The Hays High football team traveled to Garden City on Sept. 25 to play the Buffalo for their Homecoming game.

The Indians were excited to play the Buffs, who were considered contenders for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) football championship. Led by head coach Tony Crough, the Indians were also looking for a 4-0 start to season for the first time since 2014.

The Indian offense looked untouchable in the first quarter, as they pushed the ball down the field. Hays High would have a couple of plays before junior quarterback Jordan Dale found junior wide receiver Carson Kieffer for a 51-yard play. Junior Dylan Dreiling fought the Buffalo defense to score six points for the Indians.

Hays High started on the 40-yard line after a botched punt that traveled 26 yards down the field. Dale had no problem speeding past the Buffalo defense and stiff-arming a player to find the endzone to make the score 14-0.

The Buffs and Indians turned the ball over on downs for their next offensive drives, but the Indians fought on the ensuing drive, moving the ball a couple yards every play. Junior running back Roy Moroni was nursing a pulled hamstring the past week, but that did not matter for him, as he shredded the Buffs’ defense for a 15-yard gain, setting the Indians offense up at the 10-yard line. Dale ran an eight-yard quarterback sweep before running the football two yards down the middle, putting the Indians up 21-0.

The Indians gave the Buffaloes their best field position after a bad snap on a punt in Indian territory. The Buffs took advantage of the position and put seven points on the board before halftime.

While the third quarter was scoreless for both teams, in the fourth quarter, the Indians put one last touchdown on the board with a Jordan Dale score. The Indian defense would hold of the Buffaloes for the rest of the quarter.

The Indians moved to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in the WAC. With the win over the Garden City, Hays High will have at least a share of the conference championship. Indians next game will be October 9th vs Dodge City at Lewis Field.

Stats of the game

The Indian defense only allowed 50 yards against the Buffaloes.

Junior Indian rushers earned 250 yards with their legs during the game.

Junior quarterback Jordan Dale had 119 rushing yards on the night.

Juniors Carson Kieffer and Jaren Kanak earned 82 passing yards.

The Indian defense has only allowed seven touchdowns in four games.

                                                                                                                                                                      21csanders@usd489.com