The Tornado football season came to a screeching halt last Friday night with the final record of the year at 6-3.
The usually high flying team that would create big plays in all three phases looked like a shell of themselves losing to Atchison County, 0-31. Atchison County’s defense attacked relentlessly all night forcing 11 sacks, 2 turnovers and held the Tornado offense to just 135 yards on the night. This was the lowest amount of yards gained all year and just the second time they have been held to less than 200 yards along with the first shutout of the year.
“They played harder than us, executed better than us and they deserved to win,” stated Head Coach Jonah McKee. “Football isn’t a complicated game even if us coaches try to make it seem like one, whoever blocks, tackles & takes care of the ball better usually wins,” he continued.
There were very few bright spots on the night filled with cool air but there were still plenty of highlights throughout the season that brought this team to this position.
This team became a top 10 scoring team in Eureka football history along with becoming just the 7th team to win a District Title. Peyton Hare had 1,786 yards on offense and 25 touchdowns.
Cole Ptacek broke the school INT record for a career with 8 just surpassing Ryan Bradbury (1992-1995) who had 7. “I am incredibly proud of how far the boys have come in my 4 years with them, to win 4 games in their first 2 years of high school to posting back to back winning seasons along with a District Title is pretty amazing,” stated McKee.
Now the work towards the future begins. They must replace 10 amazing seniors who all were major contributors to this team. Peyton Hare, Tim Aguilar, Cole Ptacek, Noah Rippy, TJ Mills, Justin Andrews, Nate Clark, Gauge Lopez, Will Fitzwater and Manger Levi Jones. “It all starts with building our depth, getting all our players into the weight room.
Last game was evidence that our younger kids need to be more physically prepared to play because we eventually will have to call on them in a long season,” he concluded.
