Kearney Thrashes Benton 56-6 in First Round District Play

Kearney looked every bit the third ranked team in Missouri Class 4 on Friday night.   

In their first two plays from scrimmage, Cohen Jacobs ran for 40-yards followed by a Cameron Emmons 8-yard touchdown run. 

Manny Linthacum had 3 receptions for 99 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in the 56-6 win

After the Bulldog defense stopped the Cardinals on their first three possessions, Senior quarterback, Casey Rooney connected with Manny Linthacum on three consecutive touchdown passes covering 49, 29 and 21 yards.  Kearney took a commanding 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kearney defensive unit scored two touchdowns of their own:  Carson Shear with a strip, scoop, and score of 78 yards; and Conner Reid on a 34-yard interception return.  Jacob Dillon was perfect on PATs going 6-6.  

The last Kearney score of the first half came on a 17-yard touchdown run from Freshman Carter Temple after the Kearney defense stopped the Cardinals on downs.  Sebastian Johannessen added the PAT. Benton scored their only points of the night on a 62-yard scamper in front of their bench.  Kearney took a 46-6 lead into Halftime.

The only scoring play in the second half by either team would come in the fourth quarter on an option pitch from Sophomore quarterback, Brad Doll to Freshman running back, Kale Tucking that went for 76 yards and the score.  Tucking was the leading rusher on the night for Kearney with 120 yards on 6 carries.  Drew Nelson added the PAT making the score 56-6. 

Kearney extended their streak to seven games of scoring more than 40 points while allowing less than 13. The Bulldogs will host the Savannah Savages in the District Semifinal game next Friday night at Kearney High School.  The game will be carried on 102.7FM KPGZ with pregame starting at 6:40pm and kickoff at 7pm.

KPGZ Sports - Kelly Gentry contributed to this story