BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Dodge City quarterback Tucker Smith delivered the clutch play Friday night, the difference between winning and losing a Western Athletic Conference football game.

Great Bend's Homecoming crowd was roaring after Chayse Gruber tackled Isaiah Taylor for a 6-yard loss. Panther defender Scott Heilman had Smith wrapped up for back-for-back losses when Smith flipped an off-balance pass completion to Tyler Cox for a clutch first down. That miraculous pass play fueled a 14-play, 78-yard scoring drive capped by Chance Kerr's 1-yard touchdown for a 24-14 Dodge City lead.

Dodge City sealed Friday's 31-14 WAC football victory on Taylor's 20-yard halfback pass to a wide open D'Andre Vontress with 6:33 left in the game.

Panther quarterback Cayden Scheuerman completed a clutch 36-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Council in the third quarter for a 17-14 score. 

The Panthers, down 17-14, were poised for the go-ahead touchdown after Anthony Paez's sack on Tucker Smith led to Jade Poe's second fumble recovery at the Red Demon 28-yard line.

But Daniel Sanchez rescued the Red Demons with his second interception on the Panthers' first play after the fumble recovery.

A pair of interceptions by Dodge City's Taylor and Sanchez proved too much to overcome. Great Bend (0-5, 0-2 WAC) rides a 13-game losing streak to Liberal (2-3, 0-2) next week.

"It's frustrating. We turned it over and they took advantage," said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. "That one really hurts. Our guys are hurting. We had opportunities. We didn't get it done."

Beck is confident the Panthers will respond.

"Our kids and coaches can do it. That's our job," he said. "We'll get them prepared."

The Panthers led 7-0 and outplayed and outworked the Red Demons (4-1, 2-0 WAC) deep into the third period.

The first half script worked perfectly for the Panthers. Quarterback Cayden Scheuerman scrambled for an 18-yard touchdown for the Panthers' first lead of the football season. The Panthers covered 63 yards on seven sparkling offensive plays.

Great Bend's Poe recovered a pair of fumbles and Heilman delivered several clutch defensive plays. The Panthers' second drive reached the Dodge City 26-yard line after Poe's first fumble recovery.

Dodge City defensive back Taylor swung the game's early momentum with back-to-back interceptions. Dodge City quarterback Tucker Smith connected with Dylan Smith for a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play after Taylor's interception. After Taylor's second interception, Dylan Smith caught a perfectly-thrown 10-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Smith for a 14-7 halftime lead.

The Panthers exhibited the effort, intensity and teamwork required to win a football game. But the four interceptions swung the momentum Dodge City's way.

Beck was frustrated because the Panthers prepared and played like champions.

"We made a lot of great plays tonight," Beck said. "We prepared the best we could and played the best we could. But things weren't quite there tonight."

Panther tailback Cody Miller rushed for a career high 97 yards and Great Bend gained a season high 142 yards. Scheuerman passed for 115 yards. Council had five catches for 51 yards.

Tucker Smith threw for 218 yards. Dylan Smith had 107 yards in receptions and Vontress had five catches for 95 yards. The Red Demons gained 106 rushing yards after halftime.

Dodge City 0 14 3 14 — 31

Great Bend 7 0 7 0 — 14

GB—Cayden Scheuerman 18 run (Alex Galindo kick)—9:03; DC—Dylan Smith 75 pass from Tucker Smith (Emanual Aguilar kick)—10:43; DC—Dylan Smith 10 pass from Tucker Smith (Aguilar kick)—6:31; DC—Aguilar 29 FG—7:49; GB—Braylon Council 36 pass from Scheuerman (Galindo kick)—5:03; DC—Chance Kerr 1 run (Aguilar kick)—7:49; DC—D'Andre Vontress 20 pass from Isaiah Taylor (Aguilar kick)—2:15 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—DC—37-105; Chance Kerr 17-82; Daniel Sanchez 4-17; Isaiah Taylor 6-15; Luke Barker 2-3; T. Smith 5-0; Daelyn Unzeuta 1-(-3); Dylan Smith 2-(-9); GB—27-142; Cody Miller 17-97; Scheuerman 9-42; Gavin Haberman 1-3.

PASSING—DC—T. Smith, 10-17-0, 218; Taylor 1-1-0, 20; GB—Scheuerman 13-28-4, 115.

RECEIVING--DC—D. Smith 3-107; Vontress 5-95; Tyler Cox 2-27; Taylor 1-9; GB—Council 5-51; Colton Brack 2-26; Cody Miller 4-23; Stefan Spray 2-15..