Getting out of the gate fast, the Great Bend High School junior varsity football team scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns en route to a 46-16 victory over Liberal Monday evening at Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback Mitch Kottas broke free for a 23-yard touchdown run with 6:10 left in the first quarter.
After the Panthers (3-2) recovered the onside kick, something they tried twice with the second time successful in the game, Great Bend’s Daniel Herrman scampered 33 yards for a touchdown. Bryce Hofmeister ran his second straight conversion and the lead was 16-0.
Great Bend later put a lid on the game with a 12-yard scoring run by Josh Lopez with 1:12 remaining, extending the margin to 46-16.
In the freshman game, Great Bend (1-4), showing its resilience, captured its first win of the season, beating Liberal decisively, 32-12.
“I thought they played really well together,”  GBHS head coach Dan Eyestone said. “We had a lot of good individual plays, and those plays happened because everyone was stepping up and doing their job.
“Darian Blair and Greg Burley ran the ball very well and it was because we had good blocking, getting them in a position to make a play. It was a good feeling-type of win we had.”
The Panthers’ JV and frosh head to Hays next Monday before returning home for the season and home finale against Salina Central the week after.
— Mack McClure