By Mike Gilmore
mgilmore@gbtribune.com
ROZEL – Third-year Pawnee Heights Football Coach Keenan Rasmussen has learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to season openers.
Pawnee Heights back Braden Colglazier completed four touchdown passes and rushed for a score in a wild 42-30 opening 6-man football loss to Weskan Thursday.
Adam Hands caught 10- and 50-yard scoring passes from Colglazier. Colglazier caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Hands and scored on an 11-yard run. Great Bend transfer Elwin Fiso caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Colglazier.
Weskan scored on a kickoff return and on a 65-yard run on the first play of a drive.
“It was close the entire game, but we played back on our heels the first half,” Rasmussen noted. “We didn’t come out as fired up as we did in the second half. We put ourselves in a hole that we couldn’t get out of.”
The Tigers were outscored 28-24 after halftime. Weskan converted six consecutive extra points while Pawnee Heights missed five extra points.
“Biggest thing that hurt us tonight was mistakes,” Rasmussen said. “We had some injuries that forced us to put people into positions they hadn’t played before. I moved senior Rebekka Winters to center which she had never played. I'm proud of the kids for stepping up. It’s shown us that it’s small things we’ve got to work on."
Next week, the Ashland Bluejays come to Rozel. Former Pawnee Heights coach Jeff Chambers – who led the Tigers to their first 6-Man state title – is coaching the Bluejays.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Rasmussen said. “We’re a young team. We've got to shove those first-game jitters out of the way. If we can do that, we will be ready.”
Weskan 7 7 21 7 – 42
P Heights 6 0 12 12 – 30
PH—Brandon Colglazier 11 run; W—65 kickoff return; W—TD run; W—65 TD run; PH—Colglazier 50 pass from Adam Hands; W—11 TD run; PH—Hands 10 pass from Colglazier; W—10 TD pass; PH—Hands 17 pass from Colglazier; W—TD run; PH—Elwin Fiso 5 pass from Colglazier
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Hands 87, Colglazier 65, Fiso 30.
PASSING—Hands 135; Colglazier 80.
RECEIVING—Colglazier 55, Fiso 53, Hands 48, Jimmy Gardner 47.
