The visiting Bobcats blew the game open in the final 40 minutes and rolled past the Chieftains, 9-0. Basehor scored six times in the second half, including a hat trick by Stephen Millison.

Tonganoxie dropped to 0-3 on the season.

“In that second half, we didn’t get back on defense when we needed to,” Tonganoxie coach Ken Lott said.

Many of Basehor’s goals came from corner kick opportunities. The Chieftains had trouble defending opposing players near the goal.

“When we’re trying to defend the corner kick, we have people just counting on somebody else,” Lott said. “We had a lot of confusion there.”

It’s been tough for Tonganoxie in recent games. Jamison Bloomer, one of Tonganoxie’s best players, hurt his groin last week against Bonner Springs. Bloomer missed the Basehor-Linwood game, but should return within the week.

Tonganoxie had difficulties establishing clean looks at the goal Thursday. The Chieftains had four shots on goal, as compared to the Bobcats’ 17.

“I think that’s probably our biggest downfall, knowing that we’re not looking for the ball, then touching the ball right away, instead of waiting for it to come down to our feet,” Lott said.

Tonganoxie’s best opportunity to score came off a Basehor foul with about 26 minutes remaining in the game. Since the foul occurred inside the box, Tonganoxie received a penalty kick.

Tanner Newman blasted the penalty kick toward the goal and it appeared to have a shot of finding the back of the net. However, Basehor’s goalkeeper dove to his left and made just enough contact with the ball. It bounced toward Newman’s right and clanked off the goalpost.

“He’s a big, tall goalie and it was hard to get anything past him,” Lott said. “He had quick feet and a lot of range. Those things happen and that’s what the goalie’s there for.”

Scoring summary
First half:
36:59, Basehor goal, Jonas Box (0-1)
32:45, Basehor goal, Tanner Bowers (0-2)
8:11, Basehor goal, Ryan Sirridge (0-3)
Second half:
34:38, Basehor goal, Stephen Millison (0-4)
28:58, Basehor goal, Millison (0-5)
24:16, Basehor goal, Mitchell Kincaid (0-6)
23:04, Basehor goal, Sirridge (0-7)
12:57, Basehor goal, Millison (0-8)
1:07, Basehor goal, Nathan Smith (0-9)