Weskan Wins Shootout vs Wheatland-Grinnell to Remain Undefeated

#1 in 6-Man Weskan stays undefeated (4-0) by taking down the Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks (3-1) with a final score of 40-36

The Weskan Coyotes came into Friday night sitting as the #1 ranked 6-Man football team in the state of Kansas with an undefeated 3-0 record. However, the 3-0 Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks came into the matchup wanting to have a say in that, taking the Coyotes all the way to the final minutes, but Weskan stays on top after a 40-36 win.

First Quarter

The first quarter was all Weskan, as the first drive of the game by the Thunderhawks stalled out after 3 plays, resulting in a punt, and a rushing touchdown of 47 yards for Karsyn Wright, giving the coyotes an early 6-0 lead. The ensuing drive wouldn't be much better for Wheatland-Grinnell as the Coyote defense forces a turnover on downs, which led to another rushing touchdown for Wright, this time from 29 yards out, giving us out 13-0 first quarter score.

Second Quarter

While Weskan started out hot, the Thunderhawks would not go down without a fight, as their defense forced a turnover on downs when the Coyotes were just 2 yards from the goal line. They then took the next offensive drive all the way down the field for their first score of the game as Branton Goetz punched it in from 4-yards out, making the score 13-6.

The Coyotes offense stayed hot as they would complete a long 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ayson Cox to none other than Karsyn Wright, putting Weskan back up by two scores just like that, 20-6. One more score would be had by Wheatland-Grinnell in the first half, as quarterback Riley Tuttle would connect with Jackson Foster for a 29-yard score, giving us the halftime score of 20-14 in favor of the Coyotes.

Third Quarter

The second half would not lack in action, as the first drive of the half by Weskan would result in another Coyote rushing touchdown from Wright, increasing their lead back to two scores 26-14. However, on the very first play of the next Thunderhawks drive, Tuttle would connect with Goetz on a 53-yard passing touchdown to bring the lead back to one score for Weskan, 26-22.

Disaster would strike for the Coyote offense as Cox would throw an interception into the hands of Goetz, which would be his second of the night, giving Wheatland-Grinnell the ball right back deep in Weskan territory. They would then capitalize off the turnover by taking their first and only lead of the game after a Goetz 1-yard touchdown run, 30-26.

The wasn't it for the Coyote offense in the third quarter though, as they would respond right back with another touchdown of their own, as Karsyn Wright would connect with Dautry Allen for a 15-yard touchdown pass, giving them the lead right back 33-30 at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

A stalled-out drive by Wheatland-Grinnell led to Weskan driving and putting in their final score of the game from Wright to Ky Allen for a 26-yard touchdown pass. This would give the Thunderhawks the ball back down 40-30 with just under 3-minutes left in the game.

The Thunderhawk offense drove down the field and put in another score to get back within 4, 40-36, after Tuttle found Spencer Beckman for a 29-yard touchdown pass. However, the onside kick attempt failed, and after a first down was gained by the Coyotes, a couple kneel downs would end the game and add another win to the Coyotes schedule.

Notable Stats

There were impressive performances all over the field, but most notably for the Coyotes was Karsyn Wright who ran for 194 rushing yards and 3 TD's, completed 7/15 passes for 137 yards and 2 TD's with only 1 interception, as well as caught one pass for 36 yards and a touchdown. Dautry Allen also added great receiving numbers with 7 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

While Wheatland-Grinnell lost the game, they proved that they can play with the best in the state and also had some pretty impressive performances, including Branton Goetz with 7 rushes for 19 yards and 2 touchdowns as well as racking in 2 interceptions on defense. Riley Tuttle also had quite the passing night, completing 14/24 passes for 239 yards and 3 passing TD's. Jackson Foster led in receiving with 6 catches for 96 yards and 1 TD.

*All Stats Are Unofficial

The next NWKS Radio Area Game of the Week will be in St. Francis as the Indians host the Quinter Bulldogs on Friday, October 2nd. Kickoff will be at approximately 7 pm CT, with the pregame starting at 6:30 pm CT with Lucas Kenney.