Sabetha 35, Perry Lecompton 33

A week three showdown of undefeated and state ranked teams that lived up to all the hype and perhaps decided the Big 7 League football title.  Sabetha never trailed on homecoming night and the game was tied only once at seven.  However, Perry Lecompton overcame three first half interceptions and scored a touchdown with 57 seconds left in the game before missing a tying two-point conversion in a 35-33 thriller.

Sabetha scored on their first drive as Joel Hackney broke loose on a 32-yard touchdown run. After forcing a punt on the Kaws opening possession, Sabetha ended the next two Perry drives with interceptions as Ryan Stapleton and Joseph Gruber picked off passes deep in their own territory.  Yet, following the second pick, the Jays fumbled at their own 10-yard-line, which allowed the Kaws to tie the score at seven with 8:53 remaining in the second quarter.  Gabe Garber scurried 72 yards on the ensuing drive for Sabetha then scored four plays later to give the Bluejays back a 14-7 advantage.  Mason Engelken then put on a show with the Jays third defensive interception of the half and two plays later, Engelken ran 37 yards for a score to give Sabetha a 21-7 margin.  The Kaws got within 28-13 at halftime as they converted a third down and 18 with a 23 yard pass to Shane Quinlan and later got a 22-yard scramble by Dalton Kellum on a third and long before Kellum scored 1:51 before intermission. 

The teams exchanged punts to start the third quarter, but then it was four touchdowns in less than four minutes as Garber scored on a two and 36 yard run, the latter of which was set up by his own 46 yard kickoff return.  Perry answered both Sabetha scores as sophomore Billy Welch took over at quarterback and shifted Kellum to a true runingback position.  Welch hit Colton Mallonee on a 31-yard TD strike then Kellum broke free on a 67-yard touchdown and added a two-point-conversion to pull the Kaws within 35-27 later in the third quarter.  Both teams really only had one possession in the fourth quarter and the Bluejays drove 14 plays deep into Perry territory before coughing up their second fumble of the game with 6:57 to play.  The Kaws responded with a six-minute, 13 play scoring drive that included a fourth and two conversions and got help from a pair of Sabetha penalties, the last of which negated a sack on a third down and six play.  Kellum scored his fourth rushing touchdown on a seven-yard run with :57 left, but after each team used a timeout, Perry Lecompton opted to face the handoff to Kellum and throw a play-action pass, which was deflected to preserve Sabetha’s 35-33 lead.  The Jays recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock while improving to 3-0 on the season and took a huge step towards their first Big 7 League football title since 2007.     

Sabetha was out-gained by Perry 378 yards to 429 with the Jays rushing for 304 yards on 53 carries.  Garber led the way with 152 yards on 23 totes while Engelken had 17 touches for 96 yards.  Garber was 4-7 passing for 74 yards with Stapleton catches three passes for 52 yards.  Perry Lecompton (2-1) ran for 284 yards and had 145 more passing.  Kellum has another huge night with 234 yards rushing on 34 carries and was 7-11 passing for 60 yards in the first half before shifting to runnigback.  Welch had 30 yards rushing after halftime on just four carries and was 6-10 for 85 yards passing.  Mallonee hauled in seven receptions for 89 yards, with six grabs in the second half and Drew Ledbetter registered three catches for 33 yards.

Both teams enter 3A District play this week as Sabetha will travel to Marysville in a rematch of last year’s State Championship game while Perry Lecompton host Wellsville.