Mistakes compound for Salina South as Derby rolls, 77-7

The Salina South Cougars will have to go back to the drawing board after they suffered a 77-7 drubbing Friday night at Salina Stadium to Class 6A powerhouse Derby.

The Cougars, who fell to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I, were overmatched from the start by the Panthers (3-0, 2-0), going three-and-out five consecutive times to begin the game.  

South coach Sam Sellers called the Panthers a “heck of a football team,” and added that the Cougars' mental mistakes, especially on offense, put them in a bad position.  

“I don’t think there’s anybody that will tell you we played our best game tonight,” Sellers said. “Again, Derby gets credit for that, but...the beautiful thing about this game and the horrible thing about this game is it takes 11 guys doing their job every play.” 

Derby took advantage of an average starting field position at the South 35-yard-line to reach the end zone on each of its first nine possessions.  

The Panthers used both the read and spread option to steamroll through the Cougar defense.  

Derby running back Dylan Edwards took a pitch on Derby’s opening play from scrimmage 45 yards to the house, the first of his four touchdowns. 

Quarterback Mercer Thatcher only needed two plays on the next drive to punch it in, finishing the drive with a 26-yard run to make it 14-0.  

After completing a 26-yard pass to his brother Drake, Thatcher pushed behind his offensive line from 4 yards out to mark his second rushing touchdown of the night. Edwards had his turn next, scoring on runs of 8, 44, and 7 yards, all the while leaving Cougar defenders in his wake.  

South quarterback Weston Fries was flustered by the Derby pass rush and lockdown coverage, as he threw two interceptions and was strip-sacked in the first half.  

The South offense showed a brief sign of life, but only after a scary moment occurred on the field.  

With the Cougars trailing 35-0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, running back Seth Clemmer ran into a scrum of players and could not get up once the play finished. After several minutes lying motionless on the field, Clemmer was carted off on a stretcher by Salina EMTs with a neck brace and received medical attention.  

Sellers said after the game that the junior has recovered after feeling a pop in his neck during the game.  

“He’s good to go," Sellers said.  "It was super precautionary, but he was moving everything. He wanted to go back to the sideline.”  

Derby took a 70-0 lead into the locker rooms at halftime, with a running clock already set to tick off the rest of the game.  

South avoided the shutout with an 18-play, 88-yard drive that began near the end of the third quarter and lasted until the final buzzer sounded.  

Running back Ian Andalon finally found some running room, totaling 61 yards on the drive before receiver Laken Webb leaped for a 21-yard touchdown pass thrown by Fries.  

“I don’t think any of us are proud of the game we played, but they know what’s left to play for, and our team goals and things like that are all in play still,” Sellers said. “It’s getting over this one fast, and then we’ve got a big four-week stretch here where we need to take things to a different level.” 

South will host Maize at 7 p.m. Friday at Salina Stadium. The Eagles will come into Salina after suffering a 24-17 loss to Arkansas City on Friday.