AUGUSTA, Kan. – The McPherson High School football team bounced back from their home loss to Mulvane last week with a road win against the Augusta High School Orioles 32-0, their first shutout win of the 2024 season.
Defense was the name of the game in the first half as both teams went the first 18 minutes of play scoreless. The Bullpups finally broke the scoreless tie when senior Brock Richardson found the end zone on a five-yard touchdown run, his third of the season. The offense didn’t stop there, tacking on seven more points in the 2nd quarter after Ashton Malm took a screen pass 42 yards for a touchdown, his third touchdown on a screen pass over the past two games.
After leading 14-0 at halftime, freshman kicker Jaxon Hoover nailed his second field goal of the season on as many attempts, this one from 26 yards out. Two more points were added to the board when Augusta tried to punt the ball away on 4th down deep in their own territory, but a high snap put the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The fourth quarter started with a trick play with backup QB Carter Bengtson lined up as a running back, who received a lateral from Carter Allen then threw a 22-yard TD to Bishop Brown on his first pass of the season. With the clock winding down, the Bullpups found their way to the end zone a final time when Brock Richardson caught a 28-yard pass from Allen, putting the nail in the coffin with the 32-0 victory.
Along with the strong offense with 380 total yards, their defense held Augusta to 166 yards, including a stunning (-21) rushing yards. It is the second time this season that the Bullpups have stopped their opponent to negative rushing yards.
The Bullpups are now 4-3 on the season entering their final week of the regular season, where they will take on rival Buhler. A Bullpup win would clinch them a share of the AVCTL Div. 3 title and would guarantee them the opportunity to host the opening round of the playoffs. Kickoff of the game is Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
FINAL STATS
Passing:
C. Allen: 20/28, 199 yds., 2 TD, 1 INT, Long: 42
C. Bengtson: 1/1, 22 yds., 1 TD
Rushing:
C. Delaney: 11 att., 86 yds., Long: 22
D. Becker: 5 att., 54 yds., Long: 38
B. Richardson: 7 att., 11 yds., 1 TD, Long: 8
K. Crane: 2 att., 11 yds., Long: 9
Receiving:
A. Malm: 6 rec., 70 yds., 1 TD, Long: 42
I. Puhalla: 4 rec., 37 yds., Long: 18
B. Brown: 5 rec., 34 yds., 1 TD, Long: 22
B. Richardson: 2 rec., 30 yds., 1 TD, Long: 28
B. Barkley: 2 rec., 21 yds., Long: 15
N. Pearcy: 1 rec., 19 yds.
C. Delaney: 1 rec., 10 yds.
Defensive Leaders:
C. Delaney: 3 tkl, 1 TFL, 1 Fumble Recovery
C. Koehn: 3 tkl., 2 TFL, 1 Sack
A. Harms: 2 tkl., 1 INT
N. Pearcy: 1 INT
