Marmaton Valley manhandles Udall, 60-14

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Sports

October 31, 2012 - 12:00 AM

MORAN — Marmaton Valley High exhibited sufficient amounts of thunder and lightning on the way to victory Tuesday night.
The “thunder” — in the form of lane-clearing blocks on offense and punishing tackles on defense — gave the Wildcats a decided advantage on both sides of the line of scrimmage against visiting Udall High.
The “lightning” was exemplified by senior tailbacks Cole Becker and Daylen Houk, who took turns gashing the Udall defense for big runs.
Before the dust settled, or Udall could cross the midfield stripe for that matter, Marmaton Valley led 28-0.
The Eagles eventually began finding success through the air, but it was much too little and much too late.
The Wildcats’ 60-14 win, coming in the first round of the Kansas Eight Man, Division I playoffs, sets up a showdown this weekend against visiting Rock Hills-Mankato, which was equally as impressive in a 72-26 win over Peabody-Burns.
Kickoff time will be 4 p.m. Saturday.
“It should be pretty evenly matched,” Becker said. “They’re a good team.”
“They’re a lot like us,” Wildcat head coach Kent Houk said. “They’re big and physical and like to run the ball. Whoever is most fundamentally sound at the line of scrimmage will probably be the team that wins the ball game.”

ASIDE FROM a few miscues with their pass defense, the Wildcats look primed and ready.
They proved as much Tuesday, scoring early and often, on short runs and long.
Becker was the early star, rushing for 170 yards and scoring on touchdown runs of 6, 2, 71 and 16 yards — all by the 2:46 mark of the first quarter.
Houk, who was sidelined on his first carry of the game with a knee injury, returned and picked up the baton, scoring on runs of 65 and 60 yards.
After Marmaton Valley’s Ryan Smith intercepted Udall quarterback Hunter Kistler’s first pass attempt, the Eagle signal caller began to find his rhythm. He connected with Deshon Stiner on touchdowns covering 33 and 24 yards to cut Marmaton Valley’s lead to 44-14.
“I thought the kids did a great job offensively and defensively in the first quarter,” Coach Houk said. “We had a little letdown in the second quarter. Our defensive backs weren’t reading the guards like they were supposed to. They were paying too much attention to the quarterback. We’ve got to get that fixed.”
Daylen Houk said Marmaton Valley adjusted from there, setting up defenders farther from the line of scrimmage, “which gave us more time to react.”
The Wildcats delivered several punishing tackles on defense, frequently disrupting Udall’s offense in the process.
“That was our mentality,” Daylen Houk said. “We were more physical and it showed.”
Marmaton Valley’s lead grew to 52-14 when Ryan Smith connected with Frye on a 38-yard touchdown pass on third down at the 3:38 mark of the half.
The only suspense was whether Marmaton Valley could end the game by pushing its margin to 46 points by halftime.
The Wildcats were within the Udall 10 with under a minute left, but a fumbled snap, and then a procedure penalty stopped the drive as time ran out.
Little matter.
The Wildcat defense held Udall on its opening possession of the second half, followed three plays later by Becker’s fifth touchdown of the night, a 35-yard jaunt. Smith plowed in on the two-point conversion attempt to end the game.

BECKER wound up with 288 yards on 24 carries and five touchdowns. Houk, meanwhile, carried 7 times for 168 yards and two scores as Marmaton Valley racked up 483 yards of total offense. Smith completed 1 of 4 passes, the 38-yard touchdown lob to Frye.
Becker also led the charge on defense with seven tackles. Nathan Smart added five. Smith recorded the interception, while Lucas Hamlin and Jared Kale each registered quarterback sacks.
Udall                            6-8-0-x—24
Marmaton Valley    36-16-8-x—60
MV — Becker 6 yd run (Frye run)
MV — Becker 2 yd run (run failed)
MV — Becker 71 yd run (Houk run)
MV — Becker 5 yd run (run failed)
Udall — Stiner 33 yd pass from Kistler (run failed)
MV — Houk 65 yd run (Becker run)
MV — Houk 60 yd run (Becker run)
Udall — Stiner 24 yd pass from Kistler (Stiner pass from Kistler)
MV — Frye 38 yd pass from Smith (Becker run)
MV — Becker 35 yd run (Smith run)
                 Udall        MV
First down            7            11
Rushes-yds      12-3    34-483
Passing yds       185           38
Total Offense     188          521
Passing           8-25-1     1-4-0
Fumbles            1-0           2-0
Punts                4/34            0
Penalties           5-50        3-30

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