Another battle with a ranked opponent loomed for the Dodge City football team as they took on #13 Butler in El Dorado, and while the Conquistadors fought until the end, the Grizzlies won 24-14.
The Conqs are now 5-3 this season and 2-1 in KJCCC action, with three games remaining in the season.
Both teams looked primed to get things rolling in their favor on their first drives of the game but the opposing defenses had other ideas. Butler opened the game by working the ball downfield and attempted a field goal that missed; the Conqs countered and went for an early fourth down but couldn't convert. After a scoreless first quarter, Butler took the initial lead on a seven-play, 77-yard drive that saw the Grizzlies run the ball down the field for a touchdown. Conqs again stalled on fourth down on the Butler 46-yard line, and the Grizzlies turned it into a 26-yard field goal just before halftime, with the Conqs trailing 10-0 at intermission.
Starting with the ball, the Conqs looked to get rolling, but Butler intercepted a pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown, extending their lead to 17-0. The Conqs finally put together an extended drive later in the third quarter, covering 89 yards on nine plays as
Tim Carpenter hit
Brylee Perez for a 43-yard touchdown. With 7:24 remaining, Butler again used the rush attack to march down the field for another touchdown, going up 24-7. Conqs, needing a score to stay alive in the contest, answered with a big play as Carpenter found
Britton Holmes Jr., who grabbed a pass and sprinted 70 yards for a touchdown. The Conqs defense came up with a stop to get the ball back with 3:04 remaining and the Conqs used a pair of Butler penalties to move the ball but ultimately stalled out and fell 24-14.
The Conqs outgained Butler on the day, 310 to 294, with 263 yards through the air for the Conqs and 261 rushing yards for Butler.
Carpenter finished 22-32 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while
Armani Rogers caught nine passes for 57 yards, and Holmes Jr. had a big play, catching a 70-yard touchdown pass.
Jahtavious Gaines led the Conqs on defense with nine tackles, while
Greg Wardlaw added a seven-tackle day with ½ tackle for loss. Both
James Robinson and
Avant Hunter each tallied six tackles in the matchup.
Conqs return home to continue Jayhawk Conference play next week, hosting Highland for a 1:00 pm kick on Saturday, October 24
th.
