Freshman running back Devin Taylor carried the ball 43 times for 228 yards and scored three second half touchdowns as the Fort Scott Greyhounds opened their 2014 "BAM" campaign with a 24-17 come from behind victory over the Tritons of Iowa Central Community College at Frary Field.
Taylor, a 6-1 195 pound bruising tailback from Nicholasville (KY) scored on runs of four, nine, and from one-yard out to help the Greyhounds outscore the Tritons 21-0 after the visitors took a 17-3 lead with just over twelve minutes left in the third quarter.
Iowa Central started off the game scoring, after a scoreless first quarter, with a 23 yard field goal from placekicker Hunter Meyer and improve their lead to ten when Triton linebacker Trent James stepped in front of a Braxton Ross pass and scampered 64 yards for a touchdown making it 10-0 with 5:36 left in the first half.
Freshman kicker Blayke Lindenman put the first points of the new season on the board for the Hounds when he connected from 27 yards out while time expired in the first half making the score 10-3 at intermission.
Iowa Central extended its lead to 14 when Triton quarterback Kendall Jackson connected with wide receiver Trenton Bledsoe in the corner of the end zone for a 24 yard score with 12:07 left in the third quarter. It appeared that Bledsoe bobbled the catch while falling to the turf but referees called it a good catch and a Triton score.
Overall, the Triton offense was not very effective against the Greyhound's "Dark Side" defensive unit gaining only 132 total yards. Jackson, a highly touted quarterback from Arlington (TX) completed only four of his 19 attempts for 115 yards but was sacked 3 times.
A much improved Hound defense, from last season, held the visitors to 17 yards on the ground for the game and negative rushing yardage in a "field position" battle first half.
Both teams combined for 24 punts for the game; 14 for Iowa Central and 10 for Fort Scott.
Fort Scott sophomore punter Matt Vincent pinned the Tritons inside their twenty yard line four times during the first half while averaging 43.1 yards on his nine punts.
The high heat index and the steaming Kansas sunshine proved to do more harm to the Tritons from Iowa than it did the Greyhounds with signs of fatigue and exhaustion being seen on the visitors sideline throughout the second half.
Fourth year Greyhound head coach Curtis Horton told his players before the game that the Tritons were not ready to play in heat like they faced on Saturday but his squad was, telling them that; "the conditioning they have done and the dedication to working hard has prepared them for games like this". Horton's comments proved to be right halfway through the third quarter; that is when the Greyhound running game took over.
Taylor's first score came two plays after punt returner Landon James-Wilson returned an Iowa Central punt 32 yards to the eight yard line. Two four yard runs, from Taylor, later the score was cut to 17-10 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
James-Wilson, a 190 pound defensive back from Raytown (MO) returned five punts on the day for 115 yards or a 23 yard return average.
Taylor second score came from 9 yards out after the Hounds defense stiffened up to hold the Triton's offense to a three and punt possession. The scoring drive, started just over a minute from their previous touchdown, proved to really take the wind/breath out of the Triton team driving 71 yards on a "grind and pound" 11 play drive for a tying touchdown with 11:36 left in the contest.
After both teams exchanged two punts each the Greyhounds started the go ahead drive at the Tritons 48 yard line with 2:42 left in the game.
Taylor carried the load again for Fort Scott carrying the ball six times in the eight play scoring drive pounding his way behind the Hounds "Big Nasties" offensive line from 1 yard out for the go ahead touchdown with just 32 seconds left.
Taylor's 228 rushing yards is the most rushing yardage from a Fort Scott Greyhound freshman running back, in their first game, since statistics started being kept in the early 1970's. Stanley Hagan rushed for 195 yards in his first game of the 2012 season.
The Greyhounds finished with 297 yards of offense on 85 plays while Iowa Central ran 58 plays on the day.
The Hounds (1-0 overall record) will travel to Hutchinson, Kansas next Saturday where they will face the 1-0 Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons. Game time is set for 7:00pm.