Unexpected detour

So much for updating the blog last night when I got back from Russell. I don't know what it was, but I was feeling queasy in Smith Center by time I left, which wasn't until 10 p.m. I stayed for awhile after the game ended, and just could not get myself in gear to leave and make the 75-mile drive back on US 281. I always have trepidation about driving south on 281 at night due to the large number of deer which populate the countryside, but this night, I was fatigued and feeling bad, so it was that much worse.

Fortunately, the deer were not to be found on this night. I ended up following the Ell-Saline bus from just north of Osborne all the way to where 281 meets K-18 at Luray. Now why Ell-Saline was taking that route to Brookville baffled me at first, but I figured it out: they were taking K-18 to Tescott, where there is a road which runs 17 miles south and east straight into Brookville. I thought they would get to I-70, then take K-14 all the way to US 36. It made sense once I figured it out.

The game between Ell-Saline and Smith Center wasn't an artistic masterpiece, but it certainly was fun for the fans to see. The Redmen scored the only touchdown of the first half, and they could have been ahead by more, considering they  drove inside the Cardinals' 25-yard line three times, but twice turned the ball over on downs. Time of possession in the first half: Smith Center 18:58, Ell-Saline 5:02.

It took the Cardinals two plays to score in the second half, with quarterback Garrett Walker scampering 45 yards to paydirt. The conversion failed and it was 6-6.

Each team scored in the fourth quarter, and again, each team failed to make the conversion. The Cardinals drove to the Redmen 7 in the final minute, but on fourth-and-5, they went for a field goal, which is a risky proposition for most Kansas high schools, since there aren't a lot of schools which can train a kicker, especially at the lower levels, where there (a) isn't any time due to the players having to play both offense and defense, and (b) there aren't youth soccer programs like there are in the big cities. In Overland Park, there is a huge soccer complex which stretches for six blocks along 135th Street.

Smith Center won the coin toss in overtime and went on defense, which is what almost every team does in that situation. Ell-Saline scored on two plays on a 9-yard run by Walker, but again, the conversion failed. The Redmen had fourth down and just over 3 yards to go, and it appeared quarterback Payton Buckmaster may have been stopped. At least that was the view from the Cardinals' side, but the official was on the spot to rule touchdown. All five officials conferred briefly, but the call stood.

Finally, the Redmen were successful on the conversion, as Buckmaster bootlegged right and dove for the pylon, just getting behind Walker's attempted tackle. Smith Center won 20-18, its second overtime triumph of the season. More importantly, the Redmen are 2-0 in district, meaning they are well on their way to a playoff berth.

I'm going to go back to Kansas City. I wanted to drive back from Smith Center to KC on US 36, but after I had so much trouble driving westbound in the afternoon, I knew there was no way I would make it back the four hours at that ungodly hour. so I just drove back to Russell. I figure to get back there around 4 and go back to work. It's not the worst thing.