By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
DODGE CITY — Six-man state champions.
Pawnee Heights all-state back Kade Scott scored six touchdowns to spark the Tigers to a 62-12 six-man title game victory over Cheylin High School.
Scott rushed for 181 yards and was selected 6-Man Player of the Year prior to kickoff. He added a 31-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Karst. Scott’s 50-yard touchdown with 9:40 left in the fourth period ended the game on the 45-point scoring rule.
“I give all the credit to my blockers because they are doing all the hard work,” Scott said. “It’s a lot of fun to run behind them. They’ve put in the work in the weight room and it shows on the field. They never give up. That was nice the way we played.”
The Tigers (9-0) dominated Cheylin from the outset after surviving a 53-47 overtime scare against Weskan last week. Weskan downed the Tigers 36-18 in last year’s 6-man title game.
Scott rushed for five touchdowns, caught a 53-yard scoring strike from quarterback Trace Baker and completed a 31-yard touchdown to Caleb Karst.
All-state center Karst led crisp blocking up front with Gabe Oddo and Jackson Henbest. Karst was the featured secret weapon with four receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Karst also converted three extra-point kicks.
“I get very excited when they call a pass — sometimes too excited,” Karst said. “It was pretty exciting coming back this year. We played with a chip on our shoulders after what happened last year. We were proud of the way we played today.”
The Tigers unleashed an effective passing game with eight completions for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Baker completed six passes for 174 yards. Scott completed two passes for 76 yards. At one point, the Tigers completed six passes for 200 yards.
“We brought out passing game and it took Cheylin by surprise,” said Pawnee Heights coach Jeff Chambers. “We had an opportunity to pass the football and took advantage.”
The Tigers scored six first-half touchdowns for a 40-12 lead and added three second-half scores.
The Tigers held Cheylin’s Manuel Castillo to 100 yards after the Cougars rushed for 302 yards when the teams met the first time. Scott and Baker intercepted passes and Hamby recovered a fumble.
“We watched a lot of film and had good defensive reads,” Chambers said. “From start to finish, we played amazing.”
The Tigers learned a valuable lesson last week when Weskan nearly pulled an upset.
“We could tell our guys were focused this week,” Chambers said. “They were going to finish the job today.”
Karst said the Tigers were well prepared after a close call last week.
“Last week, we didn’t play as strong as possible and Weskan came out strong,” Karst said. “We thought we’d win pretty easily.”
Scott said the team was determined to play better football than last week.
“Substate didn’t go as we planned. Today, we came out and made a statement,” Scott said. “We were way more focused today. We learned not to take a team lightly and always come out prepared to play your best.”
PAWNEE HEIGHTS 62, CHEYLIN 12
Cheylin 6 6 0 0 — 12
PH 21 19 16 6 — 62
PH–Kade Scott 6 run (Gabe Oddo pass from Scott), 8:25; PH—Scott 2 run (kick fails), 3:36; PH—Scott 27 run (Caleb Karst kick), 1:34; C—Andrew Schields 58 pass from Colton McCarty (pass fails), 0:43; PH—Scott 44 run (kick fails), 5:00; PH—Scott 26 run (kick blocked), 3:24; PH—Karst 31 pass from Scott (Jackson Henbest pass from Scott), 0:46; C—Manuel Castillo 4 run (run fails), 0:00; PH—Scott 53 pass from Baker (Karst kick), 9:51; PH—Karst 64 pass from Baker (Karst kick), 3:54; PH—Scott 50 run, 9:40
RUSHING—C—40-170; Castillo 19-100; McCarty 15-80; Schields 3-16; team 2-(-28); Luis Reynoso 1-2; ; PH—18-182; Scott 13-181; Baker 3-2; Dalton Hamby 2-(-1).
PASSING—C—McCarty 6-16-2, 132; PH—Baker 6-9-0, 174; Scott 2-2-0, 76; Hamby 0-1-0.
RECEIVING—C—Schields 2-70; Castillo 3-47; Jordan Janicke 1-15; PH—Karst 4-115; Scott 2-48; Hamby 1-45; Oddo 2-42.
