Last second TD gives Broncos comeback win

    The Wauneta-Palisade football team showed its resilience Friday evening, coming from behind to claim a 34-28 win over district opponent Paxton.
    Paxton went to work early in the game, scoring on its first two possession while keeping WP out of the end zone the first time the Broncos had the ball.
    Trailing 0-14, WP used four-straight running plays to find the end zone on a 20-yard run by Grant Walker. The extra point try was blocked.
    Paxton returned the favor, scoring on the first play of the second quarter. The Tigers increased the margin back to 15 points with the run for an extra point.
    WP continued to go to its running game in the second quarter. Six runs had the Broncos knocking on the door of the end zone. WP went to the air for the touchdown, a 12 yard pitch-and-catch between Garrett Hanna and Walker. Jacksen Littrel’s kick was good.
    Though each team had multiple chances to score in the remainder of the first half, Paxton was the only one to do so, leaving WP trailing 14-28 at halftime.
    WP Co-Head Coach Randy Geier said the team didn’t make any changes at half time.
    “We told the guys we were beating ourselves and to keep being physical and try to wear them down,” Geier said.
    The Broncos took their coaches’ words to heart.
    Both teams were slow to find their groove in the third quarter. WP went scoreless on its first two possessions, but so did the Tigers.
    A sack by Kyle Jutten forced a fumble which set WP up on Paxton’s 28-yard line. Four plays later on fourth and one, Jutten found the end zone. The missed extra point made the score 20-28.
    After stopping Paxton on fourth down late in the third quarter, WP ran the ball twice and completed three passes to set up a four-yard touchdown run by Jutten. Littrel’s all important kick tied the game at 28.
    As the defense continued to keep Paxton out of the end zone, WP’s offense put together a last second drive. A run and three passes set WP up with fourth and goal from the three-yard line.
    The Broncos gave the ball to their big man Aidan Kennicutt with 8.6 seconds left. The senior dragged a defender into the end zone with him for the game winning touchdown.
    With five players with a rush and four with a catch, Geier said WP tries to be diverse offensively.
    “We have several athletes capable of contributing to the team. We try to be diverse and not rely on one or two players,” he said.
    Jutten led WP with 201 yards on 30 carries. Walker caught 10 passes for 75 yards.
    Geier credited Co-Head Coach Joseph Frecks with doing  an excellent job coordinating WP’s defense.
    “He will mix in blitzes, and play both man and zone coverages. He does a great job of mixing things up,” Geier said.
    The Broncos had eight tackles for a loss, including three by Kennicutt and the sack by Jutten.
Up next
    The Broncos will host 2-3 Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Friday for a volleyball/football Homecoming doubleheader. The football game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT.
    Geier said SEM is very athletic and diverse offensively and aggressive defensively.
    “They are much better than their record because of their tough schedule,” he added.

Stats at a glance
Team Totals    WP    Paxton
Total Plays     79     49
Total Yards     370     263
Passing Yards     125     191
Rushing Yards     245     72
First Downs     18     9
Third Down Conv.     1-14    2-9
Fourth Down Conv.     7-12    1-6
Turnovers     1     1
Fumbles Lost     -     1
Interceptions Thrown     1     -
Penalties-Yards    6-58    2-20
Tackles (tkl-assists-TFL)—Garrett Hanna, 7-5-2; Grant Walker, 6-5-1; Aidan Kennicutt, 6-4-3; Conner Bryner, 4-1-1; Kyle Jutten, 3-2-1; Michael Duvel, 3-3-0; Hunter Miner, 2-0-0; Laiden Lawler, 1-1-0; Jacksen Littrel, 0-3-0.
Rushing (attempts-yards-TD)—Jutten, 30-201-2; Walker, 9-46-1; Kennicutt, 2-10-1; Miner, 1-7-0; Hanna, 2- -2-0, Rest of team, 2- -17-0.
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-TD-INT)—Hanna, 17-31-125-1-1.
Receiving (receptions-yards-TD)—Walker, 10-75-1; Duvel, 4-23-0; Kennicutt, 2-22-0; Littrel, 1-5-0.
Scoring
First Quarter
Paxton: 10-yd run (Kick)
Paxton: 65-yd pass (Kick)
WP: Grant Walker 20-yd run (Kick No Good)
Second Quarter
Paxton: 21-yd pass (Kick)
WP: Walker 11-yd pass From Garrett Hanna (Littrel kick)
Paxton: 39-yd pass (Kick)
Third Quarter
WP: Kyle Jutten 4-yd run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
Fourth Quarter
WP: Jutten 4-yd run (Littrel kick)
WP: Aidan Kennicutt 3-yd run (Failed Two-Point Conversion)
Score by quarters:
WP    6     8     6    14—34
Paxton    14     14     0     0—28