BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LARNED — The Nickerson Panthers parlayed great first half field position for a 14-0 lead and they edged past the Larned Indians 20-6 in Friday’s 3A, District 7 football game.
Nickerson (2-4, 2-1 District) earned a key District win while Larned (0-6, 0-3 District stays winless heading to Hugoton (2-4, 2-1 District).
A flat first half at home puzzled Larned coach Tad Remy.
“We seemed flat in the first half. We didn’t block well and we didn’t tackle well and our guys knew it,” Remy said. “They corrected it at halftime and we made a game of it. But it seemed like every time something good happened, we’d follow with a penalty or a busted play. The effort was great, but we didn’t get the win.”
Hunter Jones keyed the Nickerson victory with 94 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Fullback Jarrin Gomez gained 86 yards rushing. Quarterback Tre Garcia rushed for 39 yards and completed four passes for 56 yards.
Larned’s second half surge was led by Brock Skelton who had 101 yards rushing and a touchdown along with four pass receptions for 38 yards. Jacob Smith added 75 yards rushing on 19 carries.
By the time Larned got rolling in the second half, Nickerson led 20-0.
With 7:01 left in the first stanza, Nickerson’s Bryce Isley scampered 6 yards for a touchdown and Kyle Elliott’s kick led to 7-0 lead. Nickerson’s drive covered 48 yards after a short punt into a stiff south wind.
Jones added a 4-yard touchdown run to cap a 56-yard scoring drive with 7:45 before halftime.
Jones and Gomez led the running game.
Another short field led to Nickerson’s 48-yard scoring drive to start the second half. Jones scored on a 33-yard touchdown on a wide sweep with 4:49 remaining in the third period.
Larned’s Brock Skelton and Jacob Smith got a drive jump started and Skelton broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown run. A bad snap caused a blocked kick.
Larned would spend the rest of the third quarter and the fourth moving the ball but being unable to score. The good news is Larned’s defense shut down the Nickerson offense. Penalties and turnovers prevented a comeback.
Nickerson 7 7 6 0 — 20
Larned 0 0 6 0 — 6
N—Bryce Isley 6 run (Kyle Elliott kick)
N—Hunter 4 Jones run (Elliott kick)
N—Jones 33 run (kick failed)
L—Brock Skelton 49 run (kick blocked)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—N—Jones 94; Jarrin Gomez 86; Tre Garcia 39; L—36-174; Skelton 8-101; Jacob Smith 19-75; Tristan Burger 3-18; Jace Snyder 4-5; Brayden Lemuz 11; Chance Sanger 1-(-1).
PASSING—N—Garcia 4-11-0, 56; L—D. Smith 5-18-2, 25; Lemuz 1-2-0, 28.
RECEIVING—L—Skelton 4-38; Sanger 1-16.
3A DISTRICT 7A
Pratt 3-0 6-0
Holcomb 2-1 3-3
Hugoton 2-1 2-4
Nickerson 2-1 2-4
Kingman 0-3 1-5
Larned 0-3 0-6
WEEK 1—Pratt 34, Hoisington 0; Holcomb 34, Goodland 12; Scott City 35, Hugoton 0; Smoky Valley 46, Larned 7; Halstead 22, Nickerson 7; Chaparral 49, Kingman 23
WEEK 2—Pratt 32, Halstead 16; Scott City 24, Holcomb 0; Colby 35, Hugoton 6; Hesston 28, Larned 21; Hoisington 28, Nickerson 14; Kingman 56, Belle Plaine 18
WEEK 3—Pratt 55, Hesston 0; Colby 38, Holcomb 34; Hoisington 50, Larned 13; Smoky Valley 8, Nickerson 6; Conway Springs 38, Kingman 21; Ulysses 29, Hugoton 6
WEEK 4—*Pratt 55, Larned 0; *Nickerson 27, Holcomb 7; *Hugoton 21, Kingman 17
WEEK 5— *Pratt 42, Kingman 0; *Hugoton 42, Nickerson 20; *Holcomb 26, Larned 14
FRIDAY—*Pratt 42, Hugoton 0; *Nickerson 20, Larned 6; Holcomb 18, Kingman 14
WEEK 7—*Holcomb at Pratt; *Nickerson at Kingman; Larned at Hugoton
WEEK 8—*Pratt at Nickerson; Hugoton at Holcomb; Kingman at Larned
CENTRAL KANSAS LEAGUE
Pratt 4-0 6-0
Smoky Valley 4-0 6-0
Hoisington 2-1 5-1
Hillsboro 2-1 5-1
Hesston 3-2 4-2
Halstead 2-2 4-2
Haven 1-2 1-5
Nickerson 1-3 2-4
Lyons 0-3 0-6
Larned 0-5 0-6
WEEK 1—*Pratt 34, Hoisington 0; *Hesston 42, Hillsboro 36; *Smoky Valley 46, Larned 7; *Halstead 22, Nickerson 7; *Haven 28, Lyons 10
WEEK 2—*Pratt 32, Halstead 16; *Hesston 28, Larned 21; *Smoky Valley 44, Haven 0; *Hoisington 28, Nickerson 14; *Hillsboro 42, Lyons 0
WEEK 3—*Pratt 55, Hesston 0; *Smoky Valley 8, Nickerson 6; *Halstead 64, Lyons 0; *Hoisington 50, Larned 13; *Hillsboro 32, Haven 24
WEEK 4—*Smoky Valley 28, Hesston 0; *Pratt 55, Larned 0; Halstead 52, Rock Creek 16; Hoisington 42, Hays-TMP 0; Hillsboro 45, Salina Sacred Heart 31; Andale 65, Haven 0; Nickerson 27, Holcomb 7; Sterling 55, yons 21
WEEK 5—*Pratt 42, Kingman 0; *Hesston 38, Halstead 22; Smoky Valley 46, Clay Center 14; Hoplcomb 26, Larned 14; Hoisington 48, Ellsworth 14; Hillsboro 32, Waubansee 6; Clearwater 49, Haven 12; Hugoton 42, Nickerson 20; Ellinwood 34, Lons 3
FRIDAY—*Nickerson 20, Larned 6; Pratt 42, Hugoton 0; Smoky Valley 30, Chapman 22; Halstead 50, Clay Center 22; Hillsboro 18, Marion 14; Hesston54, Rock Creek 30; Cheney 36, Haven 12; SW Heights 34, Lyons 3; Hoisington 41, Minneapolis 6
WEEK 7—*Halstead at Smoky Valley; Holcomb at Pratt; Nickerson at Kingman; Larned at Hugoton; Hillsboro at Bluestem; Hesston at Chapman; Wichita Collegiate at Haven; Lyons at Cimarron; Hoisington at Phillipsburg
WEEK 8—*Pratt at Nickerson; Kingman at Larned; Smoky Valley at Rock Creek; Chapman at Halstead; Olpe at Hillsboro; Clay Center at Hesston; Haven at Wichita Trinity; Lakin at Lyons; Norton at Hoisington
