Behind a strong start and first half, Dodge City football earned its first win of the season, taking down rival Garden City 26-21 at home.
The win for the Conquistadors moves them to 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in KJCCC action, while the Conqs have won three of the last four over Garden City (2024 forfeit win).
Conqs started the night on defense and forced a three-and-out by Garden City on their first possession and then the Conqs were pinned deep after the Broncbuster punt. The Conqs marched down the field, covering 96 yards in 19 plays, and
Tim Carpenter connected with
Maximus Howard for a five-yard touchdown pass. With the extra point, the Conqs led 7-0 with 2:17 left in the first quarter, as the drive took over 11 minutes.
Early in the second quarter, the Conqs hit a 23-yard field goal by
Eduardo Solis to push the lead to 10-0, and less than a minute later,
Jahtavious Gaines picked off a Garden City pass, taking it back 55 yards for a touchdown. After forcing a mistake by the Broncbusters on the kickoff, leading the Broncbusters to be pinned up against the end zone, the Conqs tackled them in the end zone for the safety to lead 19-0 with 7:37 left in the first half. With just under two minutes left in the first half, the Carpenter connected with
Joshua Taylor for a 17-yard touchdown, and the Conqs carried a 26-0 lead into intermission.
The second half saw Garden City force an early Conqs punt and then march down the field to score, but the Conqs carried the 26-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Broncbusters found the end zone once earlier in the fourth quarter, but the Conqs would ultimately shut the door down the stretch with two more turnovers as
Amarius Perdue recovered a fumble that was forced by
Jayveon Johnson, and
Jalen Johnson grabbed an interception as the Conqs did surrender one more score but earned the 26-21 victory.
The Conqs outgained Garden City just 271 to 247 total yards but forced three Broncbuster turnovers in the win.
Carpenter led the Conqs offensively, going 13-21 for 99 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 77 yards. Taylor added 64 yards rushing and a 17-yard touchdown reception, while
Omarion Lewis caught seven passes for 65 yards, and Howard snared five passes for 17 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Conqs had contributions from everywhere, including four tackles and an interception from Gaines. Perdue tallied four tackles with a fumble recovery, while Jabrae Shae added four tackles.
Tristan Pitts had three tackles with a sack, as
Jalen Johnson had an interception.
Conqs are back on the road on Saturday, September 12
th, as they will travel to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to take on reigning NJCAA champs and #1 Iowa Western.
