Jayhawks return to home field but are overpowered by non-league opponent
- Roger Sims, Journal Staff
- Sep 17
- 4 min read
Story and photos by Roger Sims
Coming off a 16-0 win over Central Heights on the temporary home field at Fort Scott in the first game of the season, the Jayhawk-Linn football team was hoping to keep that momentum going against the Anderson County Bulldogs on Friday, Sept. 12, back on Mound City turf.
The Bulldogs, a non-league opponent for the Jayhawks, lost to Pioneer League foe Wellsville 34-7 the previous week and were anxious to get a game in the win column.
From the Jayhawks receiving the opening kickoff to the end of the first quarter, Friday’s game was a defensive duel with neither team scoring. Beginning on their own 12 yard line, the ‘Hawks drove 18 yards on their first possession before punting the ball away to the Bulldogs’ 42 yard line. The Bulldogs gained 7 yards on three plays but turned the ball over on an incomplete pass on fourth and 3 at their own 49.
An 18-yard pass by quarterback Denton White to Josiah Randall gave the Jayhawks a first down on the Bulldog 31, but the Anderson County defense caught running back Reed Krull behind the line of scrimmage for a 6 yard loss. A 6-yard gain by Trey Poole and a 5-yard penalty put the ‘Hawks on Bulldog’s 26 with a fourth and 4 yards situation. A pass by White was intercepted by Anderson County and run back to their own 25.
The Bulldogs put together an eight play drive that brought them to the Jayhawk 21 yard line early in the second quarter. A 21-yard pass and a good point-after kick put the Bulldogs up 7-0 with 10:27 left in the first half.
The Jayhawks took the kickoff to their own 35 yard line and again made it into Anderson County territory. But a penalty and pushback by the Bulldog defense left the home team with a fourth down and 23 yards on the 50 yard line. A bad snap on the punt attempt gave Anderson midfield position on the Hawks’ 48 yard line.
The Jayhawk defense stifled their opponents running game for a couple of plays, but a 16-yard pass followed by a 26-yard pass a couple of plays later set up the Bulldogs on the Jayhawk 2. Then it was up to Anderson County running back Rigin Jasper, who ran into an unmovable scrum of Jayhawks on the first attempt but succeeded on the second. With a good point-after kick by Aleck Smith, the Bulldogs were up 14-0 with less than 5:00 remaining in the half.
With the time remaining in the half, Jayhawk running back Trevor Brownback advanced the ball to the 50 after Krull returned the kickoff to the ‘Hawks’ own 35. But a holding penalty against the home team erased the gain and the Jayhawks punted.
Anderson County’s opening drive in the second half fizzled on their own 47 yard line. A punt to the Jayhawks put the home team deep in their own territory on the 10 yard line. Twice Brownback took the ball, the first time to the 16 but on the second attempt the Bulldog defense pushed the line of scrimmage back to the Jayhawk 12.
On a third and 8, the Jayhawks went to the air, and the Bulldogs were ready, running the interception into the end zone. With a point-after kick by Smith, Anderson County was up 21-0.
The Bulldogs went to an onside kick, but the ‘Hawks recovered on their own 40. White went to Brownback, first for a 13-yard gain, then for 5 yards and again for 4 yards to the Bulldogs 38 with a third and 1 situation. But the ball was called back on a 15-yard hurdling penalty (when the ball carrier leaps over an opposing player) and the ball was back on the Jayhawk 48. White went for the pass on the fourth and long, but the pass was incomplete and the Bulldogs took over on downs.
Anderson County moved the ball down the field in a succession despite two holding penalties. With the ball on the Jayhawk 1, the Bulldogs tried twice to score. The first time, the Jayhawk defense pushed Jasper back a yard, but on the second attempt he made it into the end zone. The kick for the extra point was blocked after a bad snap, but the Bulldogs were up 27-0 as the third quarter ended.
Still in the third period, the Jayhawks took the kickoff at their own 39 yard line. Again White fed the ball to Brownback, but the Bulldogs were ready for him. Twice he made it to the line of scrimmage, but on the third try he found running room to the Bulldog 47. On the next play on a quarterback sneak, White was stopped again at the Bulldog 47.
With third down and 7 yards to go, White hands off to Krull on the next snap. An Anderson County linebacker grabs Krull but he breaks free and scampers otherwise untouched into the end zone. An attempt at a 2-point conversion fails, but the Jayhawks are on the scoreboard, Bulldogs 27, Jayhawks 6.
SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
(V) Anderson County 0 14 13 0 27
(H) Jayhawk-Linn 0 0 0 6 6
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