The Hays High Indians and Wamego Red Raiders ended the 2017 regular season Friday night with a playoff spot on the line. The situation was simple…winner moves on the 4A-D1 playoffs.

Each team made a mistake in the first half that allowed the other to score. Will Sennett gathered in his first career interception to set Hays up at the 22 yard line. The Indians lost 12 yards on the first play but converted on fourth and two and then on third and goal scored a two yard touchdown as Hunter Brown carried it in for the touchdown. The Logan Clark extra point gave the Indians a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Hays mistake came late in the second quarter. The Indians lost 20 yards on a punt snap over the head of Clark that was covered at the two yard line. Wamego’s Alex Vontz scored one play later, but Wamego failed on the two point conversion with :30 left in the half for a 7-6 half time score.

Highlights

Wamego took the lead on an 85 yard punt return for a touchdown. The failed two point conversion left the score at 12-7. Hays answered back in the first minute of the fourth quarter on a four yard touchdown run. A blocked extra point left Hays with a 13-12 lead at 11:21 remaining.

Wamego completed four passes on their next possession, scoring on a 51 yard pass to grab the lead back at 18-13 following another failed two point attempt with 10:13 remaining. Hays took over in Wamego territory following a short punt by the Red Raiders, but the Indians threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and a 24-13 lead with 3:09 left.

Hunter Brown finished off an 85 yard drive over the next minute to bring the score back to 24-21 following a Brown two point conversion. Wamego recovered the onside kick, picked up two first downs and finished the game taking two knees.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays ends their season at 3-6. Wamego improves to 5-4 and moves on the 4A-D1 playoffs as district runner-up.

Hays High traveled to Abilene on Friday night for what pretty much was a must win game for both teams in the playoff scenario.
Hays used a pair of touchdown runs from Hayden Brown to take a 15-0 lead to the locker room. The Indian’s sophomore scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 51 yard scamper on third down. A penalty on Abilene put the two point try at the one yard line allowing Keaton Markley to add the two point conversion.

Hays drove the ball into the red zone later in the first quarter but were turned away on downs one yard short of the end zone. Two plays later Keaton Markley picked up a fumble at the Abilene 15. Four plays later Brown scored from the five yard to give the Indians a 15-0 lead following the Logan Clark PAT.

Abilene twice had the ball in the Indian red zone in the first half following a fumble and blocked punt, but lost the ball on downs each time.

Highlights

Keaton Markley took the first play of the second half 63 yards for a touchdown and a 22-0 lead after the Clark PAT. Abilene then held the ball for the next 9:10 covering 70 yards in 18 plays but where turned away in the red zone at the three. Hays then drove 97 yards over the next 6:00 on 16 plays capped off with a Will Sennett to Mason Ibarra 22 yard touchdown pass. The hook up gave Hays a 29-0 lead.

The Indians capped the night on a Hunter Brown 20 yard touchdown run for the 36-0 victory.

Abilene had the ball four times in the Hays High red zone and lost the ball on each of the four possessions.

Coach Randall Rath

Keaton Markley and Hayden Brown each rushed for over 100 yards, Markley 132 yards and Brown with 126 yards.
Hays improves to 3-5 over all this season and 1-1 in district play. Abilene falls to 2-6 and 0-2. McPherson beat Wamego 47-0. McPherson is 2-0 in districts and Wamego falls to 1-1 in the district and 4-4.

District Standings
McPherson 2-0 +42
Hays 1-1 +0
Wamego 1-1 -20
Abilene 0-2 -22

Friday night marked both the opening of district play and homecoming for Hays High. The Indians hosted #5 McPherson in the first of three games to determine which four teams from the district goes to the 4A-D1 playoffs.

McPherson started four of their seven first half drives in Hays High territory and took a 22-0 nothing lead into the locker room at half time. McPherson scored on runs of thirteen and eight yards then a nine yard pass to take their lead.

Highlights

McPherson controlled the second half getting the clock to a continuous clock in the 3rd quarter after scoring 15 continues points without the offense on the field. The Bullpups scored on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, a safety and then a 61 yard kick off return for a touchdown. Leading 48-0 the difference in the score started the continuous clock for the remainder of the game.

The Indians lone score came when freshman Lane Becker split the defense for a 25 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the final 48-6 margin.

Hays travels to Abilene next week to take on the Cowboys in district play. Hays falls to 2-5 on the year. McPherson is now 6-1. Wamego beat Abilene in overtime 28-27. McPherson and Wamego will face off at 1-0 in district play and Hays and Abilene will enter 0-1.

Hays High concluded their Western Athletic Conference schedule at Dodge City on Friday night with a chance to keep their name in the hunt for a conference crown. The start of the game was delayed by over two and half hours due to lightning at the stadium.

By the time the game started after 9:30 neither team could get into an offensive rhythm. Dodge City did reach the red zone one time but lost the ball on downs.

Highlights

Dodge City opened the second half with their best drive of the game. Beau Foster hit John Johnson for a 20 yard touchdown to cap a nine play 80 yard drive. The extra point missed leaving the score at 6-0. After punting the football back to Dodge City, the Hays defense picked off quarterback Beau Foster for a second time in the game. Hayden Brown returned the ball to the eight yard line. Mason Ibarra had picked off a pass in the first half.

Hays could not punch the ball into the end zone on their first three plays following the Brown interception. However on the fourth down field goal attempt and bobbled snap turned into a touchdown when Hunter Brown found Palmer Hutchison in the back of the end zone. Logan Clark’s extra point gave Hays a 7-6 lead in the third quarter.

Neither team could score an offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter and Hays had the football with less than four minutes to go. The Indians though fumbled the football which Dodge City returned for a touchdown and a 12-7 lead. Hays did not reach mid-field on their final drive and fell 12-7 just before the clock struck midnight.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays falls to 2-4 on the year and finishes 2-2 in the conference. Dodge City is 3-3 after the win and is 1-1 in WAC action. Hays opens up district play next week hosting McPherson on Friday for homecoming.

The Hays High Indians played a rare game against Valley Center on Friday night. It was only the third game in the series history. Valley Center had won both of the prior games, a regular season game in 2016 and a playoff game in 1995 under coach Larry Mills.
Hays took the game’s opening possession down to the 20 yard line but lost the ball on downs. Valley Center was forced to punt but received the ball back after a fumble and scored three plays later to go up 7-0.

Valley Center scored on their next possession after an Indian punt to go up 14-0 early in the second quarter. The teams traded punts and turnovers for the remainder of the half. The Indian’s Keaton Markley intercepted a second pass of the first half and returned it to the Valley Center 30 yard line. Hays converted on a fourth and two to keep a drive alive that ended with a Hunter Brown to Hayden Brown five yard touchdown hook up. The touchdown with thirteen seconds left before half time put the score at 14-7 at the break.

Highlights

Hays never could gain traction in the second half filled with high tempers that included an ejection of a Valley Center player in the fourth quarter. The Hornets scored 10 points on a 27 yard field goal after the Indians threw an interception to go up 17-7. Then the Hornets hit their biggest play of the game on a 62 yard touchdown pass to win 24-7.
Hays falls to 2-3 and heads back onto the road next week to Dodge City to finish Western Athletic Conference play. Valley Center improves to 5-0 on the year.

The Hays High Indians put their Western Athletic Conference lead on the line Friday night against undefeated Garden City. Hays entered the game at 2-0 on conference play. It was the first league game for Garden City on the season.

The teams played to a stalemate through most of the first half. Garden City had the best chance to score in the first quarter but missed a short field goal off the cross bar when Hays got pressure up the middle of the attempt. Hays had trouble moving the ball and never crossed the midfield stripe. The Indian’s best play of the first quarter on a 27 yard screen was called back on a penalty.

Garden City found pay dirt on the final drive of the first half on 21 yard touchdown pass from Garret Doll to David Arteaga when the Hays defense had a breakdown leaving the receiver open in the end zone. The touchdown with 1:49 left in the half gave Garden City a 7-0 lead at halftime.

Highlights

Hays held Garden City to an 18 yard punt into the wind after three plays to open the second half. Hays moved the ball into field goal range on the ensuing possession and Logan Clark hit a 33 yard field goal making the score 7-3. That would be all the scoring for the night.

Garden City moved to the Hays 38 yard line but missed on a fourth down pass to give Hays the ball back. The Indians were forced into a punting situation on the drive and on fourth down was called for an ineligible man down field on a screen pass out of the punting formation.

The two teams continued to trade punches when Hays finally got the ball back with 52 second left. Hunter Brown converted 4th down on a ten yard pass to Palmer Hutchison and then hit Keaton Markley for 11 yards. Garden City was called for a personal foul on the play giving Hays eight seconds for one play. The game ended with a Garden City in the end zone and freezing the scoreboard at 7-3.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays falls to 2-2 on the season and 2-1 in the WAC. Garden City is now 4-0 and 1-0. Hays travels to 4-0 Valley Center next week.

The Hays High Indians took their first road test of the 2017 with a trip to Liberal on Friday night.

The Indian defense allowed just 48 yards in the first half and forced a Liberal team to punt on four of their first five possessions.  The other Redskin drive was stopped on a fumble recovery by Logan Schulte.

Hays took their first possession to the end zone on a fourth down and one reverse by Keaton Markley.  The 26 yard touchdown run and Logan Clark extra point put Hays up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Neither team scored the remainder of the half.  The Indians did get to the red zone but threw an interception on third down.  Hays also fumbled the ball away on the first play of the drive.

Highlights

Hays continued to control the Liberal offense in the second half never allowing the Redskins to reach the red zone.  Hays pushed their lead up to 13-0 following a Hunter Brown five yard run to cap a 7 play 68 yard drive.

Brown then picked off a pass on a deep pass to set up Hays at their own four yard line.  The Indians drove the 96 yards on ten plays capped off by a Brown seven yard run to take a 20-0 lead.  Liberal’s final drive was intercepted by Hayden Brown.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays held Liberal to just 150 total yards and gained 263 yards of their own.  Keaton Markley led the way with 123 yards on just eight carries.  All of the Indian’s offense came on the ground.

Hays improves to 2-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.  Liberal falls to 2-1 and 0-1 in the WAC.  Hays will host Garden City next week.

Following a week one set back Hays looked to bounce back with a second straight home game as they took on Great Bend Friday night. It was the first game of the Western Athletic Conference season.

Neither team scored in the first half though each team did have an opportunity to do so. Hays took the opening possession 63 yards on 13 plays but lost the ball on downs at the Great Bend 27. The two teams traded punts then the Panthers went on a long drive. Great Bend went 15 plays, converting on two fourth downs, taking the ball down to the Indian ten before losing the ball on downs at the 17. Those two long drives between the Indians and Panthers totaled 17:29 of the 24 first half minutes.

Hightlights

Hays struck first in the third quarter when Hunter Brown hits Keaton Markley on 4th and 13 for a 28 yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead. Great Bend answered right back scoring on the first play of the 4th quarter to tie the game 7-7. Hays took the ensuing possession 80 yards over 12 plays to grab a 14-7 lead with 6:31 remaining.

Great Bend turned the ball over for a second time on the next possession setting up Hays on the Panther 34 yard line. Hays thought lost 15 yards on a penalty then threw an interception on second down.

Great Bend drove the field to tie the score at 14 with 1:55 remaining. The Indians could not do anything with their next possession and Great Bend took over at the 33 yard line. The defense held forcing a 43 yard field goal which missed wide left.

Great Bend scored on the opening possession of overtime but missed the extra point when the snap bounced to the holder leaving the score at 20-14. Hunter Brown kept the ball on each of the three runs that led to a three yard touchdown run to tie the game at 20. Following a timeout from the Panthers Trey VanPelt sent back a perfect snap to Hunter Brown and Logan Clark nailed the game winning kick for a 21-20 victory.

Coach Randall Rath

Brown carried the ball 23 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. The Panther’s Gage Fritz ran 24 times for 101 yards.

Hays is 1-1 and 1-0 in the WAC. Great Bend falls to 1-1 and 0-1.

Hays is on the road in Liberal next week.

The Hays High Indian cross country teams were at Hesston Thursday for one of the most unique races of the year. At the Swather Special runners compete against their class only. Freshman run against freshman and so on through seniors. Classifications were also combined with a small class and large class division. 1-2-3A were all put together and 4-5-6A were grouped together.

Claire Shippy placed 13th in the freshman division. Christina Leos was 17th and Kassie Zimmer 18th in the same division. Dawson VonFeldt was 4th on the Freshman boys side. Yesenia Maldonado was 5th in the sophomore girls division. Justice Dotts led the sophomore boys with a 20th place finish.

Tana Herreman was 18th in the senior girls division. The Hays girls finished in 9th overall…the boys were 14th.

Hays High will host their own invitational on Thursday, September 14th.

HAYS, Kan. – Hays High opened up the season with Scott City on Friday night with a 29-8 loss. Scott City engineered a 16 play drive that extended into the the first play of the second quarter to take a 3-0 lead on a 26 yard field goal. It was a lead they would never give up. Scott City scored on their next possession but missed the extra point for a 9-0 lead.

Hunter Brown intercepted a pass at the three yard line right before halftime, but Scott City answered with an interception of their own that the Beavers returned to end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was good to give Scott City a 16-0 lead.

Highlights

Hays forced a fumble and recovered it on the first play of the second half. Two plays later Will Sennett completed a wide receiver pass to Mason Ibarra for a touchdown. Hunter Brown completed a pass to Palmer Hutchison for a two point conversion and a 16-8 score. Hays took over at the Scott City 45 yard line following a Beaver punt after just three plays. Hays went for eight yards on the first play of the drive but was called for holding and the drive stalled.

Coach Randall Rath

Scott City scored the final 13 points of the game and completed the 29-8 win. Hays falls to 0-1. Scott City moves to 1-0. Hays was held to just 97 yards of offense. Scott City put together 271 yards. Each team finished with two turnovers.

Hays plays host to Great Bend next Friday.

The Hays High Indians football team took the field Monday morning in helmets to open up the fall season. Coach Randall Rath in his third season worked on installing new working parts on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. In all 53 players took the field on the first day of practice.

Coach Randall Rath

Hays is coming off a 2-7 season that did not include a Western Athletic Conference victory. This season will open with back to back home games, the first against Scott City on September 1st. This will also be the last year of district football to qualify for the playoffs as the post season format changes following this year. Hays will still play McPherson, Abilene, and Wamego for chance to go to the 4A-D1 playoffs. This will also be the final season that 4A-D1 exists.