Garden Plain guts out victory, clinches spot
GARDEN PLAIN — Somehow, there were no points scored during the final seven minutes of Garden Plain's 44-38 win over Halstead on Thursday night. But it was close.
After a stretch between the second and fourth quarters in which no more than 4 minutes, 40 seconds passed without one team increasing its point total, Joey Capul's 21-yard touchdown run with 7:02 to play proved to be enough for the Owls to win the Class 3A-District 10 game and advance to the playoffs.
That's because Garden Plain made the game's most important defensive stop, keeping Halstead out of the end zone after a 53-yard pass got the Dragons inside Garden Plain's 5-yard line with about five minutes to go.
Two first downs allowed the Owls to run out the clock, giving them a satisfying ending to a tumultuous week. Capul did plenty before the game-winning run, rushing for 197 yards and four touchdowns.
"I never underestimate my players," acting Garden Plain coach and defensive coordinator Greg Gegen said. "They've had several goal-line stands this season. The thing that made us feel good as a staff is that everybody contributed."
Garden Plain played without coach Todd Puetz, who was arrested last weekend in a human trafficking sting in Wichita. The school said it suspended a teacher and coach — without naming Puetz — from duties after an arrest. Wichita police said charges could be filed as early as Monday.
Garden Plain jumped to a 13-0 lead after its first two possessions as Halstead didn't manage a play longer than three yards — or a first down — on its first three series.
The Dragons' version of catch-up was establishing the connection between quarterback Jonah McKee and receiver Ryan Bibb. McKee often made precise passes to Bibb, who had the speed to outrun Garden Plain's secondary for long passes.
McKee and Bibb connected for an 80-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, starting a stretch in which neither offense slowed until Halstead was unable to convert on its final drive.
"It turned into a scorefest," Halstead coach Marc Svaty said. "I didn't think it was going to be that way. I thought it was going to be a three or four touchdown tight ballgame instead of a five or six touchdown tight ballgame."
The teams traded points and turnovers and establishing momentum proved to be an impossibility. Once one team appeared to seize it, it was snatched away by its own mistake or a big play by the opponent.
Many of the big plays came from McKee and Bibb. All but eight of McKee's 257 passing yards went to Bibb, who caught four touchdowns and nearly had another one late.
"It was good routes," Gegen said. "The quarterback was putting it right on the money and the receivers were running good routes. But our (defensive backs) went up for the ball and did everything we could ask them to do."
After catching a long pass down the sideline, Bibb was tripped at Garden Plain's 4-yard line. With the deep ball proving so effective, the Dragons found themselves in few situations where a short gain was necessary.
Garden Plain stopped them four times and was able to run out the final 3:31.
"The kids hung in there and hung in there and they kept scrapping," Gegen said. "That's all there is to it. The kids came in there and kept fighting."
Halstead (6-3) 0 21 14 3 — 38 Garden Plain (8-1) 13 16 7 8 — 44
GP—Capul 63 run (Dooley kick)
GP—Becker 47 pass from Jennings (kick failed)
H—R. Bibb 80 pass from McKee (Wingert run)
GP—Capul 4 run (Capul run)
H—D. Bibb 3 run (D. Bibb kick)
GP—Clark 8 run (Capul run)
H—R. Bibb 19 pass from McKee (kick failed)
H—R. Bibb 24 pass from McKee (run failed)
H—R. Bibb 50 pass from McKee (D. Bibb pass from McKee)
GP—Capul 1 run (Dooley kick)
H—D. Bibb 30 FG
GP—Capul 21 run (Capul run)
Individual Statistics
Rushing— Halstead, McKee 13-98, Armendari 10-50, D. Bibb 8-19, Wingert 2-2. Garden Plain, Capul 28-197, Doyle 5-80, Jennings 7-25, Clark 10-14.
Passing— Halstead, McKee 9-17-257-2. Garden Plain, Jennings, 7-10-173-0.
Receiving— Halstead, R. Bibb 8-249, D. Bibb 1-8. Garden Plain, Becker 4-141, Arnold 3-32.