Fort Osage football coach Ryan Schartz sensed his team’s inexperience Friday night.
It was clear from the mistakes he saw during the Indians’ 17-7 non-conference road loss to Kearney, the state’s top-ranked team in Class 4.
“(There were) penalties,” Schartz said. “(We had a) lack of discipline, lack of execution.”
On the other hand, Fort Osage quarterback Edward Pearl, who completed 18 of 32 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, sensed inconsistency.
“I thought that we played good at times,” Pearl said. “Like at the end, we were driving the ball. That’s the team we can be. But other times, we made sophomore and junior mistakes.”
Actually, the Indians (1-1), ranked fourth in Class 5, drove the ball at the beginning, too. They just couldn’t score.
Starting from their 31-yard line, the Indians launched a 14-play, 43-yard first-quarter drive that lasted just over four minutes. It ended when Pearl was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-one at the Kearney 26.
Kearney then moved the ball, driving from its 26 to the Fort Osage 10. It appeared Kearney would turn it into a scoring drive when Matt Slenker lined up for a 27-yard field goal try on fourth-and-five. But Slenker got dumped for a 6-yard loss following a botched snap, giving Fort Osage the ball on downs.
The Bulldogs (2-0) moved the ball well enough to score twice during the second quarter. Taking over at the Fort Osage 46 after a punt, they launched an eight-play drive, capped by Ashton Hiatt’s 3-yard run and Slenker’s extra-point kick with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left.
A 54-yard screen pass from Conrad Schottel to Mark Krause set up Schottel’s 1-yard run and Slenker’s point after with 2:19 left.
A blocked punt set up Fort Osage’s lone touchdown, a 28-yard pass from Pearl to Parker Jones as time expired in the first half. Zach Jungmeyer’s extra point cut Kearney’s lead to 14-7 at the intermission.
“Ryan Thurber made a great block on the punt and it gave us good field position,” Pearl said. “And I just threw it up and Parker Jones made a play on it.”
The Bulldogs made it a two-possession game again by launching an 11-play, 47-yard drive, capped by Slenker’s 32-yard field goal with 5:26 left.
“It was a close game the whole time, so I figured that I had to put it through,” Slenker said.
As Pearl said, the Indians moved the ball “at the end.” Starting from their 20 after the ensuing kickoff, they reached the Kearney 11. But Pearl was stopped for no gain on second-and-1 and dumped for a 5-yard loss on third-and-1.
Fort Osage picked up only 2 yards on Pearl’s fourth-down pass to Kamryn Tillman. Taking over on downs, Kearney ran out the clock to finish it.
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Fort Osage football coach Ryan Schartz sensed his team’s inexperience Friday night.
It was clear from the mistakes he saw during the Indians’ 17-7 non-conference road loss to Kearney, the state’s top-ranked team in Class 4.
“(There were) penalties,” Schartz said. “(We had a) lack of discipline, lack of execution.”
On the other hand, Fort Osage quarterback Edward Pearl, who completed 18 of 32 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, sensed inconsistency.
“I thought that we played good at times,” Pearl said. “Like at the end, we were driving the ball. That’s the team we can be. But other times, we made sophomore and junior mistakes.”
Actually, the Indians (1-1), ranked fourth in Class 5, drove the ball at the beginning, too. They just couldn’t score.
Starting from their 31-yard line, the Indians launched a 14-play, 43-yard first-quarter drive that lasted just over four minutes. It ended when Pearl was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-one at the Kearney 26.
Kearney then moved the ball, driving from its 26 to the Fort Osage 10. It appeared Kearney would turn it into a scoring drive when Matt Slenker lined up for a 27-yard field goal try on fourth-and-five. But Slenker got dumped for a 6-yard loss following a botched snap, giving Fort Osage the ball on downs.
The Bulldogs (2-0) moved the ball well enough to score twice during the second quarter. Taking over at the Fort Osage 46 after a punt, they launched an eight-play drive, capped by Ashton Hiatt’s 3-yard run and Slenker’s extra-point kick with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left.
A 54-yard screen pass from Conrad Schottel to Mark Krause set up Schottel’s 1-yard run and Slenker’s point after with 2:19 left.
A blocked punt set up Fort Osage’s lone touchdown, a 28-yard pass from Pearl to Parker Jones as time expired in the first half. Zach Jungmeyer’s extra point cut Kearney’s lead to 14-7 at the intermission.
“Ryan Thurber made a great block on the punt and it gave us good field position,” Pearl said. “And I just threw it up and Parker Jones made a play on it.”
The Bulldogs made it a two-possession game again by launching an 11-play, 47-yard drive, capped by Slenker’s 32-yard field goal with 5:26 left.
“It was a close game the whole time, so I figured that I had to put it through,” Slenker said.
As Pearl said, the Indians moved the ball “at the end.” Starting from their 20 after the ensuing kickoff, they reached the Kearney 11. But Pearl was stopped for no gain on second-and-1 and dumped for a 5-yard loss on third-and-1.
Fort Osage picked up only 2 yards on Pearl’s fourth-down pass to Kamryn Tillman. Taking over on downs, Kearney ran out the clock to finish it.
