The Garden Plain Owls JV football team got their first win Monday night against the visiting Medicine Lodge Indians. GP had to overcome a big deficit in the second half, being down 12-0 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. It definitely wasn’t pretty, but the Owls were able to come out with a win.
On seven of their first half drives, they had four turnovers and one punt. Two of the turnovers came with under a minute to go. A scoop and score plus a long Hail Mary resulted in Medicine Lodge going up 12-0 at halftime.
An electric home crowd fell silent as the teams regrouped during halftime. The Owls have only three juniors on this year’s JV roster. All three of the juniors are leaders, and helped get the team’s mind right going into the second half.
Late in the third quarter, the Owls struck paydirt for the first time on the night with a touchdown run by freshman Jack Helten. With a two point conversion, the Owls found themselves within striking distance going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, freshman running back Brant Long followed sophomore wide receiver Hunter Hayden’s blocks, to put the Owls into the redzone. Only a few plays later, Long found the endzone for one of his two fourth quarter scores.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Owls were able to wrap up Medicine Lodge for a minimal gain. The Indians couldn’t get anything going on offense, and a big interception by Riley Simons helped the Owls put the game on the back burner.
Following the interception, Long found his way into the endzone for his second score of the night. With little time left, the Owls were up by ten points. Medicine Lodge couldn’t believe what had happened, as Garden Plain had come back from down double digits to win in regulation.
Many praises were given after the game, but none bigger than defensive end Gabe Stuhlsatz. Coming off of a concussion the week before, he was fired up and ready to go as soon as the whistle blew. Racking up well over ten tackles, and was giving the Medicine Lodge offensive line all kinds of fits.
The perimeter run game for the Owls was great in the second half, thanks to great blocking from junior tight end Blake Butterfield, and sophomore wide receiver Hunter Hayden. Running back Riley Simons was able to spring many long runs, and help move the Owls down the field.
Garden Plain takes pride in their JV teams, hoping they can turn into varsity athletes in the years to come. While the competition might not be the same as at the varsity level, the Owls are always looking to win. “Every week,” says freshman cornerback Trevor Catlin, “It’s about being better than the week before.”
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