By John Mesh
Friday night at Gowans Stadium was Gold Rush Shirt Night and Hometown Heroes Night at Gowans Stadium. Active and retired military members were admitted free.
It also was “Kade Smith Night” as the Hutchinson High School senior fullback ran through Valley Center’s defense for 228 yards on 35 carries and two 1-yard touchdowns to lead the Salthawks to a 13-0 shutout over Valley Center.
“I was very impressed with Kade,” said Hutchinson coach Mike Vernon on his radio postgame show. “We had two sophomores at tackle and tried to simplify things on offense. We need to hold on to the ball better.”
Smith scored on a 1-yard run for the only touchdown of the first half with 6:19 left in the first quarter. Taysen Runyon kicked the extra point.
Smith, who rushed for 100 yards in the Salthawks’ season-opening 37-7 loss to Andover Central in Week 1, had 120 yards at halftime against Valley Center.
He also had a 49-yard run after the ball bounced back in his arms. However, the Salthawks fumbled the ball away on the next play.
Smith scored on another 1-yard TD run with 10:47 left in the fourth quarter. Runyon’s extra point kick was blocked.
Hutchinson’s offense rolled up 279 yards in total offense and the Salthawks’ defense limited the Hornets to 42 yards in total offense, including 3 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Hutchinson senior quarterback Levi Kepler completed 4-of-6 passes for 30 yards. Terrell King caught 1 pass for 18 yards and Mitchell Rice caught 1 pass for 10 yards.
Valley Center quarterback Connor Meyer completed 6-of-16 passes for 39 yards.
Vernon said he was impressed with the Hutchinson defensive effort.
“There’s a lot of pride on that side (the defense),” Vernon said. “We’ve got to continue to get better.”
The Salthawks (1-1) will hit the road for the next two weeks. Hutchinson plays at Maize next Friday and then plays a Thursday night game on Sept. 26 at Salina South. Maize lost to Andover 27-14 Friday and Salina South lost to Maize South 55-22.
“From what I saw, they (Maize) still have a lot of athletes,” Vernon said.
Valley Center (0-2) hosts Maize South next Friday.
Buhler Crusaders crush Augusta 43-14
Buhler senior running back Ben Clouse rushed for 215 yards on 33 carries and scored four touchdowns (4, 11, 1 and 7 yards) to lead the Buhler Crusaders to a 34-14 victory over Augusta Friday night at Augusta.
Nick Gazaway added a 6-yard TD run and quarterback Brendan Scripsick threw a 5-yard TD pass. Scripsick passed for 46 yards and Carter Jones ran for 37. Jaxon Pratt caught 2 passes for 22 yards and Cash Carson 1 for 14.
Buhler’s Jacob Miller made 5 tackles, including 2 tackles for losses. Pratt had 1 quarterback sack.
Buhler plays at Great Bend next Friday. Great Bend defeated Olathe South 26-14.
Haven football team downs Nickerson 56-8
The Haven Wildcats improved to 2-0 with a 56-8 victory over Nickerson Friday night at Haven.
Haven’s Nash Wray returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown, passed for 100 yards with two TDs and rushed for 71 yards and another TD.
Vance Loop rushed for 95 yards and three TDs. Cole Brawner added a 12-yard TD run. Chandler Ingold caught a 39-yard TD pass and Kolton Altvater caught a 22-yard TD pass.
Rylan Morrell scored Nickerson’s TD on a 14-yard run. He finished with 51 yards rushing. Khristopher Monroe completed 2-of-8 passes for 36 yards. Both passes were caught by Austin Peterson.
Haven rushed for 266 yards and passed for 100 more. Nickerson had 36 yards passing and 47 rushing.
Haven hosts Smoky Valley next Friday while Nickerson hosts Halstead.
Halstead football team falls to Pratt 34-21
The Halstead High School football team lost to Pratt 34-21 Friday night at Halstead.
Pratt led 8-0 after one quarter, 22-6 at halftime and 28-14 after three quarters.
Joey Millspaugh scored Halstead’s first touchdown when he stripped the ball from a Pratt back and ran 60 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was missed.
In the third quarter, Halstead’s Reece Carmichael scored on a 4-yard TD run. A 2-point conversion was good and the Dragons trailed 22-14.
In the fourth quarter, Millspaugh ran for a 2-yard touchdown and Carlos Martinez kicked the extra point to cut the Greenbacks’ lead to 34-21.
Other Hutchinson Tribune area football scores
Hutchinson Trinity lost to Sedgwick 15-2
Inman defeated Wichita Trinity Academy 25-6
Burrton played at Altoona-Midway
Hutchinson Central Christian defeated Canton-Galva 48-0
Reno County Sabres played at Norwich
Pretty Prairie lost to Stafford 30-14
Sterling lost to Moundridge 28-7
Cheney defeated Kingman 40-8
Andale defeated Wellington 56-48
Cunningham defeated Peabody-Burns 54-6
Little River defeated Rural Vista 58-12
Fairfield defeated Pratt-Skyline 30-12
Hutchinson JV soccer team falls to Andover Central
The Hutchinson junior varsity boys soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Andover Central Thursday night at Andover.