BULLPUPS PULL OUT 29-17 WIN!
By William for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
(Post is SPONSORED BY CROSSDOVE WRITERS)
The McPherson High football team went into their 2019 season opener with several questions about the offense and by the end of the game, many of those were answered as the Bullpups came from behind in the second half to score a 29-17 road victory in Salina against Salina South on Friday.
Not only did the Bullpups find themselves unusually behind after the first quarter, they found themselves behind at halftime as the Cougars held a 10-6 advantage going into the break. McPherson’s only score in the first half came on a 25-yard pass from Kaleb Hoppes to tight end Cody Stufflebean in the end zone with just 18 ticks left on the clock before the break.
Five minutes into the second half the Bullpups put another score on the board when Hoppes jogged in from eight yards out and Bullpup soccer star kicked his first ever extra-point to give the Bullpups their first lead of the game.
Just two minutes later Salina South pinned McPherson down to the one-yard line, only to find Hoppes connect with Aaron Powell for a huge 99-yard score and from that point on it was the Bullpups in charge.
After Schrader added his first ever score on a 17-yard field goal late in the third, McPherson closed out their scoring with another Hoppes score, this time running it in from 6-yards out. With Schrader adding on his second extra-point conversion of the night, McPherson closed out the night for the 29-17 victory.
Hoppes, starting his first game for the Bullpups, had an impressive debut by providing 302 yards in total offense by running for 67 yards on 16 carries and then throwing for another 235 yards as he completed 16-of-26 passes for the night. Diminutive Jake Feil added another 62 yards on the ground with his 11 carries.
While Hoppes directed the offense, the star of the game was Powell who was returning this season after missing the majority of 2018 with an injury and returned to the field in magnificent style by grabbing nine receptions for 158 yards, including that Cougar busting 99 yarder for the touchdown.
McPherson led in nearly every category on the stat sheet as they gained 15 first downs to Salina South’s 11, outgained them 351-201 in total offense which included out rushing the Cougars 114-57 despite having six fewer carries. The Bullpups were hit with only four penalties for a minus-20 yards while the Cougars lost 55 yards on eight penalties. One place that Salina South ruled was they got 50 yards per punt on four tries while McPherson only averaged 28.9 on their four punts.
Next up for the Bullpups will be their 2019 home opener on Friday, September 13, when they play host to Winfield. Winfield scored a 20-18 upset win over Arkansas City in their season opener.
MHS is now home for back-to-back games as Winfield comes to town on Friday, followed by El Dorado the following week.
BULLPUPS at Salina South STATS:
SCORING:
Bullpups 0 6 16 7 = 29
Salina South 7 3 0 7 = 17
Bullpup Scoring:
2ND Quarter – Kaleb Hoppes 25-yard pass to Cody Stufflebean
3rd Quarter – Kaleb Hoppes 8-yard run (Drew Schrader extra-point kick)
3rd Quarter – Kaleb Hoppes 99-yard pass to Aaron Powell
3rd Quarter – Drew Schrader 17-yard field goal
4th Quarter – Kaleb Hoppes 6-yard run (Drew Schrader extra-point kick)
TEAM STATS:
BULLPUPS Salina South
First Downs 15 11
Total Offense 351 201
# of Plays 58 60
Passing Yards 239 144
Passing Stats (c-att-int) 17-27-1 16-23-1
Rushing (Atts-Yards) 31-114 37-57
Penalties 4-20 8-55
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1
Punting 4-28.9 4-50.0
BULPUPS INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing (Comp-Att-TD-Inter): Kaleb Hoppes 16-26-1-235, Dylan Rinker 1-1-0-4
Rushing (Carries-Yards): Kaleb Hoppes 16-67, Jake Feil 11-62, Sky Schriner 1-(-4), Team 3-(-11)
Receiving (Receptions-Yards): Aaron Powell 9-158, Jake Feil 3-35, Trey Buckbee 3-14, Cody Stufflebean 1-25, Gus Ruddle 1-5
(Copyright@2019-CrossDove Writers)
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