gave the Longhorns a first down, then he added another first down run. An interference penalty on the Tigers pushed Kimball closer to the goal line, then Magninie found Land for a 20-yard gain. He later completed a pass to Rutledge, as the junior broke through several would-be tacklers for the touchdown. The extra point was unsuccessful, and the game was tied at 13-all.

Mitchell got things rolling on its first drive of the second half to take a 20-13 lead. Kimball fumbled on its next drive, but recovered a Mitchell fumble after that as Kyle Spicer captured the ball. Kimball scored a touchdown and two-point conversion for a 21-20 third quarter lead.

The two teams traded drives until Mitchell scored on a punt return late in the third quarter to take a 28-21 lead. Mitchell added a final tally with 3:21 left in the game for the 35-21 victory.

Withrow led the team in rushing with 22 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. Stahla added 43 yards and a score, while Byron Rowley had 32 yards rushing and Magninie added 20.

Magninie completed 8-of-26 passes for 128 yards. He had one touchdown pass and tossed two interceptions in the game. Land had a team-high four receptions for 64 yards. Dakota Flores caught two passes for 36 yards, Trent Rutledge had a reception for a 23-yard touchdown and Stahla caught one pass for five yards.

Defensively, Kirby had a team-high seven tackles and Rowley added six. Rutledge and Barker had five stops each.

"I'm really proud of all the kids," said Kimball coach Nick Kuxhausen. "There were quite a few unfortunate events that happened during the game with all the injuries, but the new guys and freshman all played really well and put forth a lot of effort. I'm proud of the fight they put up."

The Longhorns will travel to Imperial Friday to take on Chase County. Chase County is 3-0 with wins against Minden, Bridgeport and Cozad.