HANOVER — Crest High’s dream season came crashing to earth on a chilly Friday the 13th evening, while host Hanover High proved once again the Wildcats are the gold standard in Kansas eight-man football.
Hanover took advantage from the start, exploding for 42 points in the first quarter alone and rolling to a 48-0 win in the Kansas Eight Man-II sectional playoffs.
The loss was the first of the season for the Lancers, who had won their first 10 games of the year, all by at least 30 points.
But Crest never had to tangle with a behemoth like Hanover.
“It started with nerves and it just compounded from there,” Lancer head coach Nick McAnulty said. “We just couldn’t find a rhythm. They put us in a hole, and we just couldn’t dig out of it.”
The tone was set from the outset.
Crest lost a fumble on its second play from scrimmage, setting Hanover up at the Lancer 13. Three plays later, Hanover tailback Colin Jueneman sliced through for a 1-yard score.
Crest went three-and-out on its next possession, and a long punt return gave the Wildcats prime field position once again.
This time it was Jacob Jueneman — Colin’s twin brother — who scored on a 3-yard keeper.
The Lancers saw a glimmer of hope on their next drive, when senior quarterback Jacqez Coleman picked up the team’s first first down of the game, but disaster struck two plays on when Crest lost its second fumble of the night. It took Hanover all of two plays to score again, this one on Colin Jueneman’s 5-yard jaunt.
And the game was less than 8 minutes old.
A fake punt went nowhere on Crest’s next possession, and the Wildcats again found paydirt two plays later on Tyler Bonser’s 2-yard score.
The Wildcat defense proved impenetrable when Crest got the ball back. The Lancers lost yardage on three straight plays, the third of which resulted in a Coleman sack in the end zone for a Hanover safety.
The Lancers had to punt the ball away, and Emmitt Jueneman — Jacob and Colin’s younger brother — ran the ball back to the Crest 13. Bonser capped that short drive with a 4-yard score, putting an emphatic end to the quarter.
“They’re not big, but they’re fast and they’re strong,” McAnulty said of Hanover, which is moving on to the state semifinals for the 13th time in the past 14 seasons. “They’re weight room kids, and it shows.”
Don’t be surprised, he concluded, if Hanover’s name isn’t etched on the state championship plaque in a couple of weeks.
“They’re used to this,” McAnulty said. “They know what to do.”
Crest righted its ship somewhat in the second quarter.
