Week Five Showcase Match-Up: Dodge City at Great Bend

I hit the road and found myself in Great Bend for Week 5 action between the Great Bend Panthers and the Dodge City Red Demons. Great Bend entered this contest with an impressive (4-0) record and ranked #2 in 5A. Dodge City came into the ballgame with a (2-2) record and had just lost a close game to an undefeated Liberal squad 22-31.   Much like Hays the prior week, Great Bend came into the game with an absolutely loaded roster. Leading the way for the Panthers is 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior Tight End/Safety [player_tooltip player_id='1229117' first='Ian' last='Premer']. Premer is rated the top recruit in the state and is headed for South Bend, Indiana to play for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Lets be upfront, Premer did not disappoint in this game.   Talking of Notre Dame, both of the Kern Brothers headed for Notre Dame with their father for a unofficial game day visit right after this game (12 hour drive). The Brothers make up arguably the top linebacker unit in the state. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1083225' first='Trenton' last='Kern'] stands 6'2", 225-pounds and plays both inside linebacker/defensive tackle on defense and also plays along the offensive line for GB. He finished with 12 tackles in this game. His younger brother Kale Kern is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound inside linebacker and H-Back/Fullback for the Panthers. Kale registered 17 tackles on the night.   Another FBS prospect for Great Bend is Junior [player_tooltip player_id='933826' first='Cooper' last='Ohnmacht']. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Safety/Wide Receiver is an elite athlete who is also a two time defending state champ in the tripe jump. He had a quiet night overall but did haul in a 57 yard touchdown reception. He already holds offers from the likes of Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Wisconsin.   Other highly talented players for Great Bend that had big nights were 6-foot-2, 220-pound Wide Receiver/Outside Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1622489' first='Jacob' last='Hall'], 5-foot-11, 190-pound Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1113368' first='Daxton' last='Minton'] and 6-foot-0, 200-pound Running Back/Defensive End [player_tooltip player_id='1622490' first='Conner' last='Holladay'].   Dodge City has their own talented prospects and they are lead by 6-foot-1, 250-pound Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1401789' first='Aldo' last='Reyes']. Reyes has the ability to play about any offensive or defensive lineman position for the Red Demons. In this game, he had 4 pancake blocks but more importantly has not given up a sack all season long. From his defensive tackle position he has registered 22 tackles on the season.   Reyes is not the only impressive looking prospect for Dodge City. 6-foot-1, 235-pound Tight End/Defensive End [player_tooltip player_id='1622492' first='Easten' last='Smith'], 6-foot-2, 240-pound Tight End/Inside Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1622495' first='Adam' last='Kisner'] and 6-foot-2, 225-pound Defensive End Brenten Gaddis are players to keep an eye on the rest of the season. On the offensive side of the ball a lone skill position player that had some success was 6-foot-1, 205-pound Running Back Tyjour Hooke.   Overall the Panthers were just too much and there is a reason they are one of the top 5 teams in all-classifications in the state. Dodge City tried their best to move the ball in their flexbone attack but the Great Bend defense was just to daunting in the end.   We kicked off our scoring in this ballgame with a 28 yard touchdown pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1113368' first='Daxton' last='Minton'] to [player_tooltip player_id='1622489' first='Jacob' last='Hall']. This came with 10:20 in the 1st quarter. The PAT was successful and our score was 7-0 Great Bend.   With 5:44 left in the 1st quarter, the Panthers saw their first big game changing play of the night when [player_tooltip player_id='1229117' first='Ian' last='Premer'] intercepted Ty Scheck. The uber talented Premer showed his freakish athletic ability and returned the pick for a 65 yard touchdown but the play was called back for a hold.   Premer was not to be denied and with 3:07 left in the 1st quarter, he scampered for a 29 yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and our score was now 14-0 Great Bend.   We did not see any scoring in the 2nd quarter but in 3rd quarter Minton hooked up with Premer for a 3 yard touchdown pass with 2:49 left in the quarter. The PAT was not successful and our score was now 20-0 Great Bend.   Early in the 4th quarter Minton struck gold again with a electrifying 57 yard touchdown strike to [player_tooltip player_id='933826' first='Cooper' last='Ohnmacht'] with 11:52 remaining. The PAT was good this time and our score reached 27-0 Great Bend.   Great Bend cornerback Koehn Ribordy got in the action with yet another interception of Scheck. This came with 11:09 in the 4th and set-up another Minton to Premer touchdown. This time it was a 30 yard touchdown and after a successful PAT, our score was 34-0 Great Bend.   Ribordy was not done and with 8:53 in the 4th quarter he snagged himself yet another interception.   Our last score of the evening came with 4:00 left in the ballgame when [player_tooltip player_id='1622490' first='Conner' last='Holladay'] got into the scoring action with a 21 yard touchdown run. Holladay finished the night with 10 carries for 103 yards rushing. This final score made the contest 41-0 Great Bend.   Overall the Panthers had themselves quite the ballgame. Minton finished the game going 6-6 passing for 128 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air. He also added 82 yards rushing on 9 carries.   The (5-0) Panthers have a big time WAC showdown with the (5-0) Liberal Redskins this coming Friday in Great Bend. Liberal is lead by Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1075837' first='Tevin' last='Cotter'] and Wide Receiver's [player_tooltip player_id='1115792' first='James' last='Fieser'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1612738' first='Max' last='Holman']. Defensively [player_tooltip player_id='780105' first='Xavier' last='Tafoya'] is a major force from his Inside Linebacker position. Dodge City (2-3) doesn't find life much easier when they face another the #3 team in 5A in the (4-1) Hays Indians.   As for myself I'll be heading for Ellis where the (1-4) Railers will host the (2-3) Quinter Bulldogs for homecoming. Even though neither teams record sticks out, this is a big game in 8-Man I District 7. Both teams are (1-1) in district. Two of the top 8-Man I programs in Trego County and Wichita County are at the top but the rest of the district is up for grabs.

I hit the road and found myself in Great Bend for Week 5 action between the Great Bend Panthers and the Dodge City Red Demons. Great Bend entered this contest with an impressive (4-0) record and ranked #2 in 5A. Dodge City came into the ballgame with a (2-2) record and had just lost a close game to an undefeated Liberal squad 22-31.