Prairie View senior Elijah Williams finds running room late in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard run to put the Buffalos up 41-14. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com
For the second week in a row, the Prairie View football team handed their opponent a lopsided loss. Using a 338-yard rushing attack, the Buffalos on Friday, Oct. 18, used a home-field advantage to run over the Girard Trojan defense for a 49-14 win.
The win against the Trojans pushed the Buffalos season record to 5-2 after Prairie View delivered an equally punishing 51-14 loss to Anderson County on the Bulldogs’ home turf a week before.
At home against Girard on Friday, the Buffalos stuck to their ground offense, using their potent backfield to amass 338 yards rushing compared to 188 yards – 50 yards rushing and 138 yards passing – by the Trojans.
Again, junior Parker Schwarz was the go-to back for the Buffalos, using his power and speed to score three touchdowns with 189 total yards rushing on 17 carries. Friday’s contest was the 10th straight game that Schwarz had rushing for more than 100 yards, which boosted his season total to 1,544 yards, the best in the state.
Fellow junior Josh Goodwin carried the ball 10 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Adding to the offensive effort was senior Elijah Williams, who scored a touchdown on a 9-yard run, and junior Wyatt Attebery, who carried the ball nine times for 78 yards.
Although he caught a couple of lucky bounces when his point-after kicks hit the uprights, senior kicker Benton Stainbrook was a perfect 7 points for seven attempts.
Buffalo lineman Josh Goodwin wraps up Trojan quarterback Ben Cullen, forcing a fumble. Goodwin would later pick up another Girard fumble and run 28 yards for a touchdown. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
As impressive as the Buffalos were on offense, on the defensive side of the ball they were equally tough. Goodwin forced two of the Trojans’ four fumbles, and Schwarz picked off a pass for 29-yard return that put the Buffalos a yard away from the goal line. Schwarz also forced a fumble that Goodwin picked up for a 28-yard romp into the end zone.
However, Prairie View wasn’t immune from turnovers. The Buffalos turned over the ball three times on fumbles.
Sophomore Hunter McCool was credited with the Buffalos’ only sack of the game for a loss of 6 yards, and he was credited with 8 total tackles including three solo tackles. Senior Grant Steenburgen had two solo tackles and 11 assists, senior Preston Merriman had eight total tackles, and Goodwin and Schwarz were credited with 10 and 11 total tackles respectively.
The Buffalos will host the Iola Mustangs (4-3) on Friday, Oct. 25. Kick off is a 7 p.m.
Senior lineman Grant Steenburgen clears a path for junior running back Parker Schwarz (No. 17) during Friday's game against Girard. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
Donnie Jameson, certified athletic trainer with Olathe Health Sports Medicine (left), a fixture at Prairie View football games, was shadowed on Friday night by senior Kally Stroup. Prairie View Activities Director Mark Hough said Jameson had worked with students before and Stroup was interested in learning about the field. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)
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