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De Soto hands Tonganoxie football second straight loss

By Evan Riggs - | Sep 26, 2015

Tonganoxie High football coach Al Troyer confirmed what everybody in attendance saw Friday night: His team got bullied up front in a 26-6 loss to the De Soto Wildcats in De Soto.

“We have to be more physical,” Troyer said. “We didn’t get the job done up front and we had to hurry everything because we couldn’t block their nose guard.”

THS sophomore quarterback Mason Beach was sacked five times and Troyer said the blame was on both Beach for holding the ball too long, and the offensive line. When he was able to get passes off, Beach was pretty effective, going 8-for-14 for 101 yards and a touchdown.

The Chieftains (2-2) lost the field position battle and couldn’t run the ball. The Wildcats (3-1) rushed for 180 yards, while the Chieftain rushed for just 23.

“Other than that last drive, we hardly crossed the 50,” Troyer said. “I thought our defense did a really good job for the most part.”

Their opening drive was one of the few times the Wildcats had to drive the length of the field. But senior running back Cooper Lee marched the Wildcats down the field and finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

After three and outs by both teams, the Chieftains took advantage of their second chance to draw even. Beach connected with sophomore running back Zac Morgan for a 21-yard touchdown pass on fourth and long to tie the score 6-6.

“That was a great play,” Troyer said. “Zac made a great play on it. We had a couple of long passes we made plays on tonight.”

On their next drive, the Wildcats once again marched the ball down the field behind strong running from both Lee and junior fullback Mason Clark. After a fumbled snap on the one-yard line, Clark powered his way through the Chieftains’ defensive line for a one-yard touchdown to take a 13-6 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Chieftains’ defense did everything in their power to keep the team in the game while the offense stalled. After a failed recovery on an onside kick, they forced a three and out. But after two sacks, the Chieftains’ were forced to punt from inside their own 20.

After a punt by Beach for no yards, the Chieftain’s defense forced another three-and out. But on a missed 46-yard field goal for the Wildcats, the Chieftains were called for a personal foul, giving the Wildcats a first down.

On the next play, Clark fumbled on the six-yard line and Tonganoxie recovered it. But after a quick three and out and another short punt by Beach, the Wildcats quickly got the ball back in Chieftain territory.

On the first play of the Wildcats drive, a bad snap cost them 20 yards, setting up second down and 30 from the 39. But for the second time on Friday night, the Chieftains were unlucky on another fumble. Thompson mishandled a handoff, but picked up the fumble and ran 39 yards for a Wildcat touchdown to take a 20-6 lead.

“We missed four tackles on that big run,” Troyer said. “We just have to get fundamentally better.”

In the fourth quarter, Wildcat junior defensive back Chance Montgomery intercepted Beach, and Clark ran for a touchdown on the next play to seal the 26-6 win for the Wildcats.

“We just have to continue to grow,” Troyer said. “Mainly, we have to get things done up front.”

The Chieftains will try to break a two-game losing streak Friday when they travel to Bishop Ward.