Demons never get back on track after quick start

    The Red Demons' football season ended Friday in Wichita with a 42-12 loss at the hands of the Wichita Heights Falcons. The Dodge City offense never got on track after a quick start by Heights' passing attack.
    The Falcons got to 8-1 with a stout rushing attack over the course of the season, but quarterback Chris Boyd threw for three touchdowns in the first half to give his team a 21-6 lead at intermission.
    “We didn't cover them in one-on-one situations,” said Red Demon coach Justin Burke. “They're fast, but we got back into some bad habits that hurt us giving up the big play earlier in the season.”
    The Demon offense struggled from the start. On the first possession of the game, Dodge's only move was backward, on a running play that was snuffed out in the backfield. A quick punt set the tone for the evening.
    Heights' ensuing series was capped off with a 20-yard touchdown strike to junior Taylor Lewis with 7:35 remaining in the opening frame. Dodge wasn't out of the game yet, but Heights was able to control the clock with their run, and the first quarter seemed to tick away in real time.
    Early in the second quarter, after two more stalled Demon drives, Boyd finished off another methodical drive with a 13-yard touchdown toss to Andrew Coriss with just over eight minutes left in the half. The Demons looked for success on the ground early, and finally found it in the waning moments of the half.
    When the drive seemed to sputter deep in Falcon territory, the Demons went to big running back Bruce Campbell. On a fourth-down play with only 1:12 remaining, Campbell dove into the end zone from the 2-yard line to put the Demons on the board.
    The two-point conversion attempt was no good, bringing the score to a manageable 14-6.
    “They really shoved it right down our throats,” said Falcon coach Rick Wheeler. “Give them credit, they played hard all night.”
    But just as the tide seemed to be turning, with the Demons looking to go into halftime down by only one score, the Falcons mounted a quick-hitting three-play drive that took just over a minute and ended with a 35-yard touchdown bomb to Kevin Strand with just 37 ticks left.
    “Momentum is a really big thing in high school football,” Wheeler said. “Being able to generate that quick score was exciting for us. We've been practicing that spread stuff real well but we don't really run it that much.”
    But when they did Friday, it was extremely effective. Boyd's three completions in the first half were all good for touchdowns.
    The third took what was left of the Demons' momentum away for good. The Falcons also made good on their first possession of the third quarter, putting the Demons in a three-score hole.
    After a Red Demon late hit brought the ball into Dodge City territory, Richard Dixon rumbled for 23 yards to get the Falcons into scoring range. He carried the ball into the end zone just two plays later, making the score 27-6.
    The Demon offense spit and sputtered through the third quarter, turning the ball over on downs in their first two possessions of the second half.
    “Mentally, we weren't all there,” Burke said. “I think maybe they got a little content after last week bringing back the hatchet.”
    A mental lapse and some late turnovers added to a laundry list of Demon struggles Friday. Dodge quarterback Ty Thomas threw a pick with just under ten minutes to play in the fourth quarter that Heights' Alex Aguirre returned 37 yards for a touchdown to make the score 34-6.
    Falcon return man Duane Sims returned a punt on the enduing Demon drive 50 yards for another score that gave his team a 42-6 lead (after a successful two-point conversion)
    Late in the fourth, the Demons finally were able to make the run work again, as senior running back Steven Mills ran in chunks of 10 yards at a time and cashed in a 9-yard scamper for the game's final score, 42-12.
    A two-point attempt was no good, and the Falcons ran out the clock on the Demons' season.
    Burke praised his team after the game, saying that his team's effort in the second half of 2008 was something the program could build on next season. The Demons closed out the season with a 4-6 record.
    Heights (9-1) will go on to face 10-0 Junction City in the second round, after the Bluejays beat the Wichita North Redskins in the first round.
    “The guys never quit this year,” Burke said. “I'm proud of every one of them with how hard they fought to get into the playoffs.”