The Great Bend High School junior varsity football team leveled their record to 2-2 on the season by leveling Dodge City Monday evening at Memorial Stadium.
Mauricio Uribe had a pair of first-half touchdown catches from Mitch Kottas — a 10-yarder at the 5:34 mark in the first quarter and a 27-yarder with 8:14 left in the second period — for a 12-0 lead. Bryce Hoffmeister’s 13-yard scoring run with 2:22 left in the second quarter extended the Panthers’ lead to 18-0.
Kottas added a 13-yard scoring run to extend the lead to 26-0, before Dodge City cut the margin to 26-14 with a pair of scores.
But Daniel Herman had a 42-yard touchdown to extend Great Bend’s lead to 34-14 and fix the final margin.
In the freshman game, Dodge City rode a 26-0 halftime lead en route to a 34-6 win over the Panthers.
The Panthers’ defense stiffened in the second half, and Great Bend capped an impressive drive, with Darion Blair scoring a 3-yard touchdown as he stretched his arm with the football across the goal line. Quarterback Greg Burley set up the touchdown with a long run.
Great Bend had another golden opportunity to score after Bryce Beck made good on an interception return into Dodge City territory after having a first pick trickle off his fingertips.
But the Red Demons’ Kelan Newton picked up a Panthers fumble and dashed 80 yards for a touchdown to put it out of reach.
Both Great Bend teams will be back in action on Monday, when they play host to Liberal at Memorial Stadium. The freshman game is slated to kick off at 3 p.m., followed by the JV game at 5.