TONGANOXIE, KS - The battle of THS was held Friday night in Tonganoxie as the Tonganoxie Chieftains took on the Turner Bears. For the Chieftains, it was homecoming and a Kaw Valley League game; they did not disappoint as they defeated the Bears 43-22. Turner dropped to 1-5 (1-5 Kaw Valley) and Tonganoxie moved to 5-1 (4-1).
The tone of the game was set on its first drives. Tonganoxie’s first drive ended in a short run by senior running back Cole Holloway for a touchdown. Turner’s first drive ended with an interception by Tonganoxie senior Maleak Gibson.
Offensive line struggles for Turner and the defensive pressure from the Chieftains plagued the Bears. Senior quarterback Paul Berry was forced out of the pocket on multiple occasions. Berry, however, did make the most of the opportunities, finishing with three passing touchdowns and over 150 yards passing.
The Tonganoxie offense, however, was too much for the Bears to handle. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Ford had two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns on the night. Tonganoxie’s biggest weapon was senior Ben Johnson. Johnson, with his 6-foot-3 build, was a big mismatch on offense (wide receiver) and defense (defensive back). Johnson had an interception and a 60-yard touchdown catch in which he broke three tackles en route to the end zone.
The Bears showed some life on defense with less than two minutes left to play in the game. A long touchdown pass from Berry to junior wide receiver Santino Bernal, a recovered onside kick and another passing touchdown from Berry to Bernal made the score look closer than the game actually was.
“There was no quit in them,” Turner coach Jermey Milne said. “To come out like that even with the score like it was. We played really hard.”
Tonganoxie coach Al Troyer was excited after the win.
“We played well,” Troyer said, “I thought we moved the ball pretty well.”
Troyer, however, was not so excited about his defense, saying: “The defense played well at time but there are things we need to work on”
Turner will continue to search for its second win next week against Bishop Miege at home. Tonganoxie will look to improve on its record with a home game against Perry-Lecompton High School.
