Broncos fall to SEM on gridiron

    The Sumner-Eddyville-Miller football team came to Wauneta Friday night and not only broke Wauneta-Palisade’s four-game win streak, but also gave the Broncos a loss on homecoming.
     WP spotted the Mustangs 16 points in the first quarter, but quickly narrowed the margin in the second quarter.
    Garrett Hanna found Grant Walker on the right sideline for a 58-yard touchdown on the quarter’s second play. Jacksen Littrel’s kick cut WP’s deficit in half.
    The Broncos’ defense held steady in the second quarter. SEM advanced to WP’s five-yard line, but the Broncos didn’t let the Mustangs score.
    WP’s offense was able to put points on the board thanks to a 24-yard run by Kyle Jutten. Littrel’s kick tied the game.
    The Broncos grabbed the lead on their second possession of the third quarter.
    Hunter Miner picked off an SEM pass in the end zone on fourth and one then advanced the ball to the Mustangs’ 15-yard line. Three plays later, Hanna found Walker open for an 11-yard touchdown. Despite missing the extra point, WP led 22-16.
    As time ran down in the third quarter, the Mustangs drove deep into WP territory again. This time the drive stalled on fourth and goal from the four-yard line.
    Throughout the game SEM runners weaved their way through the Broncos’ defense for big gains. As the field shrunk, WP’s defense found more success.
    WP Co-Head Coach Randy Geier said coaches felt like SEM was an explosive team that excels in the open field, while WP was the more physical team.
    In the fourth quarter, SEM showed its explosiveness to get into the end zone and never found itself with the short field.
    The Mustangs scored on runs of 32, 20, 12 and 68 yards to break open the game and take a 44-22 win.
    Jutten led WP with 120-yards rushing. Walker caught three passes for 73 yards.
    Garrett Hanna led the Broncos in tackles.

Up next
    Now 4-3, WP will travel to district-leading Wallace Friday for its final regular season game. The Broncos’ volleyball team will also be playing that evening.
    Geier said WP was fighting sickness and injuries heading into the SEM game. Michael Duvel and Jutten both suffered injuries in the game.
    The Wildcats are on a five-game win streak after a season opening loss to undefeated Potter-Dix.
    With the top 16 teams in the Class D6 point standings making the playoffs, a win is needed to keep WP’s postseason hopes alive.
    The Broncos’ three losses have come at the hands of #4 SEM, #8 Silver Lake and #13 Franklin.
    WP currently sits at 19th in the point standings.
    A win over the Wildcats will have the Broncos knocking on the door of the 16th spot.
    Geier said Wallace is well coached and a very good team that WP looks forward to playing.
    Kickoff will be at 6 p.m MT.

Stats at a glance
Team Totals    WP    SEM
Total Plays     56     61
Total Yards     322     462
Passing Yards     128     171
Rushing Yards     194     291
First Downs     7     14
Third Down Conv.     3-13    3-10
Fourth Down Conv.    0-3    1-5
Turnovers     2     1
Fumbles Lost     0     0
Interceptions Thrown     2     1
Penalties-yds     6-41    5-17
Tackles (solos-assists-TFL)—Garrett Hanna, 12-5-0; Michael Duvel, 8-1-0; Conner Bryner, 7-4-0; Hunter Miner, 4-1-1; Aidan Kennicutt, 3-2-2; Kyle Jutten, 1-1-0; Laiden Lawler, 1-0-0; Grant Walker, 1-0-0; Ashton Wheeler, 1-0-0; Jacksen Littrel, 0-1-0.
Rushing (attempts-yards-TD)—Jutten, 17-120-1; Lawler, 2-28-0; Kennicutt, 1-24-0; Bryner, 5-17-0; Hanna, 4-5-0; Walker, 4-0-0.
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-TD-INT)—Hanna, 8-18-128-2-2.
Receiving (receptions-yards-TD)—Walker, 3-73-2; Duvel, 2-35-0; Miner, 1-15-0; Kennicutt, 1-4-0; Jutten, 1-1-0.
Scoring
First Quarter
SEM: 60-yd pass (kick good)
SEM: 10-yd pass (kick good)
Second Quarter
WP: Grant Walker 58-yd pass from Garrett Hanna (Jacksen Littrel kick)
WP: Kyle Jutten 24-yd run (Littrel kick)
Third Quarter
WP: Walker 11-yd pass from Hanna (kick no good)
Fourth Quarter
SEM: 32-yd run (kick no good)
SEM: 20-yd run (kick good)
SEM: 12-yd run (kick good)
SEM: 68-yd run (kick no good)
Score by quarters:
WP    0     16     6     0—22
SEM    16     0     0     28—44