The Hays High Indians faced off against the Great Bend Panthers on Sept. 9. The Indians came into the game fresh off a debut win at 1-0, and the Panthers came in at 0-1.

The Indians showed out early in the game, as junior running back Malik Bah ran in for a 46-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 in the first quarter. After a quick stop, the Indians drove down the field and senior quarterback Kyreese Groen found senior Keamonie Archie in the back of the endzone to improve the score to 14-0.

Entering the second quarter, the Panthers looked to make a comeback. However, after a long opening drive, senior Wyatt Waddell intercepted the ball and gave Hays another shot.

Almost immediately after the turnover, Groen found Archie again for a deep shot in the middle of the field for a 75-yard score, making the score 20-0 after a missed extra point.

On the ensuing drive, Waddell intercepted the Panthers once again on their own 18-yard line. After a couple of plays, Bah scampered in for his second touchdown of the game, making the score 26-0 after another mixed extra point.

With under a minute left in the half, Hays received the ball after a defensive stop. After a great Hays first half, the score printed as 26-0, Hays on top.

At the beginning of the second half, the Indians came out storming, with a quick five-yard touchdown run by Groen, making the score 33-0. Both offenses slowed down after this, as there was no scoring from the beginning of the third quarter until the middle of the fourth quarter, when Great Bend scored and made it 33-7.

The final score of 33-7 improved the Indians’ record to 2-0 and brought Great Bend’s to 0-2. Hays then faced off against Manhattan on Sept. 16 at home.

24elucio@usd489.com