By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Topeka High fought valiantly to hang with Dodge City Thursday night, but big plays and mistakes were the Trojans' undoing as they fell 38-21 at Hummer Sports Park.
Topeka High senior Courtney Sanders rushed for 88 yards and scored two touchdowns in Thursday's 38-21 loss to Dodge City. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Coming off a convincing 33-6 season-opening win over Highland Park, the Trojans were disappointed in their many miscues.
“We had a week last week where we didn’t make mental mistakes, and this week we made all of them,” said Topeka High coach Jason Filbeck. “Hats off to Dodge City. They’re well-coached, tough kids, disciplined kids. They didn’t jump offsides. They didn’t do the things that we did tonight.
“We played them a much closer game than (the scoreboard showed). It’s not so much what they did to us as much as we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot on things.”
Breakdowns proved costly to the Trojans, robbing their momentum and negating both their first-half touchdowns.
Topeka High took a 7-3 lead late in the first period on a 44-yard scamper by senior Courtney Sanders. But poor coverage on the ensuing kickoff gave the lead right back to Dodge City. Red Demon return man Elliott Williams took the kick 80 yards to recover the lead 10-7.
Trailing 17-7 late in the second period, the Trojans drove into Dodge City territory, where Sanders once again broke loose for a touchdown. The senior appeared to be stopped at least twice as he ran around the right end, then reversed field and dashed all the way back through the backfield to the left end. Weaving through traffic, slipping numerous tackles, Sanders covered plenty more than the 32 yards necessary to reach the end zone. The score narrowed the deficit to 17-14 with 1:19 left in the half.
But another breakdown once again stole the Trojans’ momentum. Dodge City ran four plays to reach midfield with just 8.8 seconds left. Visiting quarterback Reis Ochs rolled right and was just about to tuck the ball to run when he spotted wide receiver Julian Burillo strolling wide open up the right sideline. Ochs lofted a floater that Burillo hauled in and carried to the goal with no time left on the clock, making the halftime score 24-14.
The trend continued in the second half.
Former Seaman coach Glenn O'Neil made a triumphant return to Topeka Thursday night, with the Red Demons taking a 38-21 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Dodge City, guided by former Seaman head coach Glenn O’Neil committed a rare error, coughing up a fumble that could have helped the Trojans cut into the visitors’ lead. But just two plays later, Topeka High threw an interception that the Red Demons returned for a 55-yard touchdown.
“We gave up a kick return, we threw a pick-six and we gave up a score right before half,” Filbeck lamented. “It’s just those mental things that got us beat. You look at those three touchdowns and it’s a field-goal game. So, just frustrating.
“This was not good enough tonight and it needs to get better because we’re going to play better teams every week. Not that Dodge City is bad, because they played very well tonight.”
Topeka High senior quarterback Asher Filbeck threw for 63 yards and a touchdown in Thursday's 38-21 loss to Dodge City. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sanders led the Trojan attack with 88 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Asher Filbeck threw for 63 yards on three completions, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Za’mauri Ferguson.
Dodge City quarterback Ochs countered with 92 yards rushing and 119 yards passing.
Coach Filbeck said his team has a lot to correct following the loss.
“Last week we weren’t challenged maybe, and so I think maybe we felt a little bit like it’s going to be easy every week. And it’s just not. We’re going to play tough teams. Our league is a gauntlet.”
DODGE CITY 38, TOPEKA HIGH 21
Dodge City (2-0) 10 14 14 0 -- 38
Topeka High (1-1) 7 7 7 0 -- 21
Dodge City – Tagle 27-yard field goal
Topeka High – Sanders 44 run (Triplet kick)
Dodge City – Williams 80 kickoff return (Tagle kick)
Dodge City – Perez-Martinez 1 run (Tagle kick)
Topeka High – Sanders 32 run (Triplet kick)
Dodge City – Burillo 50 pass from Ochs (Tagle kick)
Dodge City – Williams 55 interception return (Tagle kick)
Topeka High – Ferguson 20 pass from Filbeck (Triplet kick)
Dodge City – Perez-Martinez 4 run (Tagle kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Dodge City: Carrillo 4-8, Rich 4-35, Reyes-Urbana 5-33, Ochs 10-92, Perez-Martinez 8-39, Ramirez 3-15, McElgunn 1-8. Topeka High: Dowd 12-39, Filbeck 7-38, Collins 4-35, Sanders 8-88, Stewart 1-(minus)3.
Passing – Dodge City: Ochs 9-13-0 119 yards. Topeka High: Filbeck 3-6-1 63 yards.
Receiving – Dodge City: Williams 3-23, Reyes-Urbana 4-43, Ruiz 1-3, Burillo 1-50. Topeka High: Arnold 1-5, Erby 1-38, Ferguson 1-20.
Punting – Dodge City: Carrillo 1-46.0. Topeka High: Stamper 5-33.4.
