By Fred Solis
The Hutchinson Tribune
HAVEN—Haven was less than 53 seconds away from a victory over Garden Plain last Friday when the Owls scored on a 16-yard Jaxx Dreiling-to-Hunter Kampling pass to upend the previously undefeated Wildcats 27-24.
The Wildcats responded with their final drive from their own 20, picking up three first downs as they battled the clock and the Owls’ defense to try to pull out a win.
But the final play, a multi-lateral affair, came with 3.4 seconds left on the game clock and fell short as Garden Plain escaped with the victory.
The game was a clash between two top-ranked 2A teams—Haven, No. 4, entered the game 6-0, while No. 5 Garden Plain was 5-1.
Garden Plain took the opening kickoff and got on the board on a 5-yard run by Wyatt Stuhlsatz at 8:49 in the first quarter. But Haven answered in their first possession on senior quarterback Brogan Wray’s 1-yard plunge at 5:53 to even the score at 7.
The Owls regained the lead on Dreiling’s run to the outside with 39 ticks left on the first-quarter clock to go up 14-7. Garden Plain had 318 total yards in the game, with 266 coming on the ground.
The Wildcats evened the score after taking over the ball on downs on their own 40 and marching to the Owls’ 2-yard line, where Wray hit Jake Thalmann for a touchdown pass.
Haven’s leading receiver on the night was Zade Turner with 79 yards on nine catches. Braxton Hoopes was close behind with 72 yards on six receptions, and Thalmann had two catches for 18 yards.
Wray was 20-of-30 in passes for 174 yards and a TD. The Wildcats picked up 130 yards on the ground with Cole Brawner leading Haven rushers with 106 yards on 25 touches.
Haven then used an onside kick to get the ball back and tacked on a 34-yard field goal by Kolton Altvater to take a 17-14 lead with 2:32 to go in the first half.
Up by three points to start the second half, Haven extended the lead to 24-14 on Wray’s second touchdown of the night, a 3-yard run, at 8:43 in the third quarter.
Two possessions later Shuhlsatz scored from the 1-yard line with 1:49 left in the third period. Wray blocked the extra-point attempt, though, and the Owls trailed 24-20.
Haven and Garden Plain fought to a stalemate throughout most of the fourth quarter until the final minute of play, when Dreiling connected with Kampling for the go-ahead touchdown and the win.
“We played hard. We knew it was going to be a battle,” said Haven Coach Thomas Cooprider. “We played hard the whole way down the stretch. We just stopped. We didn’t execute the way we needed to at the end, and that’s what lost us the ball game.
“All eyes on Halstead now. We gotta go get it done,” Cooprider added.
The Wildcats travel to Halstead on Friday, Oct. 23, for a 7 p.m. game.