By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com & www.facebook.com/mcphersoncountyks
LINDSBORG – With a near identical score as game two, the Smoky Valley football team earned their second win in a row, this time at home on Friday with a 46-12 humbling of visiting Larned.
With the victory, the Vikings are now 2-1 for the season as they prep for a big test next Friday when they make a road trip to Andale who is currently unbeaten and ranked number one in Class 3A. Andale scored a 58-19 win over El Dorado on Friday.
It was midway through the first quarter before the Vikings put points on the scoreboard when Trystan Stambaugh ran in from the two-yard line and with Kade Blanchat diving in for the two-point conversion, Smoky Valley went up 8-0.
The Vikings found the end zone three times in the second quarter with Justice Autry accounting for the first pair of touchdowns on a 16-yard run followed up by a 72-yard pass and catch from Karson Pihl. With 2:45 left in the first half Kade Blanchat scampered in from 16 yards to give Smoky Valley a commanding 32-0 lead before Larned managed to squeeze in a five-yard scoring run with just ten seconds left in the half.
Smoky Valley then closed out their scoring in the game in the third quarter on a 31- and 38-yard runs from Autry and Stambaugh, giving the Vikings a decisive 46-6 advantage going into the final 12 minutes of play.
Averaging 7.4 yards per play the Vikings rolled up 385 yards in offense on 52 plays while holding Larned to just 238 on 50 snaps. The majority of Smoky Valley’s offense came running the ball where they gained 306 yards while Karson Pihl only threw two passes in the game, one being the huge touchdown play to Justice Autry.
Both teams did struggle with turnovers as Larned threw one interception and lost a pair of fumbles while Smoky Valley had three fumbles but managed to regain control on two of them.
Trystan Stambaugh, Justice Autry, and Kade Blanchat combined to run for 245 yards on 36 carries with Stambaugh breaking the 100-yard mark with 105 while Autry ran for 83 and Blanchat had 55. For the season, Autry has now run for 354 yards while Stambaugh has 259, and Blanchat 194.
Defensively, Nolan Dauer and Justin Holt led the Vikings with seven and six tackles, respectively. The team finished the game with a pair of quarterback sacks and six times took Larned down for a loss of yardage.
SMOKY VALLEY VIKINGS hosting Larned
Scoring: Larned 0-6-0-6=12; VIKINGS 8-24-14-0=46
1st Quarter:
VIKINGS (6:40) – Trystan Stambaugh on a 2-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Kade Blanchat run) 0-8
2nd Quarter:
VIKINGS (8:34) = Justice Autry on a 16-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Pass Karson Pihl to Blanchat) 0-16
VIKINGS (3:59) = Justice Autry on a 72-yard pass play from Karson Pihl (2-Point Conversion – Blanchat run) 0-24
VIKINGS (2:45) = Kade Blanchat on a 16-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Pihl run) 0-32
Larned (0:10) = Scored on a 5-yard pass play (2-Point conversion failed) 6-32
3rd Quarter:
VIKINGS (8:32) = Justice Autry on a 31-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Stambaugh run) 6-40
VIKINGS (3:58) = Trystan Stambaugh on a 38-yard run (2-Point conversion failed) 6-46
4th Quarter:
Larned (11:17) = Scored on a 16-yard pass play (2-Point conversion failed) 12-46
TEAM STATS:
Larned: 1st Downs – 14; Total Offense – 50 for 238; Passing – 13/18 for 94, 2 scores, 1 interception; Rushing – 32 for 144; Fumbles – 2/2; Penalties – 4/30.
VIKINGS: 1st Downs – 19; Total Offense – 52 for 385; Passing – 2/2 for 79, 1 score; Rushing – 50 for 306, 5 scores; Fumbles – 3/1; Penalties – 3/25.
SMOKY VALLEY VIKING INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing: Karson Pihl – 2/2 for 79, 1 score.
Rushing: Trystan Stambaugh – 14 for 105, 2 scores; Justice Autry – 13 for 83, 2 scores; Kade Blanchat – 9 for 55, 1 score; Gavin Stambaugh – 5 for 28; Michael Hawk – 3 for 18; Karson Pihl – 2 for 13; Caleb Gustus – 1 for 2; Toren Miller – 1 for 2; Ethan Able – 1 for 0; Team – 1 for 0.
Receiving: Justice Autry – 1 for 72, 1 score; Kade Blanchat – 1 for 7.
Defense: Nolan Dauer – 7.0 with 6 solo, 1 for loss; Justin Holt – 6.0 with 5 solo, 1.0 sack, 1 for loss; Ethan Able – 5.0 with 3 solo; Kade Blanchat – 4.0 with 3 solo; Alex Grosland – 4.0 with 2 solo, 1.5 for loss; Max Bieker – 3.0 with 2 solo, 0.5 for loss; Austin Sharp – 2.5 with 1 solo, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 for loss; Trevor Jones – 2.0 with 2 solo; Caleb Gustus – 2.0 with 0.5 for loss; Trystan Stambaugh – 1.5 with 1 solo, 0.5 for loss; Gus Griffith – 1.5; Vincent Pickering – 1.5 with 1 solo; Ezekiel Baker – 1.0 with 0.5 sacks, 0.5 for loss; Michael Hawk – 1.0;
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)