The Chanute Blue Comets continued dominating their way through the Southeast Kansas League schedule, marking a 20-0 win over the Fort Scott Tigers on Friday.
Chanute quickly took control of the momentum in the first quarter. Junior Kemper Manly ended Fort Scott’s opening drive with an interception, before the Blue Comets immediately marched down the field and senior Quinton Harding punched in a 4-yard rushing touchdown.
Chanute’s offense — which opened the season as run-heavy as you could get before shifting to an air raid style as of late — was much more balanced in this affair. Both phases of the offense seemed to be clicking in the early goings.
“Keeping the defense off balance and not knowing what’s going on is what we’re going for,” Chanute head coach Clete Frazell said. “The first drive was good, but then we got in our own way. I think we score every drive of the game if we don’t get in our own way.”
Although they did not eventually score, the Blue Comets were able to sustain their second drive through multiple setbacks.
“It’s huge when you get a penalty and you’re able to claw back in and get a first down,” Frazell said. “Executing plays and keeping the drive going is really tough to do in those situations, so it was really important to see that.”
Penalties pestered Chanute on both sides of the ball, but the home squad’s defense was solid all night, leaving the score at 7-0 by halftime. Frazell is convinced that acquiring penalties is one of the squad’s few weaknesses.
“If we fix those, we’re gonna be really hard to stop,” he said.
The Chanute defense forced two punts and four turnovers on downs, and it was a group effort to post the shutout.
To go with the interception, Manly had 2 tackles including one for a loss, senior Garrett Love notched 4 tackles with a sack, senior Cade Small had 3.5 tackles with a sack, and junior Stephen Watson added 2.5 tackles with a sack.
“Kemper has been good all year,” Frazell said. “He’s a student of the game who watches a lot of film so he knows what’s coming at him before it happens. He flies around and makes plays quickly because he’s so mentally prepared for each game.”
Senior Quinton Harding led the squad with 6.5 tackles, senior Nathan Wilson notched 4 tackles, and senior Trevor Fields added two tackles. Seniors Owen Luttrell and Eliott Stephenson and junior Logan Axelson each recorded a pass break up.
Out of the half, a strong rushing attack allowed Chanute to tack on two scores to land at the 20-0 final score. Harding notched another score on the ground after a 30-yard, tackle-breaking run, and junior Kristopher Harding II carried a 20-yard scramble from the pocket to paydirt.
Quinton finished the evening with 17 carries for 138 yards, and Stephenson added five carries for 73 yards, including a 38-yard rush to ice the game in the final minutes.
“Quinton got going tonight in the run game and we blocked really well. Cade [Small] did a really good job at h-back with some seals and things. Our whole offensive line played really well,” Frazell said. “It was awesome to see our guys play against a really physical defensive line and still get the ball moving.”
The offensive line also held up well in the pass-block, allowing Kristopher to tally a quarterback line of 14-of-24 for 136 yards. Wilson led the receiving core with 6 catches for 58 yards, Small had 4 grabs for 46 yards, Quinton caught 3 for 23 yards, and Stephenson caught a single pass for 9 yards.
“Nate [Wilson] had some great catches,” Frazell said. “He played a really nice, physical game. He blocked well and played good defense, and it was fun to see him fly around and make plays.”
Up Next
Chanute (5-1) continues a threegame home stand this Friday, hosting the Pittsburg Purple Dragons (4-2).
“We love playing Pittsburg,” Frazell said. “We’ll be ready to go try to get a win against them.”
