By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
MCPHERSON – It may not have been pretty overall, but the McPherson High football team opened their 2022 season with a hard fought, 44-27 victory over Great Bend at home in McPherson College Stadium on Friday.
After Gavin Richardson got an interception on the first play from scrimmage by Great Bend, the Bullpups had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Blaise Hoover to get the first points of the game.
With just a hair over two minutes left in the first quarter, McPherson’s Luke Schroeder took a blocked field goal and rumbled 76 yards to get the first Bullpup touchdown of the season and with Hoover’s extra point kick, they took a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Another 23-yard field goal by Hoover followed by a 72-yard scamper to the end zone by Bullpup quarterback Hunter Alvord, McPherson held a commanding 20-0 lead before Great Bend finally put a drive together and scored. Alvord added another 10-yard run for a score with 1:39 left in the second to give the Bullpups a 27-7 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Great Bend had the lone touchdown in the third quarter while Hoover hit on his third field goal of the game, this time from 31 yards out to give the Bullpups a 30-14 lead after three.
In the final quarter, the Bullpups scored twice, once on a four-yard run by Dawson Gottwald and then on a 51-yard pass and catch play from Alvord to Tucker Pelnar. With Great Bend finding the end zone twice, the final score finished out with the Bullpup 17-point win.
According to the stat sheet the game was much closer than the scoreboard indicated as Great Bend had one more first down, 18-17, than the Bullpups while McPherson out gained the Panthers in total offense 371-363.
Individually, Alvord led the Bullpups with 144 yards rushing on 12 carries while also throwing for 182 yards by connecting on 12 of 18 passes. Pelnar finished the game with 110 yards receiving on six receptions.
According to one media outlet, Bullpup coach Jace Pavlovich pointed out a few important things about the game and one was that Blaise Hoover is not just a solid kicker, but also a devastating blocker downfield from his wide receiver position.
Pavlovich was also noted as saying that the Bullpups we were able to control the line of scrimmage offensively and when you control the line, you don’t need to get too cute or do anything fancy. He finished out by adding that McPherson still needs to work on discipline and eliminating silly mistakes referring to the six penalties for 51 yards flagged on the Bullpups.
The Bullpups will be home once again next Friday, September 9 when they play host to Augusta.
Great Bend at MCPHERSON BULLPUPS
Scoring:
Great Bend 0-7-7-13=27; BULLPUPS 10-17-3-14=44
1st Quarter:
BULLPUPS – (9:53) Blaise Hoover 23-yard field goal 0-3
BULLPUPS – (2:03) Luke Schroeder 76-yard run on blocked kick (Hoover Kick) 0-10
2nd Quarter:
BULLPUPS – (10:49) Hoover 23-yard field goal 0-13
BULLPUPS – (8:57) Hunter Alvord 72-yard run (Hoover Kick) 0-20
Great Bend – (4:36) Scored on a 10-yard run (Kick was good) 7-20
BULLPUPS – (1:39) Alvord 10-yard run (Hoover Kick) 7-27
3rd Quarter:
Great Bend – (11:11) Scored on a 30-yard run (Kick was good) 14-27
BULLPUPS – (6:21) Hoover 31-yard field goal 14-30
4th Quarter:
BULLPUPS – (6:52) Dawson Gottwald 4-yard run (Hoover Kick) 14-37
Great Bend – (3:32) Scored on a 31-yard pass play (Kick was good) 21-37
BULLPUPS – (2:41) Tucker Pelnar on a 51-yard pass from Alvord (Hoover Kick) 21-44
Great Bend – (1:02) Scored on a 5-yard run (kick failed) 27-44
TEAM STATS:
Great Bend – 1st Downs = 18; Total Offense = 64 plays for 363 yards; Rushing = 33 for 207 yards; Passing = 13/31 for 156 yards with 1 interception; Penalties = 4 for 40 yards; Fumbles = none.
BULLPUPS – 1st Downs = 17; Total Offense = 46 plays for 371 yards; Rushing = 28 for 189 yards; Passing = 12/18 for 182 yards with 0 interceptions; Penalties = 6 for 51 yards; Fumbles = 2 with 2 lost.
BULLPUP INDIVIDUAL STATS:
BULLPUP PASSING: Hunter Alvord 12/18 – 182 yards, 0 interceptions.
BULLPUP RUSHING: Hunter Alvord 12 for 144 yards; Jaytin Gumm 8 for 36 yards; Dawson Gottwald 6 for 14 yards.
BULLPUP RECEIVING: Tucker Pelnar 6 for 110 yards; Cory Muehler 2 for 27 yards; Blaise Hoover 2 for 14 yards; Dawson Gottwald 1 for 27 yards; Simon Lyon 1 for 4 yards.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)