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Purple Dragons hold off Fort Scott, 14-12
By Scott Nuzum
Herald-Tribune
FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Fort Scott High School's defense showed improvement against Pittsburg in a key Southeast Kansas League game at Frary Field Friday night. However, the rival Purple Dragons managed to hold off the Tigers just enough to come away with a 14-12 win, which dropped Fort Scott to 0-2 in the league and 1-2 overall.
Pittsburg (3-0, 3-0) controlled Fort Scott's offense in the second half, holding the Tigers to one first down. But Mitchell Stoughton finally broke loose up the middle and brought the Tigers within two points on a 71-yard touchdown jaunt with 4:31 remaining in the game. However, since Fort Scott had been unable to execute on an extra-point kick after its first score, the Tigers were forced to go to for two on the conversion.
Quarterback Aaron Judy looked for Alex Barner in the corner of the end zone but Pittsburg defensive back Jordan Elliott tipped the pass away to keep the Dragons ahead.
Keenan Soles nearly fumbled away the ensuing kickoff but managed to jump back on it at his own 20. The Dragons were then able to run out the game's final 4 1/2 minutes .
Although Fort Scott showed signs of improvement over last week's 20-0 loss at Independence, it wasn't quite enough to get a win.
"When we play Pittsburg High, we want to win," Fort Scott head coach Don Epps said. "It doesn't matter what the score is, we're going to play hard and play with character and we did that tonight. I'm proud of the kids and their effort. We had some big plays in crucial situations. We kept fighting. We made some big stops in the second half and were able to get back into the game."
The attempt to tie the game began at Fort Scott's own nine-yard line with 6:20 left in the game. The first two plays lost yardage but quarterback Aaron Judy hit Alex Barner for 20 yards to the 25. Two plays later, Stoughton scored.
"They played well against us but at the same time, we were about one block, one arm tackle away and I felt like if we could keep pounding it, we'd get a big break," Epps said. "I'm proud of the effort the line gave. They did a very good job. And we had very good pass protection and that was a lot better than last week when there was too much pressure on the quarterback."
The first quarter ended with no score and it looked as if yards were going to be difficult enough to come by, much less points. Fort Scott had 33 total yards in the first period, Pittsburg only 25.
The Tigers were able to make a big stop on the Dragons early in the second when Judy hit Pittsburg quarterback Zach White as he threw on a fourth-and-six play from the Fort Scott 20 with a little under 10 minutes to go. Had Judy not brought the hammer, the pass would have made it to a wide-open receiver.
The Tigers couldn't capitalize on the stop and punted, with Pittsburg taking over on the Fort Scott 46. Fullback Jordan Brown broke two runs of over 10 yards on the ensuing drive with ended with RaShawn Davis' one-yard TD run with 3:15 to go. Blake Wilson kicked the extra point.
Fort Scott answered right back. Judy threw to Gary Floyd for a 38-yard gain to the Pittsburg 25 with 1:42 to go. He rolled right two plays later to hit Barner for 11 yards to the 10. Finally, Judy connected with Brandon Boyd in the end zone with 1:03 to go to bring the Tigers within one.
But on the extra point, the ball couldn't be placed on the tee right and the chance to tie the game was lost. The missed PAT proved crucial because it put the Tigers into a position, as coaches will say, where they had to "chase the points," meaning that it put them into a situation where they were going to have to go for two points eventually.
Aaron Cook's third-quarter interception gave Pittsburg the ball at Fort Scott's 21, setting up the Dragons' other touchdown. On fourth-and-eight at the 19, White rolled out to his left and Soles drifted into the corner of the end zone and found himself wide open to haul in the scoring strike with 7:54 on the clock. Wilson's PAT kick made it a 14-8 lead for Pittsburg.
The Dragons were moving for what could have been an insurance score late in the third but a 12-play, 63-yard drive went for naught after Brown fumbled and Fort Scott linebacker Kolby Allen fell on it at his own 12.
Fort Scott's defense allowed less than 60 fewer total yards than it did last week, holding Pittsburg to 264 yards. The Dragons gained 215 yards on the ground but averaged less than four yards a rush. Davis had 17 carries for 82 yards while White carried 21 times for 63 yards.
Fort Scott gained 221 total yards, 128 on the ground. Stoughton finished with 105 yards on 13 carries. Barner caught three passes for 93 yards.
The Tigers travel to Labette County for another SEK battle next Friday night. The Grizzlies fell to 0-3 with a 27-18 loss to Coffeyville Friday night.
"The kids left their guts on the field tonight," Epps said. "We're a good team. We're going to come back next week and play harder. We had a lot of kids playing new positions tonight so, in time, we're going to be in good shape. We're going to gear up for Labette County. They have a good team and they're going to give us a nice game."