This one was deflating for Great Bend High School, a non-conference football game where the Murphy's Law premise could be applied to the Panthers' fortunes against Ulysses.
Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Great Bend in the most inopportune times on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.
Ulysses running back Zach Romero scored a tiebreaking 6-yard touchdown run with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter, lifting the Tigers to a 21-14 win.
After Romero's late score, which capped a 34-yard scoring drive after a shanked GBHS punt, the Panthers' Bryce Beck returned the ensuing kickoff, maneuvered to his left and tried to get to the outside. But, as Beck battled for additional yardage, the Tigers jarred the ball loose and Bryce Rodriguez recovered the fumble at the Great Bend 38-yard line.
Ulysses then ran out the clock to improve to 1-1 on the season. The Panthers, who travel to Garden City next Friday night for their first road game, as well as the Western Conference opener, fall to 1-1.
Regarded as one of the top sophomore fullback prospects in the nation, Ulysses' Ian Rudzik is everything as advertised. The punishing 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, who moved a pile of Panthers trying to tackle him on numerous occasions, finished with 19 carries for 169 yards, coming up with big run after big run for the Tigers, although he never found the end zone.
Rudzik left the touchdowns for his backfield mates in quarterback Garrett Walters' 1-yard scoring run in the opening quarter for a 7-0 lead, along with running back Riley Seger's 33-yard TD jaunt and Romero's back-breaker.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Panthers, coming at the end of Rudzik's 44-yard gain late in the first quarter, moved the yard markers half-the-distance to the goal line for first-and-goal at the 9 and set up Walters' touchdown.
Beck, who totaled 96 yards in 17 carries, ripped off a 46-yard gain on a quarterback keeper, prior to the Tigers' first score, putting the Panthers in business at the Ulysses 18.
But a 14-yard loss on third down and Beck getting sacked on fourth down curtailed that drive.
The Tigers led 7-0 at halftime before things got interesting at the outset of the second half, where two touchdowns were scored in a span of 33 seconds.
Great Bend's Johnny Allende took off on a 61-yard touchdown bolt on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, knotting the score at 7 at the 11:43 mark. He finished with 95 yards in 17 carries, as both he and Beck came up just shy of eclipsing the 100-yard plateau.
Putting a damper on Allende's touchdown, Trent Uselton was knocked out of the game with a knee injury, one of several Panthers that suffered injuries in the game. Keaton Elliott and Shade Wondra also left the game with shoulder injuries, and Ty Yager suffered an arm injury.
Ulysses answered right back after Allende's score. After the ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds, with the Tigers taking over at their own 35, Rudzik gained 32 yards for a first down at the Great Bend 33.
On the next play, running back Riley Seger came free on the left side , racing untouched in the left flat for a 33-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 11:27 left in the third quarter.
After the Panthers mounted an impressive 61-yard scoring drive, Beck capped it with pulsating, zig-zagging, tackle-eluding 25-yard touchdown run down the middle of the field. It tied the game at 14 with 11:45 left in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers dodged a bullet shortly thereafter. A 21-yard gain by Rudzik to the GBHS 24 with 10:17 remaining planted the Tigers half-the-distance to the goal line at the 12 after Rudzik absorbed a late hit for the second time in the game.
But the Panthers' defense stiffened, and Ulysses placekicker Jorge Mendez missed badly on a 26-yard chip shot, leaving the game tied.
After Great Bend's next drive stalled, Nick Warren's 15-yard punt with nearly seven minutes left gave the ball back to the Tigers at the GBHS, and they capitalized the second time around.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Non-Conference
Friday
At Great Bend
Memorial Stadium
Ulysses 7 0 7 7 — 21
Great Bend 0 0 7 7 — 14
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Ulysses — Garrett Walters 1 run (Jorge Mendez kick), 1:02
Second Quarter
No scoring
Third Quarter
Great Bend — Johnny Allende 61 run (Carlos Prado kick), 11:43
Ulysses — Riley Seger 33 run (Mendez kick), 11:27
Fourth Quarter
Great Bend — Bryce Beck 25 run (Prado kick), 11:45
Ulysses — Zach Romero 6 run (Mendez kick), 3:02
TEAM STATISTICS
ULYS GBHS
First Downs 13 13
Total Net Yards 284 269
Rushes-Yards 51-261 36-237
Passing 24 32
Comp-Att-Int 3-4-0 5-16-1
Punts-Avg. 4-38.5 5-32.2
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-Yards 5-25 5-48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Ulysses, Ian Rudzik 19-169, Romero 16-71, Seger 4-47, Walters 10-(minus-10), Seger 4-47; Great Bend, Beck 17-96, Allende 17-95, Jayce Brack 1-29, Greg Burley 1-0.
PASSING — Ulysses, Walter 3-4-0 24; Great Bend, Beck 5-16-1 32.
RECEIVING — Ulysses, Nathan Medina 1-13, Rudzik 2-11; Great Bend, Keaton Elliott 1-17, Zach Reynolds 1-10, Ty Yager 2-8, Allende 1-(minus-3).
