HUMBOLDT — Hayden Boring boomed a 39-yard field goal as time expired in the first half here Friday night to give Humboldt’s Cub a 37-0 lead over Fredonia and invoke the mercy rule. CRISS CREDITED much of Humboldt’s success in the blowout to the Cubs’ lines, both offensive and defense. “I WAS proud of our kids’ effort and happy that the seniors were able to win their last regular season home game on senior night,” said Criss, after giving Cub players and faithful a short post-game talk.
But, it was a charitable act — and one of a veteran coach looking to the future — by Cub Coach K.B. Criss that kept the game from being more of a rout than it was.
As the fourth quarter raced to an end — the mercy keeps the field clock running throughout the second half — Fredonia scored a couple of meaningless touchdowns while the Cubs celebrated a 44-14 district victory.
The two scores came after Criss had given the game to the Cub junior varsity, both on offense and defense. Cub coaches continued to insert players as the game wore down, giving all 36 suited for the game a chance to play in the last regular season game at home.
Humboldt journeys to Burlington Thursday, with both teams assured a postseason berth in the postseason playoffs.
The offensive line gave Quarterback Nathan Whitcomb ample time to find receivers and opened holes for Whitcomb and tailback Jacob Carpenter to scamper through.
“They played their tails off,” Criss said of his linemen.
When Fredonia blitzed linebackers, which it did often, “we got our heads up and picked them up,” Criss noted. “Our lines battled all night and did one heck of a job pass blocking and stopping the run.
“Our secondary did a good job with coverage and comunicating with each other.”
Once Fredonia had the ball, Cub defenders often were in the backfield before plays could fully develop. On several occasions black-clad Humboldt players converged on Yellowjacket backs as the ball was being handed off.
Those things were contributing factors to the lopsided victory, but more importantly was the speed of Humboldt, completely as a team and individually with Whitcomb and Tanner McNutt.
McNutt, one of the fastest class 3A athletes in Kansas, is a thrill-a-minute when he touches the ball.
He returned the opening kickoff 55 yards to the Fredonia 32 and was just a stutter-step from going the distance.
Four plays later Whitcomb, after a feint to Carpenter, stepped through a huge hole on the right side of his line, side-stepped a tackler at the 10-yard line and darted to the end zone for a 22-yard score. Boring shot the extra point through the uprights.
Just over two minutes had expired.
Fredonia showed some life when it came the Yellowjackets’ turn, but that soured the fourth play of the possession when Isaac Ostrosky, a freshman getting the start at quarterback, lost the ball and Humboldt’s Trey Johnson cradled it at the Fredonia 23.
A 17-yard pass to McNutt advanced the ball to the 6, before a motion penalty moved it back to the 11. Whitcomb danced his way to the 5 and then on consecutive off-tackle plays Carpenter scored. A rare miss by Boring left the score at 13-0.
Fredonia was still in the game at that point, but had given no indication it would be able to compete with Humboldt in the longer term.
A three-and-out punt turned disastrous when the center’s pass flew over the punter’s head, giving Humboldt the ball at the four-yard line. Whitcomb quickly scored on the second of two short thrusts, and the rout was on at 20-0.
After the two adversaries traded possessions, Humboldt added its fourth touchdown early in the second period.
McNutt made a risky pickup of a Fredonia punt at the Cubs’ 39 and dove ahead four yards.
After a Whitcomb pass sailed over Noah Thornbrugh’s outstretched hand, Whitcomb called No. 88’s number again and this time the 6-foot-6 wideout was able to snag a dart at the Humboldt 47, put a nice move on two Fredonia defenders and outraced two others for 57-yard touchdown.
With just under three minutes left in the half, Whitcomb and McNutt hooked up again on a 29-yard scoring play after Humboldt took possession at the 29 following a dismal Fredonia punt that had to bounce to make it 15 yards.
That upped the Cubs’ margin to 34-0, a point shy of triggering the mercy rule, which requires the field clock to stop only for time-outs in the second half a game.
Humboldt got the ball back with less than a minute in the half and after a 6-yard run by Whitcomb put it on the Fredonia 28, Criss let time run down to 1.3 seconds before sending in Boring to kick a field goal that split the uprights and cleared them by a good 10 yards.
Humboldt scored its sixth and final touchdown with 3:50 left in the third from 8 yards out when Whitcomb found McNutt prancing across the end zone unattended after the had juked a Jacket defender so badly he tangled his feet and fell.
Criss inserted Cub junior varsity players at the start of the fourth and they acquitted themselves reasonably well before Fredonia scored one touchdown on 13-yard pass play and its second, as time expired, on a 10-yard aerial.
Humboldt improved its record to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in district play. Fredonia is winless.
Criss said Burlington, which the Cubs will play on the road Thursday, has had flashes of upscale play this year and “they have a real good tailback.”
“I am really proud of how this team is starting to come together at the right time fo the season,” he added. “We will enjoy this win tonight, but at midnight we will put it behind us and start preparing for Burlington.”
Humboldt 20-17-7-0—44
Fredonia 0-0-0-14—14
Humboldt — Whitcomb 16 yd run (Boring kick)
Humboldt — Carpenter 2 yd run (kick failed)
Humboldt — Whitcomb 1 yd run (Boring kick)
Humboldt — Thornbrugh 57 yd pass from Whitcomb (Boring kick)
Humboldt — McNutt 29 yd pass from Whitcomb (Boring kick)
Humboldt — Boring 39 yd field goal
Humboldt — McNutt 8 yd pass from Whitcomb (Boring kick)
Fredonia — Stephens 10 yd pass from Ostrosky (2 pt conversion good)
Fredonia — Kingery 13 yd pass from Ostrosky (conversion failed)
Fredonia Humboldt
First Downs 8 8
Rushing yds 38-114 12-52
Passing yds 30 212
Total offense 144 264
Passing 6-12-0 11-18-1
Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0
PUnts avg 4/22 1/26
Penalties 2-10 8-73
Cubs soar over Fredonia, 44-14
