BLANK, DOERKSEN, HECKEL LEAD INMAN
By William
CONWAY SPRINGS – It was a huge victory on Friday night for the Inman Teuton football team as they not only defeated long-time state powerhouse Conway Springs, they did it very decisively 46-6 and earned themselves a trip to the State Class 1A semi-finals.
Conway Springs has a track record that shows seven state championships, so this was a big, big deal to the Teuton team and fans.
“This is a huge win for our program,” explained Teuton Head Coach Lance Sawyer. “To be able to beat a team as established as Conway Springs is a great accomplishment.”
The victory gives Inman a 9-2 record overall for the season as they will now prep for a rematch next Friday at Oakley, a team which the Teutons traveled to a beat 39-13 back on September 25. Oakley reached the state semi-finals by also beating a long-time state power program Smith Center, 20-0. Oakley will also come into the game with a 9-2 overall mark for the season.
Inman took control of the game early and scored four times in the first half to take a 26-6 advantage into the halftime break on two touchdown runs of 46 and eight yards by Tanner Heckel and a pair of scoring rambles by Kendyn Blank that covered 23 and 40 yards.
Blank added another scoring dash in the fourth quarter while Jace Doerksen ran in for a score in the third quarter and Harrison Brunk closed out the Teuton scoring with a short, six-yard touchdown run in the final quarter to give Inman the decisive 46-6 victory. Carter Brown converted four extra-point kicks as well.
While the Teuton offense rolled up 414 yards on 52 plays, it was their staunch defense that held Conway Springs to only 198 yards despite running 59 plays.
Speaking of his defense, Coach Sawyer noted, “I thought our guys played really physical tonight. I thought we tackled well and put them in tough spots where they felt like they needed to throw the ball. Our defense under Coach (Greg) Froese has been phenomenal and they were able to force turnovers in the second quarter that put us in a position to score points. While Jace Doerksen is usually mentioned in the offensive section of the game, this time it was his defense that led the team.”
Doerksen led the Teuton defense with 11 total tackles of which six were solo stops and ten were assisted while also helping record one quarterback sack and intercepting two passes. Tanner Heckel had a third pass interception while Kyler Konrade recorded 10 tackles and Carter Brown was active with six-and-a-half.
On offense, Inman was led by Kendyn Blank who covered 157 yards on 13 carries and the three scores, and Tanner Heckel who just missed a 100-yard game with 97 yards on just eight totes of the ball. Eli Brunk only had one reception in the game, but it covered 39 yards. Doerksen was efficient with his passing as he completed four of nine passes for 59 yards.
Coach Sawyer completed his post-game reflections by highlighting his offense and saying, “Offensively our run game looked really good tonight. Our offensive line did a great job of opening holes and Kendyn (Blank) had a night as he was able to break tackles and find space when a hole really was not there. Tanner (Heckel) continues to have a breakout freshman season by scoring the two touchdowns and having an acrobatic interception in the second quarter. It is so much fun to continue to be around this group of guys. They are the epitome of team and every night it seems as though someone different is stepping up and making contributions.”
INMAN at Conway Springs:
SCORING 1 2 3 4 FINAL
INMAN 6 20 6 14 46
Conway Springs 0 6 0 0 6
(Team, Player/Scoring Play, Extra Point Attempt, Overall Score)
1ST QUARTER:
INMAN = Tanner Heckel scored on a 46-yard run (Kick Failed) 6-0
2ND QUARTER:
INMAN = Kendyn Blank scored on a 23-yard run (2-point conversion failed) 12-0
INMAN = Kendyn Blank scored on a 40-yard run (Carter Brown Kick) 19-0
INMAN = Tanner Heckel scored on an 8-yard run (Carter Brown Kick) 26-0
Conway Springs = Scored on a 3-yard run (Kick Failed) 26-6
3RD QUARTER:
INMAN = Jace Doerksen scored on an 11-yard run (Kick Failed) 32-6
4TH QUARTER:
INMAN = Kendyn Blank scored on a 27-yard run (Carter Brown Kick) 39-6
INMAN = Harrison Brunk scored on a 6-yard run (Carter Brown Kick) 46-6
TEAM TOTALS: INMAN Conway Springs
1st Downs 18 12
Total Offense (Plays-Yds) 52-414 59-198
Passing (Comp-Atts-Yds-Tds-Int) 4-9-59-0-0 4-12-51-0-3
Rushing (Atts-Yds-Tds) 40-355-7 47-147-1
Turnovers (Fumbles-Lost-Int) 0-0-0 1-1-3
Penalties (#-Yds) 4-56 0-0
INMAN TEUTON INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing (Comp-Atts-Yds-Tds-Int): Jace Doerksen 4-9-59-0-0.
Rushing (Atts-Yds-Tds): Kendyn Blank 13-157-3; Tanner Heckel 8-97-2; Carter Brown 9-36-0; Jace Doerksen 3-34-1; Harrison Brunk 3-19-1; Kyler Konrade 4-12-0.
Receiving (Rec-Yds-Tds): Eli Brunk 1-39-0; Carter Brown 1-9-0; Kendyn Blank 1-6-0; Derick Johnson 1-5-0.
Defense (Tackles-Solo-Assist-Sacks-TFL): Jace Doerksen 11.0-6-10-0.5-1.0; Kyler Konrade 10.0-4-12-0.0-0.5; Carter Brown 6.5-1-11-0.0-1.5; Tanner Heckel 4.0-2-4-0.0-0.0; Mason Carter 4.0-2-4-0.0-0.0; Dominic Nuese-Rasmussen 4.0-3-2-0.0-1.0; Eli Brunk 3.5-0-7-0.0-0.5; Grant Thimmesch 2.5-1-3-0.0-1.0; Thomas Evans 2.5-0-5-0.0-0.5; Nate Shober 1.0-0-2-0.0-0.5; Kendyn Blank 1.0-1-0-0.0-0.0.
[Inman Teuton Activity Postings for the upcoming winter sports is looking for BUSINESS SPONSORS – low as $25/month – inquiry with William at crossdovewriter@gmail.com}
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