By GARRETT WELLBROCK
Tiger Media Network
GRAINFIELD, Kan. — Logan-Palco head coach Mike Jenner admitted his team didn’t come out firing on all cylinders. But once the Trojans settled in, they looked the part of a district contender in a 50-0 win at Wheatland-Grinnell on Friday night.
“I thought we came out kind of sluggish, the way we’ve started every game this year,” Jenner said. “When we decided to block and go to the whistle, we started rolling and did what we are capable of doing. If we can correct those mistakes and start coming out of the gate strong, the sky is the limit to what this team can do.”
The Trojans (3-1) got a spark early from junior quarterback and defensive back Taden Gottschalk, who ripped the ball away from a Thunderhawk receiver and returned it 44 yards for the opening score.
Gottschalk added three rushing touchdowns, while seniors Carson Knipp and Case Ashmore also found the end zone as Logan-Palco piled up 242 yards on the ground.
Jenner credited his defense for setting the tone against a Wheatland-Grinnell offense that was limited to six rushing yards and 0-for-10 on third down.
“Our defense made good adjustments to what was being thrown at them,” Jenner said. “Coach Briggs had his guys come out and play very physical, and they threw about every trick play they could think of at us.”
Despite the shutout loss, Thunderhawks head coach Bryant Briggs found positives in how his team competed.
“I feel like our kids played hard and did some things right,” Briggs said. “Our two 8-man games have kind of started the same. We start off strong and hit hard, but by the middle of the second quarter and second half, we get pretty worn out. I’m really happy with how hard we play, and defensively we do our assignments and play physical.”
Still, Briggs acknowledged that consistency remains the next step for his group, which fell to 2-2.
“A couple key things we need to work on are consistency and continuous improvement on individually getting better,” Briggs said. “We are pretty excited for our future and the foundation we are laying.”
The Trojans led 36-0 at halftime and never looked back, closing out their second straight win in decisive fashion.
This story was written as part of INF 322: Sports Writing, a course in the Department of Informatics at Fort Hays State University.