MORAN — A hotly anticipated early season matchup gave fans of both schools everything they wanted and more Friday evening.
When the dust settled, host Marmaton Valley High capped a thrilling comeback, outscoring visiting Crest High 24-8 in the fourth quarter to win 46-42.
The victory wasn’t secure until Marmaton Valley’s Daylen Houk plowed in from two yards out with 3:11 left in the game to take a 44-42 lead. Cole Becker’s two-point run pushed the margin to four.
Wildcat defensive Back Carlos Gonzales then stepped in front of a Kyle Hammond pass at the Marmaton Valley 20-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to erase Crest’s final scoring chance.
Marmaton Valley’s Cole Becker promptly followed the pick with an 18-yard run, enough to allow Marmaton Valley to kneel on the ball and run out the clock.
Becker’s run was fitting. The senior tailback steamrolled his way to 324 yards on the ground on 34 carries. As a team, Marmaton Valley churned out 487 rushing yards.
“I thought our offensive line played very well,” Wildcat head coach Kent Houk said. “I can remember one play where Nathan Smart (offensive lineman) was blocking 30 yards downfield on a run. He blocked his tail off tonight.”
Crest looked every bit like it was headed for the win column, taking advantage of Marmaton Valley miscues in the first half to take the lead, then extending its advantage on several long pass and run plays in the third quarter.
Kyle Hammond, again, was at the center of it all for Crest. Hammond rushed touchdowns covering 29 and 57 yards, completed touchdowns covering 63 and 31 yards to Jordan Morton and running back a Wildcat kickoff 75 yards for another score.
Hammond’s 57-yard run with 10:04 left in the game put the Lancers on top 42-30.
But Marmaton Valley adjusted its formations slightly in the second half, Houk said, which forced Crest to move Hammond from safety to a linebacker position.
“Crest played hard,” Coach Houk said.
Lancer head coach Brent Smith was disappointed in the outcome, but optimistic about what lies ahead.
“We became a better football team tonight,” Smith said. “Tonight, the guys saw what they were capable of. The spectators who watched got to see what probably was one of the better football games in southeast Kansas.”
Hammond gave Crest a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter before Marmaton Valley’s Jimmy Frye scored on a 12-yard run with 4:44 left in the first. Frye’s two-point run gave the Wildcats an 8-6 lead.
Marmaton Valley lost two other scoring opportunities on downs in Lancer territory in the first half, and a muffed punt return set up Crest at midfield midway through the second quarter. An offside penalty gave Crest a key first down, then Hammond plowed over on a six-yard run on a fourth-and-three play a short while later. That led to Morton’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Brock Ellis with 4:34 left in the half.
