COFFEYVILLE — The Chanute Blue Comets outmatched the Coffeyville Golden Tornado in every phase of the game on Friday night en route to a 34-7 win in SEK League football action.
Things got going early for Chanute, as senior wide receiver Eliott Stephenson scored on the second play of the team’s opening drive.
“It was great to get out to an early lead and get points on the board,” Chanute head coach Clete Frazell said. “It kind of takes the pressure off and lets the guys relax and play.”
That early momentum seemed to wane quickly.
After aligning in a 4-4 scheme in Week 1, Coffeyville instead played in a two-high safety alignment.
“I thought it would get our momentum going … but then we kind of stubbed our foot,” Frazell said. “A lot of that was Coffeyville playing a little different setup in their secondary than they did in their first game. It took us a while to adjust to that.”
Stephenson found the endzone again in the second quarter by way of a pass from junior quarterback Kristopher Harding II at the end of a strong drive down the field.
Stephenson had a stellar night on both sides of the ball, finishing with three catches for 22 yards, three carries for 33 yards and an interception.
“He’s playing great safety right now. He’s coming up and hitting people and just tattooing them. It’s great to see,” Frazell said. “And then on offense, he’s a guy who can run well and he’s strong. His physicality and overall athleticism with his length and size makes him a hard player for people to handle.”
Chanute’s offense didn’t rest for long after Stephenson’s second score. Sophomore kicker Lawrence Chaney dropped a squib kick between the lines of the Golden Tornado, and Blue Comets sophomore defensive back Blake Cummings recovered.
“We love kicking that pooch for that reason,” Frazell said. “When you put it in a zone between two guys, sometimes they don’t know which guy is going to get it and sometimes you end up with nobody going after it.”
Senior running back Quinton Harding then took a 14-yard rush to paydirt on the very next play.
After the break, Coffeyville finally found some success in the passing game. A long drive ended in a touchdown from quarterback Axel Erne to wide receiver Damaris Smith.
That was the only trip to the redzone for the home team as Chanute’s defense was locked in all night long. Running back Aaron Tunstall, highly regarded in the area, was held to short gains all night.
“All (Tunstall) needs is one crease,” Frazell said. “The defense did their job and played unselfish football. They were all where they were supposed to be and (Coffeyville) didn’t really have anywhere to go.
“Our defense is exciting to watch,” Frazell added. “When you play football like that, it’s tough to move the ball and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”
Add in six tackles for a loss and a sack from senior linebacker Landen Billby, and a pass break up by junior cornerback Gage Cummings, it was difficult for Coffeyville to get into any semblance of a groove.
“They have some dudes that can really fly, so to get pressure on the quarterback and not let him feel comfortable back there kept them from making some big plays down the field in the passing game,” Frazell said.
Chanute quickly responded to the lone Golden Tornado touchdown by putting together a six-play, 55-yard drive that ended in another Harding touchdown.
He finished the night with 16 carries for 117 yards. Frazell attributed some of Harding’s success to a much-better looking offensive line compared to a week ago.
Like Stephenson, Harding was highly impactful on defense as well as he tallied a team-high six tackles.
“He is a missile on defense, he made some huge hits,” Frazell said. “He had some really nice plays and was consistent running the ball all night.”
Frazell noted the switch to two-high safeties was likely because of the danger Harding brings to the run game, but that switch only served to delay the inevitable success of the Blue Comets’ offense.
“The middle of the field was more open with the two-high safeties so we started getting to some of that stuff in the second half,” he said.
That allowed senior wide receiver Nathan Wilson to get involved, as he hauled in four receptions for 70 yards and added another 15 yards on the ground.
“He’s been a spark for us all year,” Frazell said of Wilson. “He’s one of those guys who just worked his tail off over four years and has turned himself into an absolute stud. I think he’s one of the best players in the state on both sides of the ball.”
Wilson tallied Chanute’s final score of the night, breaking through multiple tackles to score an 8-yard rushing touchdown. Billby then turned a botched snap on the extra point into another two points to finalize the score of 34-7.
Up next
Chanute (2-0) returns home this Friday to host the McPherson Bullpups (1-1). McPherson, a program who has won five sectional championships in the last seven years, enters the Week 3 matchup on the back of a 28-14 win over Circle.
“It will be a big challenge against one of the best teams in 4A,” Frazell said. “They’re a pretty dang good team, so it’ll be a fun one.”
