SCOTTSBLUFF – The Southeast High School Cyclones hosted Saratoga for a conference matchup on Thursday, October 9.
The Cyclones defense threw some solid punches throughout four quarters while the Southeast offense made positive gains, especially in the second and fourth quarters.
Overall, Southeast’s young starting lineup came up short in matching Saratoga’s intensity, size and strength. The Panthers clinched the game with five touchdowns in the second quarter and went on to collect a 60-0 conference win.
Regardless of the situation on the scoreboard, the Cyclones once again fought to the final moment. Southeast continued to be plagued by injuries and fielded a starting lineup primarily consisting of freshmen and sophomores with limited varsity experience against a senior- and junior-stacked Panther varsity squad with considerable size and skills.
Rebuilding the Cyclones into a formidable varsity force will take time. In the meantime, the athletes out on the field on Thursday demonstrated the grit necessary to step back up to the line of scrimmage over and over again.
“We struggled to get anything going on offense,” coach Shawn Burkart said. “Injuries are starting to mount up – we even had a player break his arm in warmups. We need to figure out a way to start faster and get going. Defensively, (senior) Liam Haas and (junior) Connor Coxbill had a nice game and led us in defensive points from their linebacker positions.”
Game highlights
A scrappy Southeast defense initially slowed Saratoga’s momentum on the Panther’s opening drive of the first quarter. Stops included tackles by sophomore Gauge Howe, Coxbill, junior Joaquin Ramirez, freshman Brayden Baldridge, junior Trevor Jolovich, freshman Bryce Booth, Haas and freshman Brady Kruchowski.
Saratoga ultimately reached the end zone but a tackle by Kruchowski and senior T.J. Moats prevented the Panthers from converting the PAT-2.
Pass coverage from Kruchowski broke up another attempt by Saratoga to add two extra points following a touchdown early in the second quarter.
The Cyclones offense found some footing in the second quarter. Freshman quarterback Tatum Wiedman launched the ball to Moats for a 23-yard pass play and first down on Southeast’s third drive of the second quarter.
On the Cyclones’ subsequent possession, Wiedman pitched the ball to Coxbill. Coxbill rushed 20 yards up the right side of the field for another first down.
Southeast opened the third quarter in possession. Moats returned Saratoga’s kick to Southeast’s 42-yard line. Carries by Coxbill and Moats advanced the ball into Panther territory. Moats churned up enough yards for a first down on the third play of the drive.
A gritty Cyclones defense made Saratoga fight for every yard on the Panthers’ ensuing possession with tackles from Howe, Coxbill, Haas, Ramirez and senior Gideon Boyd.
Sophomore Jack Hartman threw a big wrench into Saratoga’s advance with a sack far behind the line of scrimmage. A tackle by Haas on the next play held Saratoga to a single yard.
Southeast regained possession late in the third quarter. Haas carried the ball to Saratoga’s 48-yard line on a 27-yard kick return.
The Cyclones D-line hammered away at the Panthers on Saratoga’s fourth-quarter drive. Ramirez, Coxbill, Haas, Kruchowski, sophomore Jaxen Pressgrove and sophomore Myles Smith each posted tackles.
On Southeast’s final possession of the game, sophomore Kaiden Hill picked up the yards for a first down.
Stats
Southeast collected 50 yards rushing, led by Coxbill with 42 yards on 12 carries. Wiedman completed four passes for 28 yards. Moats caught one pass for 23 yards.
On defense, Haas led with 20 points, including 14 tackles. Coxbill tallied 13 defensive points for 11 tackles.
Ramirez contributed six tackles with four apiece by Booth and Howe.
