Horns rally late before falling to Bayard

Kimball roared back from a 12-0 fourth quarter deficit to take a 13-12 advantage, but the lead did not last long as Bayard came back to defeat the Longhorns, 24-13, last Friday at Keith Staehr Field.

Bayard (2-3) led 12-0 as Kimball began its last drive of the third quarter, with 4:21 on the clock. Quarterback Tyler Magninie gained three yards on the ground to start the drive, which received a blow when Dakota Flores was tossed for a loss of five yards on the very next play. Magninie found Angel Flores for a 7-yard pass play on third down, which was five yards short of a first down.

As it looked like Kimball would punt, a fake got things going. Punter Trent Rutledge rolled to his left and found Angel Flores for a gain of 18 yards on a pass play as the Horns got the first down to keep the drive alive.

The successful fake punt energized the Horns as they continued to march down the field. Magninie completed passes to Ethan Land and Rutledge, before scampering for 14 yards for another key first down to put the Longhorns close to the goal line. After a false start penalty pushed Kimball back, Magninie took off on an 8-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter that put the Horns on the scoreboard for the first time of the night. Magninie also connected on the extra point attempt and the Horns cut their deficit to 12-7 with 11:52 left in the game.

The Horns (0-5) held the Tigers to three yards before they were forced to punt, and after a block in the back penalty against the home team, Kimball took over at its own 18-yard line with 10:06 left in the game.

Kimball methodically drove down the field over 13 plays and was aided by a roughing the passer penalty on Bayard, a rare flag that went against the visiting team Friday night. A holding penalty later hurt the Horns, as it pushed the home team back from the Tiger 11-yard line to the 23. Magninie gained six of those yards back on first down, but a pair of incomplete passes left the homestanding Longhorns in a tough position.

On fourth down and 16 at the 17-yard line, Magninie took the shotgun snap and rolled right, as he was chased by a pair of Bayard defenders, and found Dakota Flores just in the front edge of the end zone to complete the 17-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Horns held a 13-12 lead with 6:32 left in the game.

Kimball's lead did not last long. Bayard smashed its way back in front, using a strong ground attack to pull back ahead. The Tigers ran on all nine plays of the 53-yard drive, which ended on a 1-yard touchdown run from SkyLee Miller to give Bayard an 18-12 lead with 4:40 left in the game.

The Horns' next drive seemed doomed from the start. Magninie was sacked for a loss of five yards on the first play, and things went downhill after that. Kyle Spicer was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during a Kimball time out and was forced to leave the game. The penalty pushed the Horns back an additional 15 yards. Magninie's helmet came off during the first down play, and he was forced to sit out one play. Land threw an incomplete pass, as did Magninie once he returned. On a fourth and 30 play at Kimball's own 25-yard line, Magninie's pass to Angel Flores gained 10 yards but was well short of the needed yardage for a first down.

As frustration grew, Creg Barker was flagged for a personal foul on the last play of the drive and that set up the Tigers with a first down on the Kimball 20-yard line with 3:09 left in the game. The Longhorns held the Tigers to just three yards on their first three plays of the drive. The final nail in the Kimball coffin came on fourth down. Quarterback Jacob Hoff found Chandler Cox in the end zone over a pair of Kimball defenders providing good coverage as the Tigers added to their lead. The passing touchdown put Bayard up 24-13 with 1:23 left in the game.

Magninie led the Kimball offensive attack in the defeat. The senior signalcaller threw for 161 yards on 20-of-37 passing and had one touchdown through the air. He also rushed for a team-high 43 yards and a score. Land was his favorite target of the night, catching seven passes for 63 yards. Rutledge caught six passes for 58 yards, and Angel Flores also had five receptions for 43 yards.

Barker was the leading defenseman for the Horns with nine tackles. Derrick Soto added eight stops for Kimball, while Byron Rowley, Rutledge and Cody Kirby had seven tackles each.

Unofficially for Bayard, Joe Ferrero led the ground attack with 96 yards and a touchdown, while Miller added 60 yards and a score. Hoff was 6-of-17 passing for 94 yards and a touchdown.

The visiting Tigers started strong on their first drive in what turned out to be the only score of the first half. Bayard marched down the field on 10 plays, starting at its own 38-yard line, and scored on a 3-yard Hoff rush. Hoff's two-point pass attempt was incomplete and the Tigers led 6-0 with 8:28 left in the opening quarter.

Kimball moved from its own 3-yard line to the 31 on its first drive, but was forced to punt. The remainder of possessions in the half ended on punts or a turnover on downs. Bayard made things exciting on its final drive of the first half as the visiting team took advantage of two Kimball penalties and eventually drove to the 2-yard line. The Longhorns stuffed Hoff on the rush and the clock ran out as the Tigers held a 6-0 lead at the break.

Bayard got its second score on its first drive of the third quarter. The Tigers started at their own 45-yard line and drove 14 plays for the score. The drive ended on a 1-yard Ferrero plunge for a 12-0 lead with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

Kimball travels Friday to Cambridge for a 6 p.m. MST game against the Trojans. Cambridge (2-3) has wins over Southern Valley (12-6) and Ravenna (42-16) this season, with losses against Gibbon (71-0), St. Cecilia (35-0) and Bridgeport (42-6). After opening with two consecutive wins, the Trojans have lost three straight games.

Score by quarter

Bayard 6 0 6 12 - 24

Kimball 0 0 0 13 - 13

Offensive statistics

Passing

Tyler Magninie, 20-37, 161 yards, 1 TD; Trent Rutledge, 1-2, 19 yards; Ethan Land, 0-1.

Rushing

Tyler Magninie 11-43 (TD), Kyle Spicer 3-16, Byron Rowley 3-2, Dakota Flores 3-(-14).

Receiving

Ethan Land 7-63, Trent Rutledge 6-58, Angel Flores 5-43, Dakota Flores 2-16 (TD), Byron Rowley 1-0.

Defensive statistics

Tackles

Creg Barker 9, Derrick Soto 8, Byron Rowley 7, Trent Rutledge 7, Cody Kirby 7, Angel Flores 6, Ethan Land 4, Tyler Magninie 2, Kyle Spicer 2, Sam Tussing 1, Dakota Flores 1, Preston Booty 1.

Tackles for a loss

Trent Rutledge 2, Ethan Land 1, Kyle Spicer 1.

Fumbles recovered

Dakota Flores 1, Andrew McCloud 1.