Print edition: 
EL DORADO— Independence is done. Next up is winless Highland.
Then, yes, it's No. 3 Fort Scott.
But first things first.
Fourth-ranked Butler held the Pirates to 120 yards of offense on the way to a 38-0 win Saturday afternoon, and after opening the season with a loss to No. 1 Blinn the Grizzlies have now reeled off six straight wins.
Now, all that stands between them and a showdown with undefeated, No. 3 Fort Scott on Halloween is a trip to Highland next week.
"Our defense and special teams were good and it gave us the momentum and then we started rolling," Butler coach Troy Morrell said. "We have been trying to keep the kids focused this week and next week because that game with Fort Scott doesn't mean anything if we don't win today and don't win next week."
Butler (6-1 overall, 5-0 Jayhawk) describes its defense as "Chaos Tempo" because it constantly brings linebackers and defensive backs on blitzes. What it meant against the Pirates was six tackles for loss and two sacks. The Grizzlies also forced two interceptions.
"We wanted to come out and play with confidence and with a good tempo," said Butler safety Harrison Dreiling, who recorded a team-high six tackles. "Every play we go hard and get guys to the ball as fast as possible."
Butler scored first — off its defense — when Taylor Beitler picked off Independence quarterback Broderick Waters and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown.
"Our defense played at whole different level today, from beginning to end," Beitler said. "We finished every play."
Independence made it a point to stifle Butler's running game by stacking the line of scrimmage with eight or nine players. That put the onus of the offense on quarterback Ross Dausin.
The sophomore from San Antonio has struggled at times with consistency this season, and that plagued him again against the Pirates. He completed 13 of 32 passes for 172 yards but wasn't helped by a number of drops by Grizzly receivers.
"It was an okay performance from our offense," Morrell said. "Our receivers have to a better job because I thought Ross was better today and the stats don't really show it."
On its first two touchdown-scoring drives, Butler went 69 yards and 80 yards. Lavelle Maddox scored on the first from two yards out to push the Grizzlies' lead to 17-0. On the next series, Dausin found Rico Brazil on a screen pass for a 14-yard touchdown and a 24-0 halftime lead.
"They gave us the pass and we tried to connect and take some chances," Dausin said. "We struggled at times but I thought we made progress and it was one of our better games."
Independence (2-5, 2-4) 0 0 0 0 — 0 Butler (6-1, 5-0) 10 14 7 7 — 38
B—Beitler 42 INT return (Ortiz kick)
B—Ortiz 44 FG
B—Maddox 2 run (Ortiz kick)
B—Brazil 14 pass from Dausin (Ortiz kick)
B—Brazil 8 run (Ortiz kick)
B—Maddox 2 run (Ortiz kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing—Independence, Waters 12-48, Harris 20-26, Wilkens 3-14, Delaney 4-(-2), Juene 2-(-8). Butler, Brazil 9-60, Maddox 10-29, Wilson 6-27, Jacques 6-24, Watkins 1-18, Renderson 2-5, Burns 1-4, Kindel 1-0, Dausin 1-(-1), Cherryholmes 2-(-7).
Passing—Independence, Waters 9-21-42-2, Crosby 0-1-0-0. Butler, Dausin 13-32-173-2, Cherryholmes 0-2-0-0.
Receiving—Independence, Crosby 5-11, Bellinger 3-17, Harris 1-14. Butler, Watkins 1-57, Demps 2-27, Brazil 2-24, Voelker 2-22, Soft 2-14, Davis 1-12, Burns 1-9, Owens 1-7, Maddox 1-1.
