A tough break to start the game and a strong Quivira Heights team proved too much to overcome for the Haviland Dragons, who fell 46-0 in Tuesday’s first-round playoff game at Bushton.
Haviland received the opening kickoff and got a short return from senior Tanner Stevens to set up the offense at their own 22. But sophomore quarterback Ross Binford’s first pass of the night landed in Taylor Siemsen’s hands and the T-bird junior ran it back for a touchdown. When Siemsen caught the conversion pass from Gunner Phelan, his team had an 8 -0 lead just ten seconds into the game.
“They came out and shellshocked us with the interception and we didn't recover from that,” Haviland coach Greg Wyrick said.
The Dragons did respond with two first downs on their next drive as sophomore quarterback Ross Binford picked up nearly ten yards on first down, then moved the chains with a three-yard gain on third-and-one. A four-yard pickup by Tanner Stevens and a six-yard run by Binford put Haviland just outside the red zone at the Quivira Heights 25 yard line.
But the T-bird defense stiffened up and forced the Dragons to punt on fourth and 20.
Haviland’s defense forced the T-birds to punt after Kale Chadd batted down Gunner Phelan’s third-down pass in the backfield, but the Dragons couldn’t get anything going offensively and were forced to punt on fourth and 11 form their own 11-yard-line.
Quivira Heights took over at the Dragon 34, and needed just four plays to find the end zone as Taylor Siemsen scored from a yard out on second-and-goal. The conversion pass fell incomplete and it was 14-0 T-birds.
Still, the Dragons weren’t out of it yet, as they responded with a 43-yard, ten-play drive to get to the T-bird 20 yard line before turning it over on downs. During the drive, Haviland got an eight-yard run by Ruben Perez, a 12-yard run by John Musquez, and a five yard pass from Binford to Stevens, plus a seven-yard gain by Binford.
But, Quivira Heights got a stop on fourth-and-2, and their offense needed just one play to score as Jordan Trevino broke loose for a 60 yard touchdown run. Phelan found Jacob Ingham open in the end zone for the conversion and a 22-0 lead.
After a three-and-out possession, the Dragons needed a big play from the defense. After a 31-yard pass from Phelan to Tyler Riedel, Stevens picked off Phelan’s next pass and returned it 31 yards to the Haviland 30.
Despite the decent field position and momentum boost from the turnover, the Dragon offense continued to struggle, gaining just four yards before McFarland was asked to punt it away.
For the rest of the half, Quivira Heights used big plays to increase their lead. The T-birds got a 40-yard run from Nick Schepmann, a 31-yard pass from Phelan to Reidel, and conversion runs by Phelan and Siemsen to take a 38-0 halftime lead.
Quivira Heights got the ball at their own 15 yard line to start the third quarter, and eight plays later, the T-birds were celebrating Phelan’s touchdown pass to Ingham. For the conversion, Phelan found Reidel open in the corner of the end zone, putting the finishing touches on a 46-0 win.
Overall, it was a disappointing end to a great season for the Dragons, who finish 7-3 overall.
“We were moving the ball and then things would happen,” Wyrick said. “We didn't feel like we played our best game, but we're real happy we made the playoffs and still feel like we had a fine season.”
The Dragons managed just 127 yards of offense on the night as they were never able to find a rhythm offensively. Perez ran for 38 yards on seven carries, plus completed a pass for a three-yard gain and had one reception for a yard.
Binford picked up 34 yards on ten carries and was two-for-eight passing, finishing with six yards and an interception. Stevens gained 27 yards on three carries, while Musquez ran the ball three times for 16 yards and McFarland had four carries for three yards. Stevens also had two catches for eight yards and an interception.
Stevens led the defense with five solo tackles and six assists plus a pass break up and an interception. Binford was in on eight stops, while Garrett Somerhalder had four solo stops and was in on two others. McFarland had three solo tackles and was part of two more, while Colter Brown had four assists on the night.
Quivira Heights piled up 208 rushing yards and Phelan completed eight of 12 passes for 112 yards.
“Quivira Heights is a good team and I'm real proud to have been here and played against them,” Wyrick commented. “I wish them the best.”
The T-birds will advance to the second round of the Eight Man II playoffs, and they are set to face Otis-Bison on Saturday.
Greensburg, KS —
