Happy birthday Merle Clark.
For his 58th birthday, the Pittsburg High football team won their coach a second-consecutive SEK championship and the schools third conference title in eight years. The Purple Dragons cruised to a 35-0 victory over Labette Co. in Altamont on Friday night.
The Purple Dragons (5-0) came out with a balanced offensive attack. Sophomore RayShawn Davis rushed for a pair of touchdowns on 13 carries. Jace Erwin picked up 74 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Keenan Soles and Chrisitan Boor each scored on fumble recoveries for the Purple Dragon defense while Aaron Cook capped off a goal line defensive stand with an interception.
“Were conference champs and now we’ve got a game with Andover on the road,” Clark said. “We know they’re a good team. It’ll be a good test for us on the road before we get ready for district.”
However, the Grizzlies (0-5) were not going to go down without a fight. Brandon Dixon picked up 93 yards on 18 carries while Brannon Green caught five passes for 71 yards from sophomore quarterback Keaton Turner.
“Give Labette County a lot of credit,” Clark said. “The score doesn’t accurately reflect the true nature of the game. They’ve got a strong rushing attack and we knew they did. They rushed the ball up and down the field, our defense just made stops at the right time.”
The Grizzly offense sputtered on their first possession. A fumble on their first play from scrimmage — at their own 34 — turned into a Soles touchdown after he scooped it up between the hashmarks. The ensuing drive was halted on downs when the Grizzlies punter was ruled down after when his knee touched the ground while picking up a dropped snap.
The Purple Dragons defense continued to make defensive stops in key situations. In the opening drive of the second quarter, Labette Co. drove from their own 23-yard line down to the Pittsburg 1. After the Purple Dragon’s defense held for two plays, Turner passed over the middle on third down. Moore stepped out in front of the receiver for the interception and returned the ball to the 25.
The Grizzlies were sustain long drives and keep the Dragon offense off the field — and off the scoreboard — in the second quarter. Labette Co. had the ball for nearly 10 of 12 minutes in the second quarter. They came back from halftime and repeated the feat. The Grizzlies had the ball for eight minutes, 47 seconds in the third quarter.
“They started running the ball and they did good job of it,” White said. “It really shut us down on offense.”
“We had a good game plan, it’s just most of the time we didn’t have the ball,” Clark said. “If you look at the second half, it’s almost the fourth quarter before we get the ball.”
The Dragoons’ 35 points was the highest total this season for Pittsburg.
“We’re starting to hit,” Cook said. “Our line is really starting to go big and they’re starting to come through. Our running backs are starting to block for Zach. We’re starting to pick it up.”
The Purple Dragons turn now to Andover (4-1). The Trojans defeated Parsons (0-5) 63-0 on Friday night. Clark said that the Andover game allows the Purple Dragons to play a quality opponent before they being district play on Oct. 17 against Gardner-Edgerton.
“We really do like to play a very competitive game, league or non-league, right before districts,” Clark said. “We know our district is going to be very tough and Andover is going to provide just that.”
Labette County turns to take a road trip to Iola (4-1) on Friday. All games are slated to kick off at 7 p.m.
ALTAMONT —
