Danny Czerwinski
Section618.com
BENTON – The high school football playoffs traditionally happen on the weekend near and around Halloween. It is a wonderful time of tricks, treats, and dressing up as a character. At Tabor Field in Benton, it was no different. Stanford-Olympia played the character of doctor efficiently and surgically working on Benton. The Spartans treated themselves to an upset 32-21 win over the Rangers in the Class 3A Football Playoffs First Round.
Benton won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, and it didn’t take long for the Spartans to take advantage. On the opening drive, they marched down the field for a 7-play, 60-yard touchdown drive. It took 3:44 before Zack Keedy found Clay Mortimer open for a 17-yard touchdown pass, putting Stanford-Olympia on top 7-0 with 8:16 left in the first quarter, a lead they would not relinquish.
After the Rangers ended a drive on downs, the Spartans wasted little time scoring to end the quarter. It only took 3 plays, 55 yards, and 90 seconds. Kade Lollar sprinted in from 18 yards out giving Olympia a 13-0 lead after the extra point attempt failed.
In the second quarter, the scoring for the teams exploded. Benton was finally able to get on the board thanks to a very efficient 80-yard, 10-play drive that saw Wyatt Upton score on a six yard run. With 9:45 left in the first half, the Rangers trailed 13-7.
Drama and big plays entered the game in this part of the quarter. After the Rangers stopped the Spartans on downs, Benton saw a snap in shotgun fly over the quarterback’s head. It was scooped up by the Spartans for the first turnover of the game at the Benton 1-yard line. Two plays later, the Spartans scored on a Keedy to Chase Litwiller 2-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion was no good, and Olympia led 19-7 with 5:13 left in the half.
The Rangers showed life with a big play and touchdown drive of their own. It only took 1:15 for Benton to cover 79 yards on three plays. Tiffin Kouzoukas found Grant Owens for a 67-yard touchdown pass, pulling the Rangers back to within 19-14 with 3:57 left in the half.
The Spartans’ next drive took care of that final 3:57. From the Benton 28-yard line, Keedy found Litwiller open behind the Rangers’ secondary for a touchdown pass as the horn went off. Stanford-Olympia led 26-14 at the break. The Spartans threw three passes in the first half. All were completed, and all were for touchdowns.
The defenses started to assert themselves in the third quarter. Both teams had drives, but nothing came of it as far as points were concerned as the quarter was scoreless.
Benton showed life and got back to within a score with 9:15 left in the game as Kouzoukas found Nolan Schafer for a 20-yard touchdown pass cutting Olympia’s lead to 26-21.
At this point, the Spartans put on a clinic on how to put a team away with a winning drive. They went on a 12-play, 80-yard drive eating 7:00 off the clock. Lollar scored from 10 yards out with 2:11 left in the game giving the Spartans a 32-21.
The Rangers’ final drive ended with an interception.
Olympia, a 15 seed, improves to 6-4 and will host 7-3 St. Joseph-Ogden in the second round of the Class 3A Football Playoffs. The Rangers saw their 8-game winning streak and season come to an end with a record of 8-2.