Demons fall to Derby

    Nothing seemed to go right for the Dodge City High School Red Demons on Friday The 13th.
    As a result, Derby, leading 7-0 at halftime in a Class 6A state playoff game, got a pair of third-quarter field goals from placekicker Mason Young and a 21-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyler Harrison in the fourth quarter to post a 19-7 victory.
    “They’re just a good football team,” Dodge City head coach Justin Burke said. “They didn’t make any mistakes.
    “They tackle well and didn’t miss tackles. When we broke one, there was another guy there. They had a lot of good athletes out there and a lot of speed.”
    Derby’s defense had enough speed to not let Dodge City tailback Jace Banner, coming off a school-record 305-yard rushing output in a 35-14 first-round win over Topeka High, beat them.
    Banner finished with 28 carries for 104 yards, but a chunk of those came in the fourth quarter when the Panthers had already seized control.
    Banner, who scored a total of 21 touchdowns during the Demons’ first 10 games, couldn’t find the end zone on this night.
    “Derby is a tough place to play, and we didn’t get a call in the first half,” Burke said. “Even on the spot when we got down to the 5-yard line, it looked like we had it by a half-yard (on a Banner run) and that spot wasn’t even close.”
    Derby answered by driving 95 yards for a 7-0 lead on Jameson Moore’s 6-yard run.
    “That was a big 14-point swing,” Burke said. “If we’re up 7-0, it’s a whole lot different than being 7-0 at the half.”
    After Young’s field goals, Dodge quarterback Ty Thomas hit Landon Head for a 15-yard scoring pass to give DCHS with 7:59 left.
    But Harrison’s 21-yard scoring run put it away.
    Oklahoma State commitment Devin Hedgepeth was everything as advertised with five catches for 123 receiving yards, as well as being a shut-down cornerback on defense.

    Other 6A scores: Olathe North 41, Lawrence Free State 28; Blue Valley 17, Blue Valley Northwest 14; and Wichita Heights 14, Manhattan 10.