NESS CITY 38, ST. JOHN 36

ST. JOHN — Ness City turned an interception and fumble recovery into a come from behind 38-36 victory over the St. John Tigers in a wild 8-man football opener Friday.

Ness City defensive tackle Jacob Simon intercepted a pass by quarterback Easton Alpers that helped the Eagles rally from a 28-12 deficit. Simon left the game with an injury and a teammate was later carted off.

St. John also had players miss playing time with leg cramps and exhaustion.

Eagle quarterback Hunter Stenzel rushed for 2- and 13-yard runs, passed for two scores and kept drives alive with scrambling runs. Kale Bishop caught a 14-yard score and Ben Durham caught the game-winning 42-yard reception.

St. John quarterback Easton Alpers matched Stenzel with a trio of touchdowns before departing with an injury.

Backup quarterback Jericho Mawhirter scored on a 28-yard run and later on a 48-yard run for a 32-26 lead. Mawhirter rushed for 64 yards and had 32 yards receiving.

The Tigers missed a chance to ice the victory, but fumbled the football on 4th-and-1.

William Martin led the Tigers with 13 tackles. Benny Sheets had nine stops and Juan Lozano seven stops.

Ness City 6 12 14 6 — 38

St. John 8 20 0 8 — 36

NC—Bishop 14 pass from Stenzel (run fails)

SJ—Alpers 11 run (run fails)

NC—Stenzel 2 run (2-pointer)

SJ—Alpers 5 run (run fails)

SJ—Alpers 1 run (run fails)

SJ—Mawhirter 28 run (run)

NC—Talamantes 10 run (run fails)

NC—Talamantes 2 run (Stenzel run)

NC—Stenzel 13 run (pass fails)

SJ—Mawhirter 48 run (Martin run)

NC—Durham 42 pass from Stenzel (pass fails)

SJ—RUSHING—SJ—Mawhirter 8-64; Alpers 8-50; Burton 6-40; Martin 13-22; Hicks 1-1

PASSING—SJ—Alpers 6-10; Mawhirter 1-1; Burton 1-2

RECEIVING—SJ—Mawhirter 2-32; Barney 2-17; Martin 1-(-2); Burton 1-(-3)