By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Forget a big Homecoming night. It was a big Homecoming half for Great Bend High School senior Ian Premer. After being crowned king before the game, Premer scored four touchdowns and picked off two passes to lead the No. 2 Panthers to a 42-6 halftime lead against unbeaten Liberal Friday night. With a running clock for the entire second half, Great Bend hung on in a 55-6 rout.
“Liberal was a team that, offensively, they gave us some issues scouting-wise,” said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. “I thought our defensive coaching staff and kids put together a great game plan to shut down their aerial attack. He got one that one time and showed what he can do, but our guys up front just hit them and hit them again.”
After forcing a Liberal punt, the Panther offense wasted no time finding the end zone. Junior Cooper Ohnmacht would have scored minus a slip. That allowed senior Conner Holladay to run 18 yards for the game’s opening score three minutes in.
The Panther defense forced a turnover on downs on the next Liberal drive. Two plays later, senior quarterback Daxton Minton went 64 yards untouched for a 14-0 Great Bend lead just five offensive plays into the game.
Liberal battled back, driving 70 yards before winning a scrum at the goal line that resulted in a short touchdown run from senior Xavier Tafoya on the first play of the second quarter. That proved to be it for the Redskin offense.
Then the Homecoming King Premer took over. Two plays after blocking the extra point, he went 62 yards on a Minton pass to boost the Panther lead to 21-6. This came after Premer’s 71-yard touchdown run was called back on a hold. After another Liberal punt, Premer took a Minton pass 26 yards to the house for a 28-6 lead.
Premer did it defensively as well. He picked off a Tavin Cotter pass at midfield and returned it all the way for a score. Premer ended the next Redskin drive after picking off another Cotter pass at the 2-yard line and returning it 77 yards. Two plays later, Minton hit Premer on a 21-yard route that resulted in a 42-6 Panther lead with four ticks left in the half.
The score also set the clock into motion for good for the entire second half. Holladay capped the first Great Bend drive of the third quarter with a 4-yard touchdown. Minton capped another big night with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ohnmacht midway through the third quarter for the final points of the night.
Next comes the match-up on everyone’s calendar. In perhaps the most anticipated game across the state this season, the Panthers play No. 3 Hays (5-1) next Friday on the new field at Hays High School.
“That was the talk at halftime, was to make sure we’re focused and keep a clean half in the second half because we’ve got a big one next week, and our kids are excited for it,” Beck said. “Hays is a dang good football team. There have been some battles, and we’re excited for that one.”
Last week, Dodge City ran 33 plays to Great Bend’s 15 in the first half, yet the Panthers led 14-0 at the break. Friday night, Liberal ran 40 plays to Great Bend’s 15 through the first two quarters but still trailed 42-6.
“When you’ve got such a quick-strike offense, and you have playmakers like Ian, Cooper, and Daxton, they can change things quickly,” Beck said. “That’s what it was.”
Minton had thrown for 251 yards and eight touchdowns on 14-of-15 passing over his last two games. He added 198 yards and four scores on 5-of-7 passing Friday night, all in the first three quarters. He also rushed for 89 yards and a score on just six touches. Premer caught four passes for 126 yards and three scores in the first half, and Ohnmacht finished with three receptions for 72 yards and a score on three receptions. Holladay rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. Freshman Giovanni Cruz booted through all seven PAT attempts.
The sophomore Cotter completed his first six pass attempts Friday night for 68 yards. He ended the night with 96 yards and three interceptions on 12-of-21 passing. Tafoya added 62 rushing yards on 17 attempts for Liberal.
Great Bend has now outscored opponents 291-56 this season. Hays, with one of the toughest schedules in Kansas thus far, has outscored opponents 175-117.