Two possessions, two Benton turnovers, two Kearney defensive touchdowns, two Landon Carkeek extra-points, and the Kearney Bulldogs led 14-0 in the first two minutes of play.
The Bulldog offense wasted no time adding their portion to the scoring effort as Kearney senior quarterback Carter Temple lofted a 43-yard pass to Ian Sheller on a post route, setting up a 7-yard Temple to Matthew Lindsey pitch and run to the end zone. Carkeek booted his third of eight extra points dead center through the uprights and the rout was underway. Bulldogs 21, Benton Cardinals, 0.
“Definitely very proud of the way we came out,” said Kearney head coach Logan Minnick. “Obviously, anytime you can score once on defense you feel good about it, and if you do it twice to open the game, you're feeling really good about it.”
Predictably, Kearney special teams scored again at the hands of senior all-purpose athlete, Kale Tucking. With a minute to play in the first half, Tucking faked a fourth-and-long punt and sprinted 50 yards untouched to the end zone.
Kearney’s offense exercised the running attack midway through the second quarter with a Cruise Emmons 32-yard burst to the end zone.
A 5-yard pass from Temple to Caleb Stevens in the back of the end zone with 28 seconds to go in the first half sent the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 42-0 advantage.
Kearney senior running back, Matthew Lindsey opened the second half with a brilliant 90-yard kickoff return, giving the Bulldogs a 49-0 lead. Carter Temple tossed a short pass to Cruise Emmons for the Bulldogs’ final touchdown of the night.
Kearney’s second unit took over and Benton running back Xander Tiller saved the shutout with a late 5-yard touchdown, giving Kearney the 56-7 district semifinal victory.
The Bulldog win over Benton and Savannah’s 45-7 victory over Smithville sets the stage for a repeat performance of a Kearney (10-0) vs. Savannah (11-0) district championship matchup.
“It's two of the best football teams in the whole state,” said Minnick. “We've had the better of them in the last couple years, but you know they're going to come in motivated. I definitely think you've got the number one and two teams in Missouri class 4. It's unfortunate it's got to happen this soon in the playoffs, but at the same time we're looking forward to it. That is a great football team up there. They've got a lot of really good players, and you know they’re undefeated this year as well, so, we’ll have our hands full.
KPGZ News – Mike Davis contributed to this story.
