FSHS controls lines

By Scott Nuzum

Herald-Tribune

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. -- One of Fort Scott's major goals Friday night was to re-establish control of both sides of the line of scrimmage.

The Tigers did that and a little more as they dominated Coffeyville, 38-12, in Southeast Kansas League play at Veterans' Memorial Stadium.

Fort Scott, which was handled in a loss to Pittsburg last week, needed just three plays to get on the scoreboard. Chris Banks returned the opening kickoff to the Coffeyville 30 and three plays later, Jake Lattimer scored the first of the Tigers' three first-period touchdowns from 21 yards out.

The defense did its part by holding the Golden Tornado to just 14 total yards -- all of them rushing -- in the opening period.

"We knew we had to control the line of scrimmage," Fort Scott head coach Epps said. "We wanted to attack the interior of the line.

"We challenged them to control the line of scrimmage. We're a tough, hard-nosed team and I felt that last week, we didn't show that. No matter what, we had to control the line of scrimmage. We told the backs, 'refuse to be tackled'."

After Matt Horn pinned Fort Scott back at its own 10 with a 63-yard punt, the Tigers answered with an 11-play drive capped by Lattimer's two-yard scoring jaunt up the middle with 4:35 to go. Lucas Halsey's PAT kick made it 13-0.

Just a few moments later, Coffeyville backup quarterback Danny Gibson fumbled a handoff and the Tigers recovered at the 'Nado 15.

Gibson, who is also Coffeyville's starting free safety, was forced to take over under center for Skylar Wright, who suffered a separated throwing shoulder in last week's loss to Kansas City (Mo.) Bishop Hogan.

Chris Banks made the Tornado pay for the miscue -- the first of their five turnovers -- by scoring on a two-yard run of his own with 2:20 remaining.

The Tigers already had 145 total yards at this point, with all but nine of them gained on the ground.

Horn had his second punt blocked after he had to pick up a bad snap. The Tigers took over at the Coffeyville 34 and Lattimer would end up going in for his third touchdown on a four-yard run over the right side with 9:08 to go in the first half.

Unable to establish the run, the Nado began to turn to the pass despite the inexperience at quarterback. A pass interference penalty moved the ball 15 yards to Coffeyville's 40 with under nine minutes to go.

Now that Coffeyville was showing pass, tailback Derek Davis was able to find a hole and gain 11 yards. Then Gibson found Drew Davis to get the ball to the Fort Scott 36.

A false start penalty moved the ball back to the 40, but Gibson found tight end Derek Babb over the middle for Coffeyville's first score with 6:38 left in the half. Gibson was unable to get in for the two-point conversion and Fort Scott's lead remained at 26-6.

Banks added to that lead as the Tigers capitalized on another turnover. Matt Wheeler's 25-yard interception return gave Fort Scott the ball at the Coffeyville 10. Two plays later, Banks went up the middle, then cut left to score from nine yards out with 3:27 to go.

The Tornado's next drive ended when Scott Allen deflected Gibson's fourth-down pass on a play from the Tigers' 27 with 2:17 left in the half.

There was no scoring in the third quarter even though Coffeyville had a 11-play drive that ate up nearly six minutes. But that drive ended when David Alvidrez was stopped for just two yards on a third-and-six from the Fort Scott 26. On this particular drive, the 'Nado ran on every play.

"We did a nice job of goal-line scrimmage" Epps said. "That brings (Dakotah) Gettler up from a linebacker to the line (of) scrimmage in a (support position) outside the tight end. (Defensive coach Bo) Graham did an awesome job of calling the game tonight.

"The defense really stepped up and took a lot of pride in their work."

Fort Scott's only score of the second half came with 2:53 remaining on a bit of improvisation by No. 3 quarterback Aaron Judy.

On third-and-three at the Coffeyville 30, the 'Nado line broke through and almost stopped the play before it began. Judy had the awareness not to force a bad pitch, went left and got out of the heavy traffic, then cut up the left sideline for the score.

"I'm really proud of the way the kids played," Epps said. "The kids they really came back hard after that tough loss last week. We had a nice of week of practice. We're a team of character and we're going to get better every week. We make that guarantee. This was a night that I felt the kids gained confidence. A lot of kids got playing time."

Coffeyville's other score came after a strange turnover where the snap was fumbled while the Tigers were just trying to kneel down with under a minute to go. On the next play, Gibson hit Drew Davis for a 27-yard scoring strike. The conversion run failed with 42 seconds to go.

Fort Scott, 2-1 in the SEK and 3-1 overall, finished with 370 yards of offense, rushing 54 times for 332 yards. Coffeyville, 1-2, 1-3, gained 284 total yards with 182 coming in the air. Gibson completed seven of 14 passes in the second half for 101 yards but was picked off twice.

Banks finished with 113 yards on 18 carries for the Tigers while Lattimer ran for 98 yards on 12 totes. Alvidrez finished as Coffeyville's leader with 10 carries for 34 yards. Derek Davis, the Tornado's normal starting tailback, played sparingly and carried only seven times for 28 yards.

Gettler completed three of four passes for 33 yards. Alex Bowman, subbing for injured receiver Jared Cosens, caught two for 26 yards.

Drew Davis caught four passes for 76 yards for Coffeyville while Jake Towery caught four for 53.

Lane Farrell and Corey Midkiff each had an interception for the Tigers.

Fort Scott will be on the road again Friday when the Tigers go to Altamont, Kan. for an SEK battle with Labette County. The Grizzlies fell to 0-4 on the season when they lost to league-leading Columbus, 13-12, Friday night.

Notes: Columbus' win and Chanute's 34-14 win over Pittsburg leaves the Titans as the only undefeated team in the SEK. Pittsburg, Chanute and Fort Scott each have one loss. Winning percentage determines the league champion. Columbus has the advantage for now as long as it remains unbeaten. But if the Titans lose somewhere along the way, the advantage switches to Chanute. The Blue Comets are the only one of the one-loss teams that will play eight SEK games. Fort Scott will play seven and Pittsburg six. Columbus also has only seven league games on its schedule.