The Ste. Genevieve Dragons torched and pillaged the Bayless Bronchos 56-8 on Friday in the first round of their district playoffs. The Varsity Football squad utterly dominated the hapless Bronchos in a win-or-go-home affair and will now move on to the next round.
If you can dream it, the Dragons did it in this one. The offense was in full force both on the ground (186) and through the air (210) and the defense handily won the turnover battle 7-2. They outgained Bayless 396-174, despite running just 29 plays of offense against the Bronchos 56. It speaks volumes about the offense’s efficiency, and that’s how you make the most of what you’ve got on every play.
The first quarter completely belonged to the Dragons, as they ripped off three scores in convincing fashion. Quarterback Aiden Boyer got things going with a beautiful 16-yard run for the first touchdown of the game and a 6-0 lead. Then on the ensuing possession for the Bronchos, Kaden Flye climbed the ladder and snatched a seemingly impossible interception, which he ran back, breaking tackle after tackle, until he was finally brought down in the red zone. “Air BnB” took it from there as A. Boyer hit Zach Boyer for an 11-yard strike and a 14-0 lead (Flye converted on the two-point play).
Another immaculate interception, this time from Klayton Squires, set the table for the final score of the first 12 minutes. Then it was Flye up again, padding his highlight reel game, as he hauled in a 25-yard pass from A. Boyer and another score for a 21-0 first quarter advantage.
The next 12 minutes of the game certainly wouldn’t provide any relief for the Bronchos, as the Dragons tacked on three more TDs. First it was A. Boyer hooking up with Zach again for a 16-yard strike, but that wasn’t enough. The talented duo would do it again a few minutes later, this time for a ridiculous tackle-breaking, sideline-streaking 78-yard score that put the Dragons up 35-0 after A. Boyer ran in the two-point conversion.
The Ste. Gen QB kept the train moving shortly after that as he found Wyatt Springkamper for a 33-yard passing TD and a 42-0 lead going into the half. Any faint hopes Bayless had of hanging in this one were ultimately squashed.
The second half opened with Springkamper again, this time using his legs to rattle off a 38-yard run for a TD and a convincing 49-0 advantage. Then, Air BnB struck again with a 47-yard connection that ended the scoring for the Dragons and gave the starters a chance to rest while the reserves killed the clock. The Bronchos finally found the end zone in the fourth quarter with a six-yard run and a two-point conversion, but the meek offensive output was futile. The Dragons slammed the door with a 56-8 victory and will advance to the next round.
A. Boyer was an unstoppable touchdown machine in this one. He was 6-of-10 passing and amazingly, all six completions went for touchdowns. He totaled 210 yards through the air and tacked on an extra 20 on the ground, which included his unthinkable seventh TD of the game. His main target was, of course, Z. Boyer who had four catches for 152 yards and four touchdowns. Incredibly, his last nine receptions have all resulted in touchdowns. Surely, that has to be some kind of record.
Z. Boyer had this to say about his historic game, “I think I’m speaking for the whole team when i say this, we didn’t come out and play our best from the start. We had a few turnovers early but started to figure things out about mid to late first quarter. Our offense was really working through the air, and a few big plays late in the first half and early in the second half gave us a commanding lead. Our “O” line really made some key blocks throughout. We know going into next week we are going to have to be on our A game against Valle Catholic. We have to limit mistakes and turnovers and hopefully our offense and defense are stellar.”
The ground game was led by Austin McBride with nine carries for 32 yards, but he had a pair of fumbles, and Springkamper made the most of his two opportunities in relief for 62 yards and a score. His big-play ability came through as well with his aforementioned 33-yard receiving TD on his only catch of the contest.
As far as the defensive side of things, the Dragons were in bend but don’t break mode. They racked up an incredible seven turnovers, with four INTs and three fumble recoveries. Will Vaughn shined as he led the team with six tackles and an impressive four for a loss, while Squires had a pair of interceptions, making him the only player to record multiple turnovers.
Vaughn was blunt in his response about the game, saying, “We had to just had to stay low when we went through the line and had to be able to read the plays fast and stay disciplined on the line. We are feeling good about next week, but we will have to play hard and fast. All in all we feel optimistic about next week.”
The Dragons have now won four games in a row and their offense is firing on all cylinders, but they have the toughest test they could imagine in the next round. Next week they will “travel” a stone’s throw away to Valle to take on the undefeated Warriors in the next round of the District Playoffs.
These two crosstown rivals will duke it out in Valle at 7 pm on Friday, November 5th for all the marbles.
