By JOEY BAHR
Special to the Post
The Hoisington Cardinals started off the 2023 season with a 39-7 victory over the Hesston Swathers.
The Swathers won the previous two meetings 35-19 in the 2016 Sub-State game and 21-14 in the opening game of the 2022 season.
Hoisington scored on the first drive. Mason Alderdice's nine-yard rush capped the 69-yard drive. Taylen Morales kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
Hesston took the ball and began a long drive looking to tie up the game. They made it to the Hoisington two-yard line. Then quarterback Austin Deutschendorf mishandled a snap. The ball hit the turf. A Cardinal tried to fall on it but it squirted loose. Taylen Morales was there and took a chance. The sophomore scooped up the ball and took off down the field.
"I saw the open field and took my chance," said Morales. "It was amazing to see no one ahead of me and to have my teammates around me." The fumble recovery was Hoisington's first scoop-and-score in seven seasons.
Morales had to quickly catch his breath to kick the extra point, which he made. The Cardinals now led 14-0.
Hoisington would threaten to score one more time in the first half. With under two minutes to go the Cardinals made it to the Hesston two-yard line. A false start penalty backed them up to the seven-yard line. On fourth down Tony Moore threw a pass to Jason Robinson who was standing on the goal line. Swather Jacob Burkholder quickly moved up and batted away the pass.
Hesston started the second half with the ball. They went three and out.
Tony Moore dropped back on third and four from the Cardinal 31-yard line and found Jason Robinson for a 69-yard touchdown pass. Morales missed the extra-point kick.
The Swathers could not move the ball on their next possession. As they prepared to punt, the punter kicked the ball into a teammate and the Cardinals ended up with the ball on the Hesston 17-yard line.
The person who helped to make the "blocked punt" happen was Taylen Morales. "I think the guy who was to block for the punter was too worried about me so he wasn't paying attention to where he was," said Morales. "The punter stepped up too far and kicked it into the blocker's back."
Moore went to the air again on the very next play. He hit Mason Martin for a 17-yard touchdown reception. Morales made the PAT to give Hoisington a 27-0 lead.
One area that Hoisington was not very successful in was penalties. They had a total of nine flags thrown for 77 penalty yards. In the third quarter, they faced a third and 52 after four consecutive penalties of an illegal block, intentional grounding, a false start, and another illegal block.
The Cardinals started the fourth quarter with a touchdown. Tony Moore found Ian Smith with a 36-yard pass that set up a 12-yard touchdown rush by Alderdice. It was Alderdice's second touchdown of the night.
Moore would end the night going six of seven in passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
"Tony's just so stinking good," said Hoisington Coach Zach Baird. "He just controls the game. We were pretty conservative, especially early, but he just makes so many plays and makes it look so easy."
Teron Kraft scored Hoisington's last touchdown of the night. He made a one-yard dive to score. Kraft ran the ball the most for the Cardinals with 19 carries covering 85 yards.
Morales missed the extra point. He made three of his six attempts for points after a touchdown.
The Swathers finally got on the board with a Jerick Humphreys eight-yard rush with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Blake Hansen made the extra-point kick to make the score 39-7 Hoisington.
"They are really good at wearing you down," said Hesston Head Coach Tyson Bauerle on facing Hoisington. "They are big and physical, they get off the ball fast. They force you into uncomfortable spots and they force you to start beating yourself a bit. They are good at it and they win a lot of ball games that way."
"It is one of those that you definitely want," said Hoisington Head Coach Zach Baird after the game. "They got you a couple of times in the past. It's nice for this group to get one as redemption for the past groups."
For the first time in three seasons, the Cardinals start the season with a victory.
"It's nice to see these guys happy," said Coach Baird. "They've put in a ton of work over the summer and worked their tails off. To see the smiles on their faces is worth it."
The Cardinals will travel to face the Halstead Dragons next Friday. Halstead defeated Smoky Valley 47-8.