The Hays High School football team put up all 42 of its points in the first 13 minutes of the game, as they defeated the Wheat Ridge Farmers, 42-7, on Friday, Sept. 13 in Arvada, Colo. It was just the third game the Indians played against an out-of-state opponent, and it was their first win against an out-of-state opponent as well.
Hays High’s offensive fireworks started with a 40-yard touchdown run by junior Ian McGuire on fourth down, and the Indians scored again just five minutes later with McGuire getting his second touchdown of the game after the Hays High defense forced a turnover on downs after Wheat Ridge recovered a muffed punt.
Hays High’s offense shrunk the amount of time it took them to score on each drive in the first quarter, as the next touchdown came on a 74-second drive as junior Holden Lind scored his first of three touchdowns on a 22-yard run. The next drive for the Indians was just one play as junior Caleb Thompson gave the offense great field position inside the 10-yard line after he got his first interception of his career, and Lind scored again from eight yards out.
Once the Hays High defense forced the first of three fumbles in the game, senior Jonathan Cano scored on a four-yard jet sweep to cap off a drive that was just 18 seconds long to get Hays High to 35 points in the first quarter alone. Hays High’s final touchdown of the game came with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter after the Indian defense forced a three and out, and senior Carter Graham found Lind on the first play of the drive from 33 yards out, making it the second week in a row that the two connected for a touchdown pass. That touchdown gave Hays High a 42-0 lead, and it led to a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Hays High played their backups in the second half, but the defense did not let up as they forced a fumble on a third down pass play to open the half. Wheat Ridge’s only touchdown would come midway through the fourth quarter when Isaac McCune found his top receiver Bennett Wilkes on a 14-yard pass play to conclude a 12-play drive that lasted for eight minutes because of the running clock rule.
After Hays High turned the ball over on downs with two minutes to go, the defense forced their third fumble of the game that junior Johnny Rigler would return to the Farmer 40-yard line. The offense for the Indians then let the clock run out, and Hays High got their first win in a game that lasted less than two hours.
The ground game was the biggest highlight for the Indians as Lind was the leading rusher with 70 yards on just five carries that resulted in two touchdowns. McGuire had a big day as well with just three carries as he racked up 53 yards and two touchdowns. Cano had two carries for 34 yards and a touchdown that he scored from four yards out. The final Indian to get yardage on the ground was junior backup quarterback Zane Viegra, who played the entire second half. Viegra ran the ball a total of five times, and he picked up 28 yards. Overall, the Indians had 185 rush yards on 15 carries and scored five of their six touchdowns with their legs.
The backfield for Wheat Ridge could never break out as they only averaged 2.45 yards per carry. Starting running back Van Lian was met in the backfield by the Hays High defense on almost every carry as he had 11 carries in the game for a total of just four yards. McCune was the leading rusher for the Farmers as he amassed 37 yards on eight carries, and Wheat Ridge would have just 20 carries for 39 rush yards on the day.
Graham only threw six passes for the Indians, but he made them count as he threw four completions for 75 yards and a touchdown to Lind. Lind also finished as the leading receiver with the 33-yard touchdown reception. Junior Jarek Purdy was right behind him with two receptions for 32 yards on the day, senior Brock Homeier was third in line with two receptions of his own for 19 yards and senior Braeden Moeckel caught a pass from 10 yards out. Viegra came in after halftime to call the shots for the remainder of the game, and he completed three of his five passes for 31 yards.
The Farmers got the majority of their yardage through the air, with McCune going 11/21 for 96 yards and a touchdown. Wilkes was the leading receiver for Wheat Ridge in the game with six catches for 66 yards and the only touchdown of the game for Wheat Ridge. Ronnie Reynolds had two receptions for a total of nine yards in the game, and tight end Isaiah Gawrychowski and running back Van Lian each got a reception of their own. Gawrychowski’s was for five yards, and Lian’s was for four yards.
Hays High is now 1-1 on the year, and they will be back home at Lewis Field Stadium Friday, Sept. 20 to take on the Manhattan Indians for the third year in a row before going on the road to kick off Western Athletic Conference play against the Garden City Buffaloes on Sept. 27. Wheat Ridge now falls to 1-1 on the year, and the Farmers will get two more home games against Niwot and Middle Park before going back on the road to face Pomona on Oct. 4.
25hcorsair@usd489.com
