Fort Scott rolls over Parsons, 61-12

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Sports Editor's Note: After double-checking rushing yard totals Sunday night, the Web version of the story has been revised to reflect corrected totals.


PARSONS, Kan. -- Once Fort Scott High got on a roll Friday night, the Tigers' running game became impossible for Parsons to stop. Fort Scott ran for 466 yards in a 61-12 Southeast Kansas League victory at Marvel Park.

The Tigers (4-0 SEK and overall) gained 483 yards on the ground -- they had 433 after three quarters -- the most by a Fort Scott team since rolling for 469 in a victory over Independence in 2004 and the most in the past 15 seasons.

"I thought the offensive line really stepped up tonight," Fort Scott head coach Bob Campbell said. "It wasn't that we just got people blocked; we really dominated the line of scrimmage. Our backs, obviously, ran well. Johnathan (Stark) ran the option well."

The Tigers' first score went up on the board quickly after Jason Thorpe returned the game's opening kickoff 76 yards to the Parsons 15. He scored three plays later, the first of four touchdowns on the night, on a 6-yard run. The conversion kick failed.

The Vikings (3-1, 3-1), who fell to Fort Scott for the 20th consecutive time, responded later in the period when running back Steve Jones jumped up to haul down Craig Beachner's pass in the end zone on a 16-yard play with 2:02 to go. Parsons also missed the extra point.

The Tigers turned around and scored quickly, aided by a pair of long runs and a personal foul against the Vikings. Dane Cummings scored the first of his two TDs from 6 yards out with 40 seconds remaining in the period. Stark found Luke Brown in the corner of the end zone for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-6.

Fort Scott's offense got stronger as the game went on and the defense didn't have much trouble stopping Parsons' double-wing offense. The Vikings tried to gain an advantage by putting the wingback in motion in the direction the play was going. But even this was to no avail.

"They were trying to get the power sweep and get a lot of bodies to the point of attack," Campbell noted. "At times, our D-line and linebackers made some nice plays. We were able to contain them for the most part."

Fort Scott began to wear Parsons down. On its first possession of the second quarter, the Tigers were finding 11, 12 and 13 yards on nearly every play. FInally, Thorpe went in from 8 yards out with 4:43 on the clock. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 20-6 in Fort Scott's favor.

The Tigers' made it 27-6, executing the two-minute offense on an 11-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Thorpe's 1-yard run with 39 seconds left in the half.

Thorpe also made an impact on defense, tipping a pass intended for Wes Krull into the hands of Stark for an interception he returned 31 yards near the end of the half.

Cummings scored from 6 yards out to start the second half and Brown's PAT kick made it 34-6 with 7:08 on the clock. Parsons' James Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for Parsons' only score of the second half. Cody McGehee sacked Beachner on the 2-point conversion attempt.

Thorpe scored for the last time on a 15-yard run with 3:28 left in the third period, making it 41-12 with 3:28 to go in the third. This was the last play of the night for the varsity running backs, who had already gained 384 yards and had 21 first downs.

Fort Scott recovered a Parsons fumble and turned it into Jacob Durossette's 5-yard scoring run with 20 seconds left in the third.

Dustin Stewart recovered another Parsons fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter to make it 55-12. Victor Hughes wrapped things up with a 9-yard TD run with 2:27 remaining.

Thorpe finished the night with 137 yards on 16 carries while Cummings gained 116 on 16 rushes. Stark completed 4 of 5 passes for 42 yards.

Fort Scott finished the night with 25 first downs and 508 yards of total offense. Parsons managed only 5 first downs and 150 total yards.

The Tigers will host Columbus in their Homecoming game next Friday at Frary Field. Campbell doesn't expect his team to take the Titans, who defeated Iola Friday night, lightly.

"Come next week, Columbus will come in with a 1-3 record but they've lost to Pittsburg and Chanute," Campbell said. "And we just have to control our effort and how we play. We just need to continue to play clean and get better each week."