The Bluejays were 1-0 in District play after beating Minneapolis at home, and last week they would face their second District opponent in the 1-3 Falcons of Riley County in a road contest on Friday, Sept. 30.

It was a slow start to the game, with the Jays posting the first tally of the dual in the first quarter. The Falcons knocked on the door right before the half, but Sabetha would keep them out and blank them for the game taking the win, 35-0.

“We have started each game off well, but we’ve struggled maintaining that energy throughout the first halves,” said Head Coach Garrett Michael. “Riley County has had the toughest schedule in 2A and have a lot of really good athletes, but our defense really didn’t allow them anything but one long pass.”

Senior running back Josh Herrmann put up the first number of the night when he punched in a three-yard touchdown early in the first frame to give his team a meager lead, 7-0. The offense was plagued with turnovers and penalties erased any continuity that they may have had, and had the lead at the intermission, 7-0.

“At the end of the half, the defense rose to the occasion and kept them out of the end zone from the three yard line,” Coach Michael said. “That was the tipping point of the game. Offensively, they could not stop our run game, but we had fumbles and penalties that killed every drive but one.”

Herrmann capped off the first drive of the second half for the Bluejays with a five-yard run early in the third period to help stretch a 14-0 lead. He would score again in the quarter with a 50-yard turbo boost for a score to make the lead 21-0 for the good guys. Herrmann would finish the game with 237 yards rushing, averaging 9.1 yards per carry for this senior leader.

Senior Jonathan Renyer averaged 4.6 yards per carry in the game and helped put the Jays up 28-0 late in the third with a three-yard bullet to paydirt.

Senior quarterback Matthew Garber connected with his junior tight end Christian McAfee for a 33-yard pitch and catch for the score early in the fourth quarter to boost his team’s lead to 35-0.

Defensively, Renyer led all tacklers with seven while Garber, Herrmann, McAfee and senior Brendan Severin had five tackles apiece. Juniors Nate Menold and Colin Menold each had a pick against the Falcons, with N. Menold, junior Joshua Grimm and senior Drew Bestwick tallying a quarterback sack for a loss in the contest.

N. Menold was a perfect five for five in the point after kicking department, and Sabetha dropped the hammer on Riley County on the road, 35-0.

“A district win is always a good win, but especially over two teams that this team had not played before,” Coach Michael said. “Our special teams really got back on track by being solid all the way around in the kicking game, especially in our kick off coverage.”

With the win, Sabetha improved to 2-0 in District and sitting at the top of the standings, they are 2-1 in the Big Seven. They also have caught the attention of the powers that be and earned the KPreps ranking of number 4 in the state in 2A. They will travel and take on the Riverside Cyclones, who are 3-2 overall, on Friday. Oct. 7, in a Big Seven matchup. 

“Riverside is not the same Riverside, they are 3-2,” Coach Michaels said. “Their running backs run extremely hard and are tough to bring down. The challenge is, this game is a break in district play but right back into Big 7 league play. We need to play an entire football game.”