Ganado welcomed Kenedy to Indian Stadium for their Homecoming game. The Indians controlled the game for three quarters; however, a late surge by the Lions forced the Indians into a closer game than they had liked. Nevertheless, they managed to take the win by a score of 33-27.
Head Football Coach Ervin said, “We’ve got to find a way to finish games and have the knowledge of what’s coming. We have a lot of young guys, and they’re getting better, but we just have to keep working and stay disciplined.”
The Indian offense kicked things off fast.
After returning the kickoff into Kenedy territory, Logan Bures would take a handoff and run through the teeth of the defense from 20 yards out to give Ganado the 7-0 lead. The Lions’ offense took the field but a sack by Cade Nixon would derail the drive and give the ball back.
Kenedy would force a quick punt of their own after a sack of their own would stall the Ganado drive, but it would be for naught as the Indian defense forced another punt of Kenedy.
The Indians would find their rhythm again on offense following the punt, picking up a couple of first downs and getting close to the redzone. Then Landyn Arriaga connected with Austen Pena who took off for the 24 yard touchdown to extend the Ganado lead to 14 points.
Kenedy would finally find the endzone on their following drive as a personal foul penalty would turn a punting situation into a first down, extending the drive and punching it in on a short touchdown run. However, the Indians would answer right back with a score of their own, courtesy of a long touchdown run by Logan Bures, and making it a 21-6 game midway through the second quarter. Following the score, both teams would trade punts, but the Indian defense would manage to come away with two interceptions, one by Cade Nixon, and the other by Sean Willis.
Out of halftime, Kenedy would control the ball for nearly the entire third quarter, but ultimately would come away with nothing as their fourth down attempt in Ganado territory would fail. Ganado would continue to find ways to convert first downs and move into the Kenedy side of the field.
Arriaga found Sean Willis on the screen and he went 33 yards to make it a 27-6 game for the Indians. Kenedy was down but still had ample time to find a response, and that they would find. Following an explosive play that got them deep into Indian territory, they would score on another short rushing touchdown and convert the two point conversion attempt to keep themselves in the contest.
Pena would respond to their score with a score of his own, taking the kickoff from his 20 yard line and going 80 yards the other way for the touchdown, giving the Indians the 33-14 lead. However, the Lions responded with a long kickoff return of their own, taking it up to the Indian two yard line before punching it in again with a short rushing touchdown.
The teams would trade punts before the Lions would find themselves into Indian territory. The Lions found the chunk plays they needed and moved into the red zone, when the quarterback would drop by and find an open receiver, where he would then walk into the end zone, cutting the Indian lead to one score.
Things went from bad to worse for the Indians as they failed to recover an onside kick, meaning Kenedy got the ball back in Indian territory, needing a touchdown and extra point to take the lead. However, the Indian defense would bring extra pressure, and John Utley and Kole Bures would combine on a fourthdown sack to end the game and give the Indians the 33-27 win.
After the game, Cade Nixon spoke on the performance of the team, “We definitely have a lot to work on, but I have faith in my teammates and my coaches that we’ll be able to right the wrongs and come back stronger next week.”
Next week, the Indians travel to Weimar to take on the Wildcats in a big district game with huge playoff implications.
