BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtrbune.com
Great Bend Panthers Brad Beck and Paco Hernandez intercepted first-half passes by Maize South quarterback Owen Bailey. After halftime, Panthers Cayden Scheuerman and Skyler McMullen intercepted passes.
The Panthers stopped the Mavericks on fourth-and-2 twice and the Mavericks missed a 37-yard field goal. Linebacker Brad Beck led the way with 10 tackles and assists. Evan Wedel contributed nine stops and one sack.
Great Bend's sparkling defensive plays couldn't prevent Maize South from a 32-0 victory fueled by three offensive scores and three defensive scores in Friday's football opener.
The Panthers came up short, but head coach Erin Beck liked what he saw.
"The defense played great football," said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. "It was one of the better performances as far as battling. Their effort was unbelievable. We outworked them at times. We can fix the mental errors. We'll tackle better and get more guys to the football."
Maverick tailback Evan Cantu scored on 49- and 69-yard runs and rushed for 258 yards. The Mavericks scored on two safeties and Ladislao James scored on a 50-yard interception return.
"Cantu's a good back with vision and balance," Beck said. "He can run through arm tackles is impressive.
Poor field position hurt the Panthers as they started offensive drives from their own 2, 4, 5 and 6-yard lines. The Mavericks scored two safeties and converted a 23-yard drive after a 10-yard punt.
Panther back Miller rushed for 50 yards and quarterback Joseph Moeder added 49 yards. Trey Fields gained 40 yards on a kickoff return.
The Panthers reached the Maverick 5-yard line and 1-yard line, but failed to score on both goal-line situations. The Panthers were flagged for an offensive pass interference in the endzone on the first chance. Maverick Dawson Meese tackled Cody Miller on his third consecutive attempt from the 1-yard-line. A 34-yard reception to Braylon Council from Moeder was nullified on an illegal touch.
Beck credited receiver Colton Brack with some highlight blocking at the point of attack.
"Offensively, it was good, bad and ugly," Beck said. "We put a few drives together and ran the football better that second half. Our guys rose to the occasion and ran the football. Some mental mistakes got to us. We missed opportunities to punch scores in and make some plays. We'll learn from it."
Maverick Luke McCormack caught a 6-yard touchdown strike from Bailey for a 7-0 lead on a 23-yard scoring drive. Panther linebacker Evan Wedel stopped Bailey at the 6-yard line on a fourth-and-2 play on the previous drive.
Cantu escaped tackles by Beck and Paco Hernandez on a 69-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.
Ladislo James intercepted a Joseph Moeder pass and weaved his way for a 50-yard touchdown. The Mavericks added 2 points when Cayden Scheuerman's lateral passed out of the endzone for a 23-0 lead. Blake McCormick tackles Miller was tackled in the endzone for a 25-0 Maverick lead. Cantu tacked on a 49-yard touchdown run for a 32-0 lead with 7:14 left in the game.
Great Bend's defense kept the Panthers within range when Beck and Hernandez intercepted passes. Hernandez's dazzling return was moved back 15 yards on a block in the back.
Maize South 7 7 9 9 — 32
Great Bend 0 0 0 0 — 0
MS—Luke MccCormack 6 pass from Owen Bailey (Sam Parks kick)—5:02
MS—Evan Cantu 69 run (Parks kick)—9:49
MS—Ladislo James 50 interception return (Parks kick)—2:58
MS—Safety (Cayden Scheuerman lateral)—2:14
MS—Safety (Blake McCormick tackles Cody Miller)—11:54
MS—Cantu 49 run (Parks kick)—7:14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RIUSHING—MS—42-297; Cantu 27-258; Bailey 9-24; McCormack 2-11; Braxton Bigley 3-2; Brady Rapp 1-2; GB—35-92; Cody Miller 17-50; Joseph Moeder 4-22; .Cayden Scheuerman 6-20; Gavin Haberman 7-5, team 1-(-5)..
PASSING—MS—Bailey 11-21-4, 129; GB—Joseph Moeder 8-24-2, 50; Scheuerman 1-3-0, (-7).
RECEIVING—MS—McCormack 7-82; Caleb Crumm 3-35; Jeron Askrem 1-12; GB—Blaike Parsons 2-15; Colton Brack 1-15; Council 4-11; Miller 1-1, Spray 1-1.
