Hayden ground attack chews up Andover Central
ANDOVER – A missed scoring opportunity early in the second quarter Friday figured to weigh heavily on its own for Andover Central.
But it also meant the Jaguars again had to deal with the steady steamroller that was Topeka Hayden’s offense.
In the end, Central faced way too much of Hayden’s physical Wing-T rushing attack, surrendering 419 yards on the ground as Hayden prevailed 38-29 in a battle of ranked Class 4A-I teams at Andover District Stadium.
Running backs Connor Schumacher, Daniel Gaito and Connor Hobart all reached 100 yards for No. 3 Hayden, which also earned a key District 6 victory.
“We knew what was coming,” said Andover Central coach Tom Audley, whose fourth-ranked Jaguars fell to 5-2. “We just didn’t do a very good job of dealing with it. We weren’t as physical as we needed to be.”
Schumacher led the way for Hayden (6-1) with 21 carries for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Gaito, a fullback, added 111 yards and three touchdowns and Hobart finished with 100 yards as the Wildcats ran 74 plays to Central’s 39.
“We wanted to burn as much clock as we could tonight,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “That’s one of the most explosive offense you’ll see in Kansas.”
Arnold got his wish from the start, as Hayden took its opening drive 71 yards in 12 plays for a 6-0 lead on the first of Gaito’s three short touchdown runs.
But Central flashed the big play ability that Arnold feared, taking a 7-6 lead on the first of quarterback Peyton Huslig’s four touchdown passes, a 27-yard strike under pressure to Isaac Anthemides.
But Huslig also lost two fumbles, the first after he appeared to have a first down on a third-and-15 scramble from Hayden’s 20. As Huslig got near the goal line, a Hayden defender poked the ball free and the Wildcats’ Caden Campion recovered at Hayden’s 8 to stop the drive.
Hayden then went on its signature drive, covering 92 yards in 13 plays. The Wildcats threw only once on the march, but it was effective, as Schumacher took quarterback Dallas Crittenden’s short toss, broke a tackle and ran 38 yards to the Central 5.
Gaito scored two plays later to help Hayden build a 20-7 halftime lead.
“That was a momentum changer,” Schumacher said. “That’s a powerful offense that we played. But our offensive line really controlled their d-line and made good holes for me and the other guys.”
Hayden sandwiched two third-quarter touchdowns around another Central turnover to take a 32-7 lead. Huslig tried to rally the Jaguars with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Birch and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to Darraja Parnell. But Hayden, which had 25 first downs, played keep away long enough.
“We’re just going to have to get more physical if we’re going to make much of a run in (Class) 4A-I,” Audley said.
T. Hayden | 6 | 14 | 12 | 6 | — | 38 |
A. Central | 7 | 0 | 7 | 15 | — | 29 |
TH—Gaito 1 run (kick failed)
AC—Anthemides 27 pass from Huslig (C. Schoonover kick)
TH—Schumacher 32 run (pass failed)
TH—Gaito 3 run (Dodd pass from Crittenden)
TH—Gaito 4 run (run failed)
TH—Schumacher 1 run (run failed)
AC—Birch 10 pass from Huslig (C. Schoonover kick)
TH—Schumacher 28 run (kick failed)
AC—Parnell 49 pass from Huslig (C. Schoonver kick)
AC—Parnell 18 pass from Huslig (Huslig run)
Individual Statistics
Rushing—Topeka Hayden, Schumacher 21-170, Gaito 24-111, Hobart 11-100, Stringer 5-45, Smith 1-4, Crittenden 5-(-11). Andover Central, Birch 15-62, Huslig 6-12, C. Schoonover 1-1.
Passing—Topeka Hayden, Crittenden, 4-7-54-1. Andover Central, Huslig 11-17-211-0.
Receiving—Topeka Hayden, Schumacher 1-38, Davidson 1-7, Hobart 1-5, Peavler 1-4. Andover Central, Parnell 4-127, Taylor 3-42, Anthemides 1-27, Birch 2-11, Cusick 1-4.
This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Hayden ground attack chews up Andover Central."