BULLPUPS STUMBLE IN HOME OPENER

HOOVER HITS 46-YARD FG

By Staff

GREAT BEND – It came down to the little things on Friday for the McPherson High football team as a pair of turnovers and penalties may have cost them a road win in Great Bend where they lost by 13, 29-16 in the 2023 season opener for both teams.

Great Bend jumped out to an early 14-0 advantage in the first quarter when they connected on a 43-yard pass play for a score, and they took one of two interceptions and returned it 79 yards for the second score.

It was all Bullpups in the second quarter as senior quarterback Owen Fetsch hit senior wideout Cory Muehler for a 14-yard scoring pass which was followed by a Blaise Hoover extra point kick to pull within a touchdown at 14-7.

Fetsch then caught senior tight end Teegan Haines running for the front corner of the end zone to a short four-yard scoring pass. Hoover missed the extra point, so McPherson went into the halftime break trailing by just one point, 14-13.

The lone score in the third stanza came from a booming 46-yard field goal on the leg of Blaise Hoover, giving the Bullpups a two-point, 16-14, advantage heading into the final quarter of play.

Unfortunately for the Bullpup faithful, Great Bend scored twice in the final quarter pass plays from 30 and two yards to give them the final 29-16 victory over McPherson.

As with the game until late in the final quarter, it was close and many of the stats proved so as the Bullpups totaled 238 yards in offense to 234 for Great Bend. McPherson ran a very balanced offense as Fetsch threw for 112 yards and the team totaled 126 yards on the ground.

The hurt for the Bullpups came on when Fetsch threw a pair of interceptions, and the team was flagged eight times for penalties totaling a minus-64 yards.

Cory Muehler nearly reached three digits in pass receiving as he caught 10 passes for 94 yards.

Defensively, Brock Richardson, the Bullpups junior middle linebacker, led the way with nine total tackles while seniors Jayce Schriner, a cornerback, and Teegan Haines, a middle linebacker, each had six. Javyn Alexander and Andrew Waner each had a quarterback sack on their stat lines.

Next up for the Bullpups to get back in the win column will be at home on Friday, September 8 when they play host to Augusta. Augusta lost their season opener 42-21 to Chanute.

McPHRSON BULLPUP FOOTBALL at Great Bend

SCORING: BULLPUPS = 0-13-3-0 = 16; Great Bend = 14-0-0-15 = 29.

1st Quarter >

Great Bend =Scored on a 43-yard pass play (Kick was Good) 0-7

Great Bend = Scored on a 79-yard interception return (kick was good) 0-14

2nd Quarter >

BULLPUPS = Cory Muehler on a 14-yard pass from Owen Fetsch (Kick was Good) 7-14

BULLPUPS = Teegan Haines on a 4-yard pass from Owen Fetsch (Kick Failed) 13-14

3rd Quarter >

BULLPUPS = Blaise Hoover kicked a 46-yard Field Goal 16-14

4th Quarter >

Great Bend = Scored on a 30-yard pass play (2-Point Conversion was Good) 19-22

Great Bend = Scored on a 2-yard pass play (Kick was Good) 19-29

(All Stats from Hudl.com)

TEAM STATS:

BULLPUPS Great Bend

1st Downs 19 11

Plays/Yards 77/238 50/234

Passing Yards 112 162

Rushing Yards 126 72

3rd Downs Made 5/14 6/12

Turnovers 2 1

Fumbles Lost 0 1

Interceptions 2 0

Penalties 8/64 9/30

BULLPUP INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Passing > Owen Fetsch = 17/34 for 112, 2 tds, 2 int.

Rushing > Carlos German = 15 for 74; Isaac Barnett = 10 for 41; Owen Fetsch = 6 for 21; Rest of team = 3 for -13. Team Totals = 34 for 123.

Receiving > Cory Muehler = 10 for 94, 1 td; Bishop Brown = 1 for 6; Teegan Haines = 1 for 5, 1 td; Gavin Wedel = 1 for 4; Logan Roth = 4 for 3. Team Totals = 17 for 112, 2 tds.

Defense (Tackles/Solo/Asst/Sacks/TFL) > Brock Richardson = 9/1/8/0/0; Jayce Schriner = 6/1/5/0/0; Teegan Haines = 6/0/6/0/0; Javyn Alexander = 5/1/4/1/1; Brody Seidl = 5/1/4/0/0; Gage Egging = 4/3/1/0/0; Eli Clarke = 4/0/4/0/0; Andrew Waner = 3/1/2/1/1; Keaton Crane = 2/2/0/0/0; Chase Koehn = 2/1/1/0/0; Copper Holler = 2/1/1/0/0; Catch Delaney = 1/1/0/0/0; Blaise Hoover = 1/1/0/0/0; Jase Fitzmorris = 1/0/1/0/0; Joseph Miller = 1/0/1/0/0.

(Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com )