PHOTO (Garden City Buffaloes celebrate Caleb Wiese’s 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of Friday night’s Homecoming game at Buffalo Stadium). Photo by Brett Marshall.
FOOTBALL: Monday, Sept. 28, 2020
After winning a dramatic 14-8 decision over rival Dodge City on the road on Sept. 18, the Garden City Buffaloes football team was looking to build on that momentum when it played host to the unbeaten Hays High Indians on Friday, Sept. 25, at Buffalo Stadium.
It was Homecoming and the final home game before going on the road for two weeks in early October.
Hays, though, started strong against the Buffs’ defense and the hosts could not recover as the visiting Indians prevailed 28-7. The loss dropped the Buffs to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference while Hays improved to 4-0 and 2-0.
On its opening drive, Hays scored on a 4-yard run by Dylan Dreiling with 8:07 to play in the first quarter and then on its next possession made it 14-0 on Jordan Dale’s 40-yard scamper. Jackson Fields booted both PAT kicks and there was still 6:26 to play in the opening period.
The Indians would up the lead to 21-0 when Dale bulldozed in from 2-yards out and Fields’ PAT kick was good with 7:28 left before the halftime.
The Buffaloes had their best offensive showing of the night, which was capped off by sophomore quarterback Caleb Wiese’s 10-yard TD jaunt. Isaac Rivera kicked the extra point to make it 21-7.
Both teams struggled offensively in the third quarter with neither team scoring. Hays capped off the scoring at the 8:34 mark of the fourth on a 4-yard run by Dreiling and Fields’ PAT kick.
It was a frustrating night for the Buffs’ offense, limited to just 54 total yards (39 rushing, 15 passing) from 42 scrimmage plays. Hays, meanwhile, had 318 total yards on 67 plays, with 236 of those coming on the ground and 82 through the air.
The Buffs had just two penalties, but also had two turnovers – 1 fumble and 1 interception. The Buffs had the ball for just 17:30 while Hays controlled the clock with 30:30.
Christian Reyes and Joel Bellows paced the defense with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
Next up for the Buffs will be a road trip to Liberal on Friday, Oct. 2, with a 7 p.m. kickoff scheduled at Redskin Field.
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Hays High 14 7 0 7 — 28
Garden City 0 7 0 0 — 7
1st Quarter
HH: Dylan Dreiling 4 run (Jackson Fields kick), 8:07. 0-7
HH: Jordan Dale 40 run (Fields kick), 6:26. 0-14
2nd Quarter
HH: Dale 2 run (Fields kick), 7:28. 0-21
GC: Caleb Wiese 10 run (Isaac Rivera kick), 4:01. 7-21
4th Quarter
HH: Dreiling 4 run (Fields kick), 8:34. 7-28
Garden City High School 