Sabetha 34, Silver Lake 28

This 3A Regional Playoff game had a little bit of everything on Saturday night in a rematch from last year as the Bluejays made huge plays all night and took advantage of six turnovers to fly past the Eagles. While the total yardage was near even for each team at 400, the Jays only had two turnovers as Coach Garrett Michael won in his second trip to his alma mater and defeated his former Coach, CJ Hamilton.   

The game was actually scoreless after one quarter after each team moved the ball but punted on their first drive and both teams had turnovers on their second possession.  Silver Lake opened the scoring after Sabetha's fumble at their own 42, as Dalton Dultmeier hit Keenan Baird on a 24 yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.  After another exchange of punts, in typical Bluejays fashion, Sabetha drove 75 yards in 10 plays and tied the game at seven with a four-yard run by Brandon Poe.  With 2:03 left in the first half, Baird took over at quarterback and quickly scored on a 55 yard run, but a high snap wasted the PAT try and it was 13-7.  In of the most impressive drives of the season, Sabetha zipped 88 yards on just 7 plays, with 6 snaps on first down and in 80 seconds, got a Zach Edelman 9 yard run with the kick by Alec Kirwan to put Sabetha up 14-13.  Edelman filled in most of the first half as starter Trae Snyder went out after taking a hard and high hit on his third carry of the night.  With :43 left in the first half, Silver lake conveted a third and ten play and got to the Bluejays 30 yard live, but a fake field goal pass on third down was broken up and a 45 yard field goal try missed wide right to keep momentum and a one-point lead with Sabetha.

Although Sabetha got the ball to start the second half, they had a trio of false start penalties and then a high punt snap on fourth down went into the endzone and Silver Lake took a 15-14 lead on a safety. When it looked like the Eagles were back in control, Sabetha senior, Brock Frey put together a two-minute highlight reel to turn the game around.  Frey intercepted Dultmeiers first pass of the third quarter and five plays later, Frey ran in a 26 yard touchdown that was followed by a two-point pass from Poe to Kirwan to give Sabetha back the 23-15 advantage.  On the next Silver Lake snap, Sabetha forced a fumble in the backfield and Frey scooped it up and ran 28 yards for a defensive score to make it 28-15 with 8:09 left in the third.  

“When you score and get a turnover for another score, that 13-point swing against Silver Lake helps momentum,” said Sabetha coach Garrett Michael, who played on two Silver Lake state championship teams in 1989 and 1991. “And it helped our kids really believe. It turned us from thinking we could win to knowing. In high school football, that makes a big difference.”   - Credit Topeka Capital Journal - 

Silver Lake continued to struggle on offense with a three-and-out, but Sabetha turned the ball over at downs at the 50 and Dultmeier found Keenan Baird again on a 37 yard TD pass to cut the lead to 28-21 at the close of the third quarter.  The two teams exchanged turnovers late in the third period as Caleb Strahm intercepted a pass for Sabetha, but the Bluejays fumbled the ensuing snap.  Silver Lake went on a six minute drive in the fourth frame and tied the game at 28 as Hunter Howerton's three yard TD run capped a 16 play drive with only 6:44 remaining.   Sabetha again picked up a couple first downs and appeared to convert on a fourth down and three play, but a penalty negated the pass from Poe to Kirwan and on fourth down and eight, Sabetha turned the ball over on downs at the 50 yard line.  

Silver Lake had a chance, but on their next play, Eric Renyer, who had been batted down passes on the defensive line all night, ripped the ball away from Howerton and the Bluejay offense was back on the field.  Renyer, playing both ways on the line for most of the night was named the Denison State Bank, "Lineman of the Game."  Sabetha converted a third and six this time and then on third down and one, a quick pitch to Frey went for a 27 yard touchdown run and the Jays led 34-28 with :64 left after the kick missed.  This sealed Frey's as the "Player to Bank On" sponsored by the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company in HIawatha.  Frey finished with 142 yards on 20 carries. 

With the door still open, Silver Lake ran 10 effective plays, even converting on a fourth and 10, but with :06 remaining from the Sabetha 32 yard line, Dultmeier's pass over the middle was picked off by Zach Edelman to seal the win.  It was Edelman's second INT of the night and the fourth thrown by Dultmeier.

“We had a rough start, we went 2-4 but our kids never quit,” Coach Michael said. “We beat a powerhouse in Centralia and a powerhouse in Silver Lake. We’ve been in the playoffs eight straight years, and our goal always is to get there and do something. Tonight, our kids did something.”  In typical Sabetha fashion, they have improved drastically over the course of the season and playing some phenomial team football while making huge plays to cap three wins in ten days and improve to 7-4 this season.  

Snyder returned in the second half and added 56 yards on 9 carries while Edelman added 42 yards and Poe ran for 32.  Throwing the football however, Poe had one of his best games of the year going 8-11 for 127 yards and hitting 4 different receivers.  Jonah Montgomery had two catches for 34 yards including a beautiful 29-yard reception he laid out for in the first half.  Kirwan had 34 yards on 4 grabs and Calder Keehn had a 43-yard reception to set up a touchdown in the second quarter.  Sabetha advances to play at Wellsville in 3A Sectionals on Friday, November 13th.  

For Silver Lake, who ends their season at 9-2, Dultmeier was 18 of 42 passing for 267 yards with Keenan Baird catching 8 passes for 135 yards and two scores. Cole Baird added 7 receptions for 95 yards, but even with his 55 yard touchdown run, the Eagles were held to 113 total yards rushing on 32 carries.