Longhorn Football drops opener to Yuma

By Alan Carman
The Imperial Republican
    Friday, August 28, the CCS Longhorn Football Team traveled to Yuma for the season opener. The Horns lost 0-30.
    Chase County opted to drop to class C2 this year. Numbers show that as of next year, the number of students will drop enough that CCS will qualify for C2 football. The school faculty and school board weighed the options of staying in C1 for two more years or opting out and playing in C2 starting this year.
    The decision was made to drop to C2, despite the fact that it made the football team ineligible for the playoffs this year. The reason for opting out is that next year the school’s numbers will drop to where the team will qualify for the playoffs.
    If the school would have stayed in C1, they would have been locked there for two years and so the tough decision was made to go to C2 this year and not be eligible for post-season play.
    In the season’s first game, the Longhorns faced a Yuma team that already had a game under it’s belt, having played in week 0. It showed in the game, with the Horns having a lot of first game mistakes that drew many penalty flags.
    Yuma got the ball to start the game and the Longhorn defense held them on a fourth down, taking over possession on the Horns 37.
    The Horns couldn’t move the ball, going three and out. Grady Wilson punted the ball to Yuma’s 33. Yuma started to drive the ball, but the Longhorns forced a fumble that was recovered by Trace Terryberry at the Horns 44 yard line.
    After a holding and personal foul call backed the Horns deep into their own territory, the Horns turned the ball back to Yuma at mid-field.
    Yuma’s freshman track star, Jayden Black, broke free for a 47 yard scamper and the first score of the game. After a missed extra point attempt, there was a late penalty called and Yuma converted a two point attempt to lead 0-8.
    The Horns bounced back with their best drive of the night. After good runs by Hoover and Hubbard, quarterback Tate Hubbard hit Aaron Cervantes on a pass to the 11 yard line. The Yuma defense stiffened and held the Horns to a 25 yard field goal attempt by Brextin Moreno that was partially blocked and no good.
    That was the end of the scoring for the first half. As soon as halftime hit, so did the lightning and thunder, causing about a 50 minute delay before the second half could start.
    It was all Yuma in the second half, scoring three more touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions, while the Horns never really threatened to score. Yuma took the win 0-30. No stats were available.
    Next up for the Horns will be Alliance on the road, Friday, Sept. 4 in Alliance. Game time is set for 7:00.