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SAVANNAH, MO — The St. Joseph Bucks defeated the Kansas City Panthers 34-29 in a game that stayed close to the final whistle. The win puts the Bucks as Gateway Conference champions as they advance to the Central Midwest Football League championship game.
The game started with what can be described as no less than a punch in the mouth for the Bucks. The offense was stopped on their first drive and the Kansas City Panthers ran a first-play play-action for a long touchdown. The question Saturday has been the question all year for the Bucks, how would they respond?
And the response was huge. Defensive back Michael Graham III started his night with a forced fumble on the next Panther drive to flip momentum. Quarterback Keante Green capitalized on this with a read-option rushing touchdown to end the first quarter down 6-7.
A goal line stand for the Panthers transitioned into another play-action touchdown pass. Once again, the Bucks looked to respond to adversity through a 2-minute drill. Green would highlight this drive with another rushing touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion to give the Bucks the lead going into halftime with a 14-13 lead.
“When it’s time to be the biggest, when it’s time to ball, QB1 is going to always show up,” Green said.
The third quarter was all Mike Graham. The defensive back recovered a fumble which led to a Garyeon Simpson rushing touchdown. The Panthers came back with a 76-yard passing touchdown but once again Graham showed up. This time with an end-zone interception on the next Panther drive.
“At the end of the day my plays don’t really matter,” Graham said. “As long as we’re playing 11 on 11 man football, my guys have my back and I have their back.”
The two squads continued to trade scores until the Bucks went down 29-26 with 3:54 remaining in the game. Green avoided two near interceptions as the ball bounced off the hands of the Panthers’ defense. That left a bleak fourth and seven in Bucks territory. A shotgun snap left Green back to pass, with nothing going the Panther defensive line caved in on the quarterback. Green started his fall to the ground with the Kansas City defense pulling at his legs. Off-balance, Green heaved a pass that went no more than five yards in the air. Receiver Jaden King hauled the ball in and met the Panther defense at the yard marker, using everything he had for the first down. The Bucks survived but they still had their work cut out for them with less than three minutes to go on their own 30-yard line.
“He came off the edge and tried to get me, he got shook off,” Green said. “I saw one of my receivers, fourth and seven, I had to get it to him. Give him a chance to make a play.”
The Bucks continued their drive with huge first downs coming from Reece Wilson Jr. and others in the flat. The Bucks soon found themselves in Panther territory, the 32-yard line with 1:05 left. A timeout and a beautifully drawn up play put the ball in playmaker Garyeon Simpson’s hands. He caught the end-around and took off for a 16-yard gain before getting out of bounds on the left sideline to stop the clock.
A few botched plays led to another Bucks timeout with 47.1 seconds remaining. Once again, the Bucks coaching staff excelled and the offense executed. The two who saved the drive earlier, Green and King, ended the drive with a crossing route over the middle for a Bucks touchdown. A huge 2-point conversion from Green made it a 34-29 game.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Coach David Hershberger said. “In this league it’s give-or-take any moment so I trusted my quarterback, he’s definitely the MVP of this year. So when you put all of your trust in him he’s going to deliver every time.”
With 33 seconds left in the game, the Kansas City Panthers needed a touchdown. The Bucks defense, despite their mascot, swarmed the ball like a pack of hungry wolves. The group flew around and stopped the Panthers in their tracks before 0.3 seconds were left on the clock and the Panthers were on the Bucks 39-yard line.
A last-second heave to the end zone was broken up as the Bucks rushed the field to celebrate their CMFL Championship berth.
“We’re not finished,” coach Hershberger said. “We got brothers that can’t be here for our championship so we need to make sure we do it for them.”
The group is looking for their first championship in their new conference after winning back-to-back in the MRFL. They’ll play in Kansas City on July 25.
Continue reading...
The game started with what can be described as no less than a punch in the mouth for the Bucks. The offense was stopped on their first drive and the Kansas City Panthers ran a first-play play-action for a long touchdown. The question Saturday has been the question all year for the Bucks, how would they respond?
And the response was huge. Defensive back Michael Graham III started his night with a forced fumble on the next Panther drive to flip momentum. Quarterback Keante Green capitalized on this with a read-option rushing touchdown to end the first quarter down 6-7.
A goal line stand for the Panthers transitioned into another play-action touchdown pass. Once again, the Bucks looked to respond to adversity through a 2-minute drill. Green would highlight this drive with another rushing touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion to give the Bucks the lead going into halftime with a 14-13 lead.
“When it’s time to be the biggest, when it’s time to ball, QB1 is going to always show up,” Green said.
The third quarter was all Mike Graham. The defensive back recovered a fumble which led to a Garyeon Simpson rushing touchdown. The Panthers came back with a 76-yard passing touchdown but once again Graham showed up. This time with an end-zone interception on the next Panther drive.
“At the end of the day my plays don’t really matter,” Graham said. “As long as we’re playing 11 on 11 man football, my guys have my back and I have their back.”
The two squads continued to trade scores until the Bucks went down 29-26 with 3:54 remaining in the game. Green avoided two near interceptions as the ball bounced off the hands of the Panthers’ defense. That left a bleak fourth and seven in Bucks territory. A shotgun snap left Green back to pass, with nothing going the Panther defensive line caved in on the quarterback. Green started his fall to the ground with the Kansas City defense pulling at his legs. Off-balance, Green heaved a pass that went no more than five yards in the air. Receiver Jaden King hauled the ball in and met the Panther defense at the yard marker, using everything he had for the first down. The Bucks survived but they still had their work cut out for them with less than three minutes to go on their own 30-yard line.
“He came off the edge and tried to get me, he got shook off,” Green said. “I saw one of my receivers, fourth and seven, I had to get it to him. Give him a chance to make a play.”
The Bucks continued their drive with huge first downs coming from Reece Wilson Jr. and others in the flat. The Bucks soon found themselves in Panther territory, the 32-yard line with 1:05 left. A timeout and a beautifully drawn up play put the ball in playmaker Garyeon Simpson’s hands. He caught the end-around and took off for a 16-yard gain before getting out of bounds on the left sideline to stop the clock.
A few botched plays led to another Bucks timeout with 47.1 seconds remaining. Once again, the Bucks coaching staff excelled and the offense executed. The two who saved the drive earlier, Green and King, ended the drive with a crossing route over the middle for a Bucks touchdown. A huge 2-point conversion from Green made it a 34-29 game.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Coach David Hershberger said. “In this league it’s give-or-take any moment so I trusted my quarterback, he’s definitely the MVP of this year. So when you put all of your trust in him he’s going to deliver every time.”
With 33 seconds left in the game, the Kansas City Panthers needed a touchdown. The Bucks defense, despite their mascot, swarmed the ball like a pack of hungry wolves. The group flew around and stopped the Panthers in their tracks before 0.3 seconds were left on the clock and the Panthers were on the Bucks 39-yard line.
A last-second heave to the end zone was broken up as the Bucks rushed the field to celebrate their CMFL Championship berth.
“We’re not finished,” coach Hershberger said. “We got brothers that can’t be here for our championship so we need to make sure we do it for them.”
The group is looking for their first championship in their new conference after winning back-to-back in the MRFL. They’ll play in Kansas City on July 25.
Continue reading...
