By Staff
LITTLE RIVER – On Thursday, Little River got a solid start for a run to a possible 8-Man Division state championship by hammering visiting Attica/Argonia with a 58-12 win.
With the victory, the Redskins are now 8-1 for the 2022 season and will prep for a regional game matchup at home next Friday with Madison. Madison will bring a 6-3 record into the game after beating Oswego 56-22 on Thursday.
Little River put four scores on the board in the first quarter, three of which covered 30 yards or more. Braxton Lafferty started the scoring explosion when he connected with Andrew Smith for a 31-yard pass for a touchdown and then followed that up with a 75-yard scoring run of his own. Rylan Konen threw for two scoring passes as well, one covering 47 yards to Kayston Cox and the other being 10 yards to Andrew Smith. While the Titans found the end zone on their own 35-yard scoring pass play, the Redskins still held a commanding 32-6 lead at the end of the first twelve minutes of action.
Grant Stephens helped put the game away in the second quarter on scoring scampers of 67 and three yards while Braxton Lafferty added a second score of his own on a three-yard plunge into the end zone and Rylan Konen topped the Redskins scoring off with a two-yard dive for a score. The Titans managed to add a score late in the quarter, but it was much too late, and the game ended at halftime due to the 45-point rule and Little River having the winning advantage of 58-12.
Little River’s offense was on full throttle for the entire game as they rolled up 367 yards on just 24 snaps, including 253 yards on 15 rushing attempts.
Rylan Konen was near perfect on the night as he completed five-of-six pass attempts for 83 yards and two scores while Braxton Lafferty threw but one pass and completed it for the 31-yard score to begin the scoring explosion.
Lafferty proved to be unstoppable for the Titans as he rambled for 140 yards on just six carries while Grant Stephens covered 60 yards on only a pair of totes. Andrew Smith caught three passes for 50 yards and Kayston Cox had the one scoring catch for 47.
Defensively, the Redskins held Attica/Argonia to just 141 yards of offense on 36 plays and held both the passing attack to just five completions on a dozen attempts for 53 yards while grabbing a pair of interceptions.
Leading the Little River defense was Kayston Cox, Grant Stephens, and Braxton Lafferty. Those three combined for 19 tackles of which 16 were solo stops, five tackles for a loss of yardage, a quarterback sack and one interception.
LITTLE RIVER REDSKINS hosting Attica/Argonia Titans
SCORING: Attica/Argonia 6-6-0-0=12; LITTLE RIVER 32-26-0-0=58
1st Quarter:
LITTLE RIVER: Andrew Smith on a 31-yard pass play from Braxton Lafferty (2-Point Conversion was Good) 0-8
LITTLE RIVER: Braxton Lafferty on a 75-yard run (2-Point Conversion was Good) 0-16
LITTLE RIVER: Kayston Cox on a 47-yard pass play from Rylan Konen (2-Point Conversion was Good) 0-24
Titans: Scored on a 35-yard Pass Play (2-Point Conversion Failed) 6-24
LITTLE RIVER: Andrew Smith on a 10-yard pass play from Rylan Konen (2-Point Conversion was Good) 6-32
2nd Quarter:
LITTLE RIVER: Grant Stephens on a 67-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 6-38
LITTLE RIVER: Braxton Lafferty on a 21-yard run (2-Point Conversion was Good) 6-46
LITTLE RIVER: Grant Stephens on a 3-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 6-52
LITTLE RIVER: Rylan Konen on a 2-yard run (Kick Failed) 6-58
Titans: Scored on a 2-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 12-58
3rd Quarter:
No scoring, game over due to 45-point rule.
4th Quarter:
No scoring, game over due to 45-point rule.
TEAM STATS:
Attica/Argonia: 1st Downs – 7; Total Offense – 36 for 141; Passing – 5/12 for 53, 1 score, 2 interceptions; Rushing – 20 for 88, 1 score; Fumbles – 0/0; Penalties – 4/26.
LITTLE RIVER: 1st Downs – 9; Total Offense – 24 for 367; Passing – 6/7 for 114, 2 scores; Rushing – 15 for 253, 5 scores; Fumbles – 1/1; Penalties – 6/40.
LITTLE RIVER INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing: Rylan Konen – 5/6 for 83, 2 scores; Braxton Lafferty – 1/1 for 31, 1 score.
Rushing: Braxton Lafferty – 6 for 140, 2 scores; Grant Stephens – 2 for 60, 2 scores; Rylan Konen – 4 for 32, 1 score; Braden Young – 3 for 21.
Receiving: Andrew Smith – 3 for 50, 2 scores; Kayston Cox – 1 for 47, 1 score; Braden Young – 2 for 16.
Defense: Kayston Cox – 7, 6 solo; Grant Stephens – 6, 5 solo, 4 for loss; Braxton Lafferty – 6, 5 solo, 1 sack, 1 for loss, 1 interception; Braden Young – 4, 1 solo, 1 interception; Ruxton Birdsong – 3, 2 solo; Toby Jesseph – 3, 2 solo; Rylan Konen – 2, 1 solo; Andrew Smith – 2; Corbin Herbst – 1; Carter Stansbury – 1; Kyler Bergkamp – 1;
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)