Sabetha 25, Holton 22

Despite fallling down early 16-0 on a couple big plays and still trailing 22-8 at halftime, the Sabetha Bluejays were a different team in the second half as they held Holton without a first down on all six possessions and took advantage of a late turnover to rally for the win.  On a windy and rainy night, Holton lost their second fumble of the game with :09 remaining at their own 11-yard-line and Sabetha sophomore kicker, Braeden Cox booted a 28 yard field-goal for the Jays first win against the Wildcats since 2007.  Cox was the "Player to Bank on" sponsored by the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha.  The Bluejays improved to 2-0 in the Big 7 League opener for both squads while Holton dropped to 0-2 for the second straight season.  

The Wildcats scored on the third play of their first two possessions as Miles McClintock-Stozier broke a 69 yard run, and after forcing a three-and-out, Spencer Baum sprinted for a 90 yard touchdown to make it 16-0 with 6:50 still left in the first quarter.  The Jays drove 64 yards in 12 plays and Trae Snyder scored from a yard out to make it 16-8 with :22 remaining in the frame.  Holton fumbled their third drive but caught a break, as Sabetha caught a wide-open 18 yard pass in the endzone, but was ruled out of bounds on fourth down.  The Cats drove 82 yards on 14 plays while eating up half the second stanza and took a 22-8 lead on a one-yard run by Parker Zeller.  

It was Sabetha that scored on their opening two possessions in the second half and showed big-play ability of their own as a 53 yard run by Snyder set up a one-yard QB sneak for Christian Meyer and the Bluejays tied the game at 22 when Blake Plattner broke free on a 66 yard TD run with 3:48 left in the third period.  While the Sabetha defense continued to force three and outs, they had a huge offensive penalty before a third and short play and had the punt the ball away in the final minute.  Holton had time to run two plays, but fumbled the second handoff at their own 11-yard-line with :09 remaining and couldn't ice the young Sabetha kicker even after a timeout.      

Holton mustered only 47 total yards of offense in the second half, 24 of which came on the only completed pass of the night which went to McClintock-Stozier on the last play of the game after Sabetha's game-winning field goal.  Baum led the Cats with 151 yards on 18 carries while McClintock-Stozier had 75 yards on 11 carries.  Tyler Price made some big plays for the Wildcats defensive line while Dylan Aeschliman led the team in tackles.  Holton gets their home opener in week three against defending League champ, Nemaha Central (2-0).  

Sabetha ran for 322 yards, led by Blake Plattner with 138 on 15 carries and Snyder, who had 23 totes for 128 yards and made a lot of stops on defense.  Greg Remmers was the Denison State Bank "Lineman of the Game." The Bluejays try to keep momentum rolling as they look to start 3-0 when traveling to face Jeff West in week three.