BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

LIBERAL — Liberal quarterback Brooks Kappelmann completed a touchdown pass and the game-winning 2-point conversion to break Great Bend's collective football hearts, 22-21 Friday.

But Kappelmann's game-changing play occurred when he sidestepped game-ending tackles by Mathew Moeder and Brad Beck for a decisive first down on 4th-down-and-9 from the Panthers' 27-yard line. The officials apparently didn't see a Liberal penalty when Panther defender Dee'Onn Jones was held on the game-defining play. On the prior third-down play, Braylon Council delivered a touchdown-saving tackle on Liberal receiver Shay Kerr.

Redskin receiver Zayden Martinez caught a perfect 8-yard touchdown pass from Kappelman with 34 seconds left. Martinez spun inside and caught the game-winner on a pass in the heart of the Panthers' defense for the game-winning 2-pointer.

The Panthers showed the fight and tenacity of a championship football team, not a team that's 0-6. But the final breaks swung Liberal's way.

"That end of the game was as heartbreaking and gut wrenching as you get in football," said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. "It was heartbreaking, really hard to see that happen for this team and these kids. We put ourselves in good position. We didn't shut them down their offensive answers after we scored." 

The Panthers (0-6, 0-3 WAC) own the 15th-best seed in the 4A West and would draw Andover Central (5-1) or Wamego (5-1) in the playoffs. The Panthers play at Goddard Eisenhower (3-3) next week.

Great Bend quarterback Cayden Scheuerman and receiver Council were spectacular. Council caught 10 passes for 133 yards. Scheuerman threw for 212 yards, Scheuerman scored on a 1-yard run and completed a 7-yard touchdown to Colton Brack. Council's best work was a 44-yard reception. The Panthers finished with a season high 299 yards total offense.

"We made some amazing plays. Cayden and Braylon made an unbelievable pass-and-catch to keep a drive alive," Beck said. "We show moments of being a really good football team. Our consistency is so up-and-down."

Brack capped an opening 12-play, 55-yard drive after Council caught a 44-yard pass for a 7-0 lead. But Liberal's Hunter Huskey scored on an 85-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. Martinez caught the 2-point conversion for an 8-7 lead.

The Panthers responded with a 64-yard scoring drive keyed by a 30-yard Council reception off a screen pass. Cody Miller scored on a 4-yard run for a 14-8 lead. Again, Liberal scored on the next play on Izzy Garcia-Rotolo's 95-yard kickoff return for a 14-14 tie.

Stefan Spray caught a 29-yard pass and Council converted an 11-yard screen pass to spark a 62-yard drive. Scheuerman scored on a 1-yard dive after Miller's key runs set up the score behind excellent blocking up front by tackles Anthony Paez and Brantley Schaffer, guards Matthew Johnson and Daniel Nieto and center Jason Scott.

The Redskins covered 74 yards on the final drive, ignited by a 32-yard reception by Garcia-Rotolo.

Great Bend 7 0 7 7 — 21

Liberal  8 0 6 8 — 22

GB—Colton Brack 7 pass from Cayden Scheuerman (Alex Galindo kick); L—Hunter Huskey 85 run (Zayden Martinez pass from Brooks Kappelmann); GB—Cody Miller 4 run (Galindo kick); L—Izzy Garcia-Rotolo 95 kickoff return (pass fails); GB—Scheuerman 1 run (Galindo kick); L—Martinez 8 pass from Kappelmann (Martinez pass from Kappelmann)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—GB—34-87; Miller 21-71; Scheuerman 7-20; Gavin Haberman 5-9; team 1-(-13); L—34-219; Huskey 18-159; Easton Zapien 13-53; Kappelmann 3-7.

PASSING—GB—Scheuerman 16-25-1, 212; L—Kappelmann 4-16-0, 72.

RECEIVING—GB—Council 10-133; Stefan Spray 3-65; Miller 2-7; Brack 1-7; L—Garcia-Rotolo 1-32; Shay Kerr 1-18; Martinez 2-15;