Broncos notch 54-14 win over South Platte

    The Wauneta-Palisade football team put a check mark in the win column Friday night with a 54-14 drubbing of South Platte.
    The game got off to a rough start with the teams trading turnovers, including an interception by WP’s Grant Walker.
    From there, the Broncos were off and running.
    Hunter Miner put WP on the board with a 49-yard touchdown reception from Garrett Hanna to cap a four-play drive.
    The Broncos were stingy on defense all evening, including early in the game when WP held on fourth and seven, giving the offense back the ball on the 40-yard line.
    Seven plays later WP found itself with fourth and goal on the four-yard line. Kyle Jutten ran the ball into the end zone to give WP a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter.
    Once more the Broncos held on fourth and seven and, once more, the offense found the end zone. A 33-yard pass from Hanna to Michael Duvel set up a one-yard touchdown run by Jutten.
    After the Knights scored on a 20-yard pass play, WP took a 24-8 lead on a 39-yard catch and run by Miner.
    Miner shut down South Platte’s chance at another first-half touchdown with an interception right before halftime.
    WP started off the second half with five rushes before Miner found the end zone on a 29-yard touchdown reception.
    After forcing a three and out by the Knights, the Broncos kept the pedal down on offense. Jutten broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run to end third quarter scoring.
    South Platte scored its final touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but WP still had plenty left in its tank.
    Walker scored on an 18-yard pass from Hanna that gave the Broncos enough cushion to send its starters to the bench.
    As younger Broncos took to the field, Ashton Wheeler scored on fourth quarter touchdown runs of five and 43 yards and Trey McCrumb had a fumble return late in the game.
    WP Co-Head Coach Joseph Frecks said he and his fellow coaches were proud of the level of intensity that was maintained as kids came into the game for the first time.
    “The players did a great job of playing aggressively on offense and defense. That experience will benefit us greatly moving forward,” Frecks said.
    Hanna completed 12-16 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns.
    Frecks said the Broncos didn’t do anything differently, just continued to work on improving.
    “Garrett threw the ball well, the backs and line blocked well, and receivers did a great job of getting open and catching the ball! That success was truly a team effort,” Frecks said.
    Four receptions and three of those touchdowns went to Miner, who totaled 131 receiving yards.
    Jutten led WP in rushing with 107 yards on 20 carries. Jutten also had four tackles for loss.
    The Broncos held South Platte to 213 yards of offense and eight first downs, while forcing three turnovers and 11 tackles for loss.
    “We were very proud of the defense and have been all year,” Frecks said, complimenting the team on doing  a great job of reading their keys and aggressively getting to the football.
    “We tackled well as a team and caused some turnovers which was great,” he added.
Up next
    Now 1-2, WP will travel to Harrisburg to take on 0-2 Banner County Friday. The Wildcats have lost 7-28 to Minatare and 7-75 to Crawford.
    Frecks said Banner County is a young team, it returns everyone from their team last year.
    The Broncos shut out Banner County last year, but Frecks said  they look to be improved from a year ago.
    “They will be a well coached bunch. Our focus this week is to build on the positive momentum we gained on Friday and get better as a team,” he added.

Stats at a glance
Team Totals    WP    SP
Total Plays     50     58
Total Yards     459     213
Passing Yards     252     97
Rushing Yards     207     116
First Downs     15     8
Third Down Efficiency     8-11    4-14
Fourth Down Efficiency     1-2    0-6
Turnovers     1     3
Fumbles Lost     1     1
Interceptions Thrown     0     2
Penalties     6-28    4-43
Tackles (tackles-assists-sacks-TFL)—Kyle Jutten, 5-3-1-4; Grant Walker, 5-2-2; Hunter Miner, 4-4-0; Colby Hoskovec, 4-1-0; Aidan Kennicutt, 3-1-2; Garrett Hanna, 2-2-2; Ashton Wheeler, 2-1-0; Michael Duvel, 2-5-0; Conner Bryner, 2-3-1; Jacksen Littrel, 2-3-1-0; Laiden Lawler, 1-1-0; Nathan Blackman, 1-2-0; Wyatt Muths, 0-2-0.
Rushing (attempts-yards-TD)—Jutten, 20-107-3; Wheeler, 4-57-2; Walker, 2-15-0; Lawler, 2-14-0; Bryner, 3-14-0.
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-TD-INT)—Hanna, 12-16-4-0.
Receiving (receptions-yards-TD)—Miner, 4-131-3; Duvel, 5-77-0; Walker, 3-44-1.
Scoring
First Quarter
WP: Hunter Miner 59-Yd-Pass from Garrett Hanna (Conversion no good)
Second Quarter
WP: Kyle Jutten 4-Yd Run (Conversion no good)
WP: Jutten 1-Yd Run (Conversion no good)
SP: 20-Yd Pass (Two-Point Conversion)
WP: Miner 39-Yd Pass from Hanna (Conversion no good)
Third Quarter
WP: Miner 29-Yd Pass from Hanna (Conversion no good)
WP: Jutten 42-Yd Run (Conversion no good)
Fourth Quarter
SP: 20-Yd Pass (Conversion no good)
WP: Grant Walker 18-Yd Pass from Hanna (Conversion no good)
WP: Ashton Wheeler 5-Yd Run (Conversion no good)
WP: Wheeler 43-Yd Run (Conversion no good)
Score by quarters:
WP    6    18    12    18—54
South Platte    0    8    0    6—14