What initially appeared to be a walk in the park turned out to be a relatively competitive contest in the Indians home opener at Lewis Field Friday night as Hays held on for a 42-28 victory.

After scoring on their first four possessions to take a 28-0 lead at the 6:25 mark in the second quarter, the Indians relaxed just enough to allow Liberal to score on an 85-yard kick-off return to make it 28-7 a few seconds later. The return seemed to give Liberal some momentum as it was able to put the brakes on the Indians offensive attack. Meanwhile, Liberal started to have some success on offense, and just before half,  drove the ball to the Hays 17 before running out of time and downs, which allowed the Indians to maintain a comfortable 28-7 halftime advantage.

After the break, the Indians fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and Liberal took advantage of the miscue, driving the ball 41 yards to pay dirt to pull within two scores, 28-14. Another turnover a few minutes later led to a 48-yard Liberal touchdown, and suddenly, the Indians’ comfortable lead had shrunk to one score, 28-21, at the start of the fourth quarter.

After the ensuing kickoff, Hays moved the ball down the field, and it appeared senior quarterback Alex Delton would score after a 48-yard run, but  he coughed up the ball at the one. Maddux Winter alertly scooped up the ball and ran it in to turn a near disaster into a moment of celebration and a 35-21 advantage with 10:31 left to play.

Liberal did not quit, however, and retaliated with a 63-yard pass to again pull within seven points, 35-28 at the 7:27 mark. Liberal’s hopes were quickly dashed, however, when the senior Adam Klaus capped a 65-yard drive to make the final, 42-28.

The Indians first 28 points of the contest came on their first four possessions. On their first play from scrimmage, the Indians took a 7-0 lead on a Delton 57-yard run. Klaus scored on a 10-yard run on the next possession to make it 14-0, followed by a seven-yard touchdown run by junior Isaiah Blackmon and a 49-yard touchdown run by Delton.

The next action for the Indians, 3-0, will be Friday at Garden City.