Garden City’s big plays hand South first loss

Large chunks of yards were available for the taking Friday night at Carpenter Stadium.

Long passing plays, slashing runs and even a few big plays on special teams were on display. They weren’t often the type of plays that resulted in points, but the biggest one of the night certainly was.

Nursing a one-score lead, Garden City’s Zeke Herrera snagged an interception and danced 20 yards into the end zone for the necessary breathing room, allowing the Buffaloes to take a 21-6 victory over South in a matchup of unbeatens.

“We were in a dogfight, and we knew that it would come down to who could make plays,” Garden City coach Brian Hill said. “That’s what it came down to in the fourth quarter. Our players started making plays.”

It was the second of two big interceptions on the night for the guests, who also started their second touchdown drive of the game thanks to a turnover at midfield late in the third quarter.

That one was safety Tye Davis, who closed in on a South pass and was in the perfect position to grab the pick after the ball tipped off the receiver’s hands. Garden City was able to turn that one into a 56-yard, nine-play drive that stretch the Buffaloes’ lead to a full seven points at 13-6.

“It was an intense ball game and Coach Hill had those kids ready to go,” South coach Kevin Steiner said. “They did better with the details and caused some mistakes out of us, but we made them and helped them win it.”

South appeared to be in business after its stingy defense forced a three-and-out from Garden City to open the game and followed it up with a 46-yard strike down the middle of the field from Evan Kruse to AJ Hopper.

The bomb seemed to jolt the Buffalo defense awake though, and it kept the Titans off the board by holding on 4th-and-5 on its own 11. Garden City got some chunk plays of its own after swinging the momentum in its direction, but still no points.

South took advantage of a different route than big plays after forcing another three-and-out to end the first quarter, embarking on a 13-play drive that covered 78 yards and took over five minutes off the clock. It was a big play that capped it though, as Hopper caught a bubble screen and showcased two nice moves to go 21 yards for the score.

Garden City turned right around with a drive of its own to answer, using a 35-yard kickoff return by Jonathan Gomez to get set up. That started an 11-play, 54-yard jaunt that Jesse Nunez finished with an 8-yard burst, and the PAT gave the Buffaloes the 7-6 lead.

Both teams looked ready to follow that same pattern on their first drives of the second half, but although they would bend, neither defense would break.

South was working a nice opening stretch before Demarcus Elliott halted that with two straight sacks. The Titans responded by forcing another punt, but fumbled the ball away near midfield. The teams then traded interceptions, but only Garden City was able to cash in on theirs.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Garden City’s big plays hand South first loss."