Kiefer Runs By Kansas 22-14

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a battle of undefeated teams in Class 2A as #6 Kiefer traveled to face #8 Kansas and would walk away with a 22-14 victory. Both teams came into Thursday night's showdown with unbeaten records and high-scoring offenses. Kiefer was averaging over 50 points per game and had scored 60+ points in three games this season. The Comets were averaging a little over 40 points per game but after a scoreless first quarter, it was clear that both teams were going to have to earn a hard-fought district win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a scoreless stalemate after one quarter but the Trojans would strike first halfway through the second quarter. Facing 4th down and just needing a yard to convert, the Trojans handed it off to Zack Watson and he went right up the middle and the field opened up for him to go 41 yards for a touchdown. After an empty Kansas possession, the Trojans would go for it again on 4th and 1 inside Kansas territory and for the second straight possession, they scored on 4th down. Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1043579' first='Bradley' last='Breland'] would score from 17 yards out to put Kiefer up 14-0 with three minutes to go in the first half. Breland would lead all rushers with 131 yards on 12 carries and the second quarter touchdown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the home team would respond before halftime as they marched down the field and scored on a perfect 16-yard touchdown pass from junior [player_tooltip player_id='479390' first='Seneca' last='Steele'] to [player_tooltip player_id='1083756' first='Scrappy' last='Glass'] and the Comets trailed the Trojans 14-7 at halftime. The third quarter was full of penalties on both sides and both teams had promising drives pushed back because of it. After a scoreless third quarter, we had a few more fireworks in the final quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early in the fourth quarter, senior [player_tooltip player_id='600864' first='Jentry' last='Pendergraft'] rumbled in from two yards out to give Kiefer a 22-7 lead with nine minutes left. That drive was highlighted by Breland, who had a 32-yard carry and then a 20-yard carry to get the Trojans to the Kansas 2-yard line, where Pendergraft finished off the drive. After a pair of empty possessions, the Comets had their backs against the wall with six minutes left and trailing 22-7. They marched down and Steele would run in a 13-yard touchdown with a little less than three minutes to play. After an onside kick was recovered by Kiefer, that would end the Kansas rally. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans would lean on their rushing attack to get the win on Thursday night. 326 or their 385 yards of total offense came on the ground. They had four different players finish with at least 40 yards on the ground. In fact, the Trojans only had five attempted passes in the second half and all of their yardage after halftime would come on the ground. Meanwhile, the Kiefer defense did a great job of slowing down Kansas and their quarterback. The Comets finished with a little over 200 yards of total offense and Steele was 5-19 in the second half as the Trojans put a ton of pressure on him throughout the third and fourth quarters. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the win, Kiefer stays in the hunt for the district championship. They are tied atop the 2A-7 standings with Victory Christian, who improved to 4-0 in district play with a dominant win over Westville on Thursday night. Kansas is not out of the hunt but they can't afford another loss and they'll need some help along the way. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>KIEFER'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1043579"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"We mentioned earlier how Kiefer junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1043579' first='Bradley' last='Breland'] led all rushers on Thursday night as he finished with 131 yards on 12 carries. But for us, it was Breland that was the most consistent runner in a Kiefer offense that had no problems running the ball. They totaled well over 300 yards on the ground but it was Breland that provided the fireworks. Out of his 12 carries, only 3 of them were carries of less than 8 yards. And his last 2 carries totaled 52 yards and set up the final Kiefer touchdown that put the game out of reach for the Comets. Kiefer prides themselves on being balanced but on Thursday, it was all about the ground game.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["898373"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Kiefer senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='898373' first='Jaxon' last='Worley'] was one of the names that we had circled coming into Thursday's game. Worley put up monster numbers as a junior and has done a great job of leading this Trojan offense this season. Worley and the Kiefer passing attack was limited on Thursday night but they didn't force it. They stuck to the ground game and Worley was still able to productive in that department. He finished with nearly 70 yards on the ground while finishing with nearly 60 yards passing. But one thing that really impressed us was his arm strength. Worley was firing some absolute bullets on Thursday. He's a QB to watch moving forward.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["600864"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='600864' first='Jentry' last='Pendergraft'] was a star on Thursday night for both sides of the ball. On offense, Pendergraft would finish with 34 yards on eight carries and he scored the game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter that put them up 22-7. But there is no doubt that Pendergraft's top moments on Thursday came on the defensive side of the ball. It didn't matter where he was lined up on defense, he was getting after the Kansas quarterback and there were quite a few times when he would barely get off a throw before hitting the grass, courtesy of Pendergraft. We think that he's an underrated linebacker in this 2024 class as a hard hitter that can move.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65295e801c4f5"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->