PANTHER PERFECTION
GBMS football beats Hays for title
The Great Bend Middle School 7th-grade football team made school history with a 7-0 record and the school’s first Western Athletic Conference middle school championship. The Panthers edged unbeaten Hays Middle School 8-6 for the middle school championship.
Head coach Matt Barton led the Panthers, who outscored their seven opponents 236-36.
“It was a great season. The entire team deserves a bunch of credit,” Barton said. “We had so many kids step up and become leaders. We wouldn’t finish the season 7-0 without everyone doing their part. The 8th-grade team pushed us every day in practice. It made us better and helped make us tougher. The future is bright.”
Hays led 6-0, the first time the Panthers trailed during the season. Hays failed to convert the 2-point conversion.
The Panthers kept fighting.
“Coach Matt Penka did an outstanding job with the defense. He knows that defense inside and out and kept rallying them to stop every Hays drive,” said Barton.
The Panthers scored on their final drive of the season. Quarterback Daxton Minton completed a fourth-down pass Jacob Hall for a first down with under two minutes left. Three plays later, Minton scored a tying touchdown with 1:10 left in regulation. Minton connected with Hayden Kelly for the game-winning 2-point conversion.
“Coach Jason Duvall provided the experience we needed all season long,” Barton said. “He did an amazing job with the offensive line, which allowed Daxton the time he needed to make the big plays.”
Panther back Ian Premer and quarterback Daxton Minton both averaged two touchdowns per game. Minton threw for 10 touchdowns with Hall scoring eight receiving touchdowns and multiple 2-point conversions. Leading tackler Trenton Kern intercepted one pass and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.
GREAT BEND 7TH FOOTBALL
Great Bend 38, Scott City 6
Great Bend 38, Dodge City 0
Great Bend 36, Liberal Eisenhower 6
Great Bend 38, Garden City Horace Good 12
Great Bend 44, Liberal Seymour Rogers 0
Great Bend 44, Dodge City Comanche 6
Great Bend 8, Hays 6
