Football:
The Hays Indians varsity football team played an away game against the Manhattan Indians on Sept. 19.
Coming into the game, Hays was ranked No. 2 in 5A while Manhattan was ranked No. 1 in 6A.
In the first and second quarters, it was a defensive battle between both teams. None of the teams managed to score in the first half.
In the third quarter, Hays tried going for a touchdown with 9:12 left on the clock, but it resulted in a turnover on downs, giving Manhattan the ball and leading to an eventual touchdown and successful point after kick, making the score 7-0. Hays got the ball after an 86-yard punt but turned the ball over on downs yet again.
In the fourth quarter, Manhattan missed out on a touchdown but completed a field goal, giving them a 10-point lead over Hays High. Hays drove 72 yards in 13 plays to get close to the end zone, then senior Holden Lind scored for the team. In another bold move, head coach Tony Crough went for a two-point conversion to try to win the game, if they could get back into field goal range again. Senior Johnny Rigler caught the ball for the conversion on the edge of the end zone, making the score 10-8.
With 4:15 left on the clock, Manhattan got the ball but ended up having to punt it to Hays. With 2:50 remaining on the clock, Hays drove downfield but had a fourth down situation with 0:58 left on the clock. Senior Zane Viegra threw to senior Jarek Purdy, but the pass was incomplete. Manhattan got the ball back and took a knee twice to seal the deal against Hays, finishing the game 10-8.
“Manhattan is one of the better teams in the whole state, and I felt like we were toe to toe with them most of the game,” Crough said. “We made a couple more mistakes than they did late, but we were within one play of potentially winning the game.”
Despite the road loss, Hays had a 2-1 record for the season against difficult opponents, according to Crough.
“We probably had the toughest schedule in the whole state to start the season,” Crough said. “We played three No. 1 teams; Derby was ranked No. 1 in 6A when we beat them, Manhattan was No. 1 in 6A when we just played them and Choctaw, Oklahoma, was No. 1 in their division when we played them. That’s about the toughest schedule we could ever put together. I think being able to play with those teams like that gives us a good gauge of where we’re at, and we ought to be able to make a good playoff run because of it.”
Hays returned home on Sept. 26 to play for the Garden City Buffaloes for the Homecoming game, winning 48-20.
Cross Country:
Both the boys and the girls’ cross-country teams raced at their home course near Enersys on Sept. 18.
In total, there were six teams with 140 athletes racing that day. The races were separated into varsity and junior varsity for the 5A and 6A schools while the 1A to 4A schools had their own races.
The boys finished fourth, with senior Malachi Chance and sophomore Bladyn Werth medaling in the race, with Chance finishing 14th, running the 5k in 18:07.40, and Werth finishing 16th, running the 5k in 18:15.
The girls finished in fourth with sophomore Avrie Branaman and sophomore Alexa Cooley medaling in the race, with Branaman finishing fifth, running the 5k in 21:10.30, and Cooley finishing ninth, running the 5k in 21:55.50.
“We had, by far, the best meet of the season, and many of our athletes ran season bests and many career bests,” head coach Jerold Harris said. “I felt that we competed extremely tough, battling the hills on the course. We just need to work on hanging onto a pack and hanging onto the person if we get passed. We need to make sure we don’t get caught in ‘no man’s land,’ meaning we are running the same pace as the person or group in front of us, but the athlete in question has started to settle and got comfortable.”
Boys Soccer:
The Hays High School varsity boys’ soccer team played a home game against the Great Bend Panthers on Sept. 23.
In the first half of the game, the Indians scored four points, with junior Ivan Maldonaldo scoring two of those points, while senior Kal Lonsdale and junior Brecken Otte scored one point each for the team.
In the second half of the game, the Indians scored another four points, while their opponent scored one. Junior Ethan Branaman scored two points in that half, while Lonsdale and Maldonado each scored another point for the team.
Senior Jacob Hemphill, junior Camden Luck, junior Cyler Luck and freshman Jack Schumacher also helped contribute to the game, with all four of them getting one assist.
“Our team played well,” head coach Daniel Kelly said. “We went into the game, wanting to start strong and get on the board early. We were able to accomplish that and score in the first minute of the game. From there, the boys continued to defend well and press Great Bend, not allowing them to build out of the back. With the ball, we continued to combine well and found several opportunities to score. We are also always working to clean up some mistakes. I thought that, as the game went on, we got a little overconfident, which led to some turnovers that better teams will punish.”
27bstaleyherman@usd489.com
