YATES CENTER — Southern Coffey County High head coach John Chanley wasn’t sure how his team would react.
The winless Titans had held the lead since the 7:37 mark of the first quarter, but had fallen behind host Yates Center when the Wildcats’ Jaden Knoblock scored on a 69-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth.
“You just don’t know what the kids are going to do,” Chanley said.
Rather than mope, Southern Coffey County rattled off the game’s next 20 points, turning a 32-30 deficit into a 50-40 win.
The victory lifts the Titans’ record to 1-2 on the season. Yates Center falls to 0-3.
Southern Coffey County rolled up 316 yards on the ground, but lost much of their advantage with 104 penalty yards.
The teams battled back and forth in a wild and woolly first half.
Dylan Wonser scored on a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Titans an 8-0 lead after one period. Travis Bryan’s one-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter pushed the lead to 16-0.
Yates Center responded with a 55-yard touchdown run by David Vanhoose to close the gap to 16-8. Bryan pushed the lead back to 14 with a 25-yard touchdown run.
The Wildcats pushed across a one-yard touchdown with 2.3 seconds left in the half for Yates Center to close the gap to 22-14 Smith scored again at the 5:15 mark of the third quarter on a two-yard run, cutting the lead to 22-20.
Yates Center’s euphoria was short-lived. Southern Coffey County’s Colin Kraft returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards for a Titan touchdown and a 30-20 cushion.
Yates Center’s Smith found Robert Arnold from 16 yards in the waning seconds of the third quarter, then Knoblock scored at the 6:44 mark of the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats the 32-30 advantage.
Kraft responded on Southern Coffey County’s ensuing drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chyler Ludolph and a 38-32 lead.
Bryan then ended Yates Center’s next drive with a fumble recovery that he returned 35 yards for another touchdown. Bryan capped Southern Coffey County’s next possession with a one-yard touchdown run.
Yates Center pushed across its final touchdown with 1:42 left on the clock on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Brent Rice.
“I was pleased with how we were able to come out and establish the run,” Chanley said. “We improved on the line and the back were able to hit the holes. But we had way too many penalties. Those penalties killed some drives.”
Wonser rolled up 145 yards on 17 carries, followed by Bryan’s 100 yards on 17 rushes. Charlie Patterson added 12 carries for 45 yards. Kraft completed 6 of 16 passes for 74 yards, four of which went to Ludolph for 32 yards. Two others went to Ryan True, covering 42 yards.
Bryan paced the Titan defense with 16 tackles. Wonser and Smith each registered 12 tackles, while KEWade Seabolt had 11 stops. Kraft also registered an interception and fumble recovery.
Yates Center rolled up 372 yards of total offense, including 247 on the ground.
Individual statistics for the Wildcats were unavailable.
Southern Coffey County travels to Hartford next Friday. Yates Center travels to West Elk.
Sourthern Coffey Co. 8-14-8-20—50
Yates Center 0-14-12-14—40
SCC — Wonser 20 yd run (Patterson run)
SCC — Bryan 1 yd run (True pass from Kraft)
YC — Vanhoose 55 yd run (Rice pass from Smith)
SCC — Bryan 25 yd run (PAT failed)
YC — Smith 1 yd run (PAT failed)
YC — Smith 2 yd run (PAT failed)
SCC — Kraft 55 yd kickoff return (Ludolph pass from Kraft)
YC — Arnold 16 yd pass from Smith (PAT failed)
YC — Knoblock 69 yd run (PAT failed)
SCC — Ludolph 10 yd pass from Kraft (Ludolph pass from Kraft)
SCC — Bryan 35 yd fumble return (PAT failed)
SCC — Bryan 1 yd run (PAT failed)
YC — Rice 35 yd pass from Smith (Knoblock run)
Titans beat Wildcats
