The Hays High School football team put up 14 points in the first quarter and never looked back as they defeated the No. 4-seeded Hutchinson Salthawks 28-0 on Friday, Nov. 15 at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson.
It was the Indians’ fourth time playing the Salthawks and the first time beating them. This win not only sent Hays High to sub-state, but the Indians will play 12 games in a season for the second time in school history.
The night got started with the Indian defense making their first statement of the night as Hutchinson was able to get to 3rd & 1 from their own 36-yard line, and Hays High forced two straight negative run plays to take over on downs. This led to a 30-yard run by junior Holden Lind on Hays High’s first offensive play before senior Carter Graham took it into the end zone a couple of plays later from two yards out.
Hutchinson lost six yards at the start of their next drive and went on to punt on a three and out. The Indian offense took over at their own 43-yard line but turned it over after failing to convert on fourth down on the 10th play of the drive. The Salthawks took over at the 14-yard line, but went three and out again, and Hays High scored shortly after on a 34-yard pass from Graham to junior Jarek Purdy.
On their next drive, Hutchinson got multiple third down conversions on their next drive that started at the end of the first quarter. They picked up 67 yards on the ground and made it all the way down to the Hays High 13-yard line, but turned it over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth down.
The rest of the second quarter did not have much action as the Indian offense punted after getting a first down and being halted for the rest of the possession. Hays High then punted back to the Salthawks, held them to one yard and made them punt after the drive lasted for just 67 seconds. Hays High got the ball back and just ran out the remaining 50 seconds as they took a 14-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.
After kicking off to start the game, Hays High received the second half kickoff as they ran down the field in a little over four minutes. Each play was small pickups on the ground and through the air, but on the 11th play of the drive, senior Ian McGuire broke a tackle after getting the carry and took the ball 43 yards for the touchdown. The Hays High defense shortly after stepped up again forcing another punt while holding Hutchinson to six yards on three straight run plays. The Indians would then punt as well after they fell three yards short of the first down marker on a pass to Lind. The Salthawks got the ball with good field position from their own 47-yard line and got two first downs on the first two plays of the drive. But, the momentum quickly died as they failed to convert on fourth down as another pass fell incomplete.
Hutchinson tried fighting back and was able to get a strip sack by linebacker Kevin Wilson on Graham as the Salthawks took over at the Hays High 37-yard line. But, 22 seconds later, Hays High forced another turnover and got the ball back. The Indian offense went three and out on their next drive and punted it back to the Salthawks, but Hutchinson lost three yards after a fumble and threw two incompletions to turn the ball over again. It then took Hays High one play to find the end zone again as Lind scored on a 17-yard run with 6:40 remaining in the game.
At this point, Hutchinson was just trying to stay competitive as they got a run for a first down on third down to keep their drive alive, but it all came to an end when the Hays High defense capped off their impressive night with a sack. McGuire then got a first down that Hays High needed, and Graham took two knees to run out the clock and give Hays High the 28-0 victory.
The Hays High offense ran the ball for 202 of the teams 264 yards, and all three of the players that ran the ball had a touchdown as well. Once again, leading the way was Lind, as he ran the ball 20 times for 118 yards, and McGuire finished with 12 carries for 77 yards. Graham ran the ball eight times for 10 yards, but he finished on the stat sheet with 10 carries for seven yards because of the two knees that he took at the end of the game to run out the clock.
Graham completed four of his eight passes as he threw for 62 yards and a touchdown. Purdy caught that touchdown pass from 34 yards out and had another one as well giving him 41 yards on the night. Senior Jonathan Cano and Lind also caught a pass of their own as Cano had a reception for 13 yards, and Lind’s was for eight yards.
The Salthawk offense struggled to get things going all night as they were held to a season-low 109 rush yards, and they turned the ball over on downs six times. Leading the way with 21 carries was Kade Smith as he finished with 69 yards on the ground. Right behind him was the quarterback Levi Kepler, who carried the ball five times for 23 yards. Also in the backfield was Terrell King, who got 13 yards on four carries. Rounding out was Jeremyah Gaitho Karanu, who got two carries for four yards, and Karmelo Green, who had seven carries but didn’t finish with any yards.
Hutchinson had only passed the ball 55 times entering the game. Kepler only completed two of his 12 passes for 16 yards. The first completion went to Mitchell Rice for 10 yards, and the other was a six-yard completion to Green.
The Salthawks finish their season with a record of 8-3 after they entered the playoffs at 6-2 and got two big wins over Salina South and Liberal. Hays High is now 7-4 and will continue their season in the state semifinals for the fourth time in school history.
The Indians will head down to Goddard on Friday night to face the No. 2-seeded Eisenhower Tigers at Tiger Field, and the winner will go to the state championship in Emporia for the first time in their school’s history. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and you can watch the game on Hays Post or listen on either 96.9 FM or Tribe Broadcasting on YouTube.
