By Staff

            LINDSBORG – Despite leading in many of the game stats, the Smoky Valley football team had turnovers and miscues that cost them a win at home on Friday as Cheney prevailed, winning 27-14.

            The loss drops the Vikings to 2-3 for the season as they ready for a road trip next Friday to Pratt. The Greenbacks will come into the game 4-1 for the year after beating Hoisington 37-13 on Friday.

            Smoky Valley scored first on a 21-yard run by Kade Blanchat in the first moments of the second quarter before Cheney put a pair of pass plays together on two drives to take the lead 14-6.

            With just three ticks left on the clock before the halftime break, Karson Pihl scampered into the end zone from 23 yards out and after Blanchat ran in for the two-point conversion, the Vikings found themselves tied at 14-14 at the break.

            Neither team could find pay dirt in the third quarter before Cheney was able to put a score on the board on a 10-yard pass play just short of a minute into the fourth quarter.  With eight minutes left to play in the game, Cheney managed to block a Smoky Valley punt deep in their own side of the field and then recovered for a touchdown, giving them the final two score, 27-14 victory.

            Overall, the Vikings rolled up 267 yards on offense on 62 plays while Cheney only had the ball for 51 snaps but gained 251. Cheney won on a 22-of-32 for 181 yards passing day that included all three of their scores. Smoky Valley even had a huge advantage with the clock, having had the ball for nearly 28 minutes while Cheney barely had possession for 20.

            The pitfall for the Vikings came with the blocked punt and two pass interceptions  to go with eight penalties that cost the team a minus 55 yards.

            Karson Pihl only connected on eight of eighteen pass attempts that went for 74 yards while Justice Autry led the team running the ball with 66 yards on 12 carries while Trystan Stambaugh had 50 yards on 14 totes and Blanchat covered 42 yards on just nine carries. Blanchat was also on the receiving end of five passes for another 53 yards.

            Defensively, Blanchat led the team in tackles with seven, all of them being solo stops and one going for a loss of yardage.

SMOKY VALLEY VIKINGS hosting Cheney

SCORING:       

Cheney 0-14-0-13=27; VIKINGS 0-14-0-0=14

1st Quarter:

No Scoring

2nd Quarter:

VIKINGS (11:47): Kade Blanchat on a 21-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 0-6

Cheney (7:49): Scored on a 9-yard pass play (Kick was Good) 7-6

Cheney (2:55): Scored on a 7-yard pass play (Kick was Good) 14-6

VIKINGS (0:03): Karson Pihl on a 23-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Kade Blanchat run) 14-14

3rd Quarter:

No Scoring

4th Quarter:

Cheney (11:06): Scored on a 10-yard pass play (Kick was Good) 21-14

Cheney (8:08): Scored on blocked punt recovered in end zone (Kick Failed) 27-14

TEAM STATS:

Cheney: 1st Downs – 15; Total Offense – 51 for 251; Passing – 22/32 for 181, 3 scores; Rushing – 19 for 70; Fumbles – 0/0; Penalties – 7 for 75; Time of Possession – 20:19.

VIKINGS: 1st Downs – 18; Total Offense – 62 for 267; Passing – 8/18 for 74, 2 interceptions; Rushing – 44 for 193; Fumbles – 1/0; Penalties – 8 for 55; Time of Possession – 27:41.

VIKING INDIVIDUAL STATS:

Passing: Karson Pihl – 8/18 for 74,

Rushing: Justice Autry – 12 for 66; Trystan Stambaugh – 14 for 50; Kade Blanchat – 9 for 42; Karson Pihl – 9 for 35.

Receiving: Kade Blanchat – 5 for 53; Vincent Pickering – 2 for 15; Justice Autry – 1 for 6.

Defense: Kade Blanchat – 7.0 with 7 solo, 1 for loss; Karson Pihl – 5.5 with 4 solo; Nolan Dauer – 5.0 with 3 solo; Vincent Pickering – 3.5 with 3 solo; Austin Sharp – 3.0 with 1 for loss; Justin Holt – 2.5 with 1 solo, 1 sack, 1 for loss; Caleb Gustus – 2.5 with 1 solo; Trystan Stambaugh – 2.0; Max Bieker – 2.0 with 1 solo; Jackson Mauch – 1.0; Braxton House – 1.0; Geovanni Luis – 1.0 with 1 for loss.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)