By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
Coming into homecoming, the Hoisington High School football team was 2-0 on the season, after last week’s no-contest with Scott City due to stormy weather.
This week, Hoisington showed no signs of being stagnant in demolishing Kismet-Southwestern Heights, 72-0.
“They have a young team. I think they’ve been banged up with injuries. So, I feel bad for those guys,” said Hoisington head coach Zach Baird. “There were some things we did that we executed a little bit, but there were a lot of things where we were really sloppy, and that’s kind of what we’ve seen in practice. So there’s definitely things we can learn from watching this on Sunday night.”
The Hoisington offense was able to capitalize against Southwestern Heights, amassing 516 total yards of offense. The Cardinals had a balanced attack as the running game collected 274 of those yards, and the passing game had 242.
Hoisington was able to score on the first drive, needing only 52 seconds. A 51-yard touchdown pass from senior Mason Martin to senior wide receiver Carson Mason began the scoring.
“So we had the first play for me as well. That was the play before,” Mason said. “Unfortunately, it came back from a holding but (it) felt good to get going early. And that’s just huge for us to score right out the gate.”
Hoisington scored early and often, leading 26-0 by the end of the first period. That lead ballooned to 50-0 at halftime.
With the large margin, the game featured a running clock in the second half.
In the back half of the game, the Cardinals had junior varsity players get playing time — adding an additional 21 points.
“We have put the ball on the ground one time with the young guys,” Baird said. “I thought our two young running backs did a nice job. I thought our offensive line got movement. It’s good to see some things from these young guys that are working every day in practice and getting better, and that’s always fun to see.”
Southwestern Heights only gained 51 yards of total offense against the Cardinals. The Mustangs ran the ball for 40 yards.
With the win, the Cardinals move to 3-0 while Southwestern Heights dropped to 1-3.
Hoisington will take on Cheney (3-1) on the road for its final non-district game. Hoisington is ranked No. 4 in Class 2A in this week’s KSHSAACovered poll, while Cheney is receiving votes in Class 3A.
“Cheney is a really good program,” Baird said. “They do a great job of preparing for each team. They’re a couple of years removed from a state championship. We played them here last year, and they put it on us pretty good. So, something we’ve been looking forward to. We know it’s going to be a heck of a match-up. We’re definitely going to play better than what we did tonight.”
This story was written as part of INF 322: Sports Writing, a course in the Department of Informatics at Fort Hays State University.