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DODGE CITY —
On a beautiful night at Memorial Stadium, the Dodge City Red Demons took on the Great Bend Panthers in a crucial Western Athletic Conference matchup as teams jockey for position for regionals at the end of the month.
When the game began there was a steady breeze blowing into the face of Dodge, forcing them to concentrate on maintaining possession.
Chances were few and far between for both sides to begin the game. The possession arrow favored Dodge City who spent the majority of the first half on the Great Bend side of the field.
As the two teams switched sides for half number two, fortunes changed for the Demons.
Seven minutes into the second stanza, DCHS found themselves once again in Panther territory. After a failed clearing attempt by Great Bend found itself in the hands, or feet, of the Demons, the ball bounced right to junior Rene Yeverino, who turned and blasted a laser past Panther goalkeeper Claudio Sanchez and inside the upper-90 to give Dodge the 1-0 lead.
Great intensity and execution by the Demons slowed down any chance of a Great Bend counter attack, rarely allowing them to reach their penalty box.
Even when the visiting Panthers got off a shot, it was generally high and wide of the frame.
DCHS sealed things up with just around ten minutes to play in the game when a long ball from the midfield found senior Oscar Ramirez. He was able to muscle by his defender and leave himself one-on-one with Sanchez. Ramirez flipped the ball up and over the keeper's hands and into the back of the net, nailing the game shut with the 2-0 lead.
The Demons claimed victory over Great Bend by that two goal margin and set themselves up for a showdown with Maize on Thursday night to determine who has the best chance at claiming the number two seed in the regionals.
In order to do that, coach Virgil Hutchcraft says his team needs to play with the same intensity that it did Tuesday night.
"From here on out, if we want results, we have to have that level of play" Hutchcraft said. "If we slip up, we won't be where we want to be and that's holding that trophy at the end of state."
The win over the Panthers pushes the Demons to 10-3 overall and in solid position to grab the number two seed.
However, the visiting Maize squad will definitely have a say about it come Thursday night.
"Maize and us, whenever we connect together it's always a battle," Hutchcraft said. "Both of us are looking for one of those top seeds and it will be a war."
On a beautiful night at Memorial Stadium, the Dodge City Red Demons took on the Great Bend Panthers in a crucial Western Athletic Conference matchup as teams jockey for position for regionals at the end of the month.
When the game began there was a steady breeze blowing into the face of Dodge, forcing them to concentrate on maintaining possession.
Chances were few and far between for both sides to begin the game. The possession arrow favored Dodge City who spent the majority of the first half on the Great Bend side of the field.
As the two teams switched sides for half number two, fortunes changed for the Demons.
Seven minutes into the second stanza, DCHS found themselves once again in Panther territory. After a failed clearing attempt by Great Bend found itself in the hands, or feet, of the Demons, the ball bounced right to junior Rene Yeverino, who turned and blasted a laser past Panther goalkeeper Claudio Sanchez and inside the upper-90 to give Dodge the 1-0 lead.
Great intensity and execution by the Demons slowed down any chance of a Great Bend counter attack, rarely allowing them to reach their penalty box.
Even when the visiting Panthers got off a shot, it was generally high and wide of the frame.
DCHS sealed things up with just around ten minutes to play in the game when a long ball from the midfield found senior Oscar Ramirez. He was able to muscle by his defender and leave himself one-on-one with Sanchez. Ramirez flipped the ball up and over the keeper's hands and into the back of the net, nailing the game shut with the 2-0 lead.
The Demons claimed victory over Great Bend by that two goal margin and set themselves up for a showdown with Maize on Thursday night to determine who has the best chance at claiming the number two seed in the regionals.
In order to do that, coach Virgil Hutchcraft says his team needs to play with the same intensity that it did Tuesday night.
"From here on out, if we want results, we have to have that level of play" Hutchcraft said. "If we slip up, we won't be where we want to be and that's holding that trophy at the end of state."
The win over the Panthers pushes the Demons to 10-3 overall and in solid position to grab the number two seed.
However, the visiting Maize squad will definitely have a say about it come Thursday night.
"Maize and us, whenever we connect together it's always a battle," Hutchcraft said. "Both of us are looking for one of those top seeds and it will be a war."
