By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
You can understand why it took Kansas City Rockhurst 36 minutes to get into the flow of its opening game. After a 330-mile bus trip, the Hawklets broke a 7-7 tie with two fourth quarter touchdowns in a 21-7 victory over Edmond Santa Fe on Thursday.
Drew Temple, who is verbally committed to Missouri, joined forces with junior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase to shred Santa Fe on the ground. Rockhurst overcame four first-half turnovers in the victory.
After going 0 for 4 for two interceptions in the first three quarters of play, Scheelhaase connected with fullback Demetrious Baylis for 17 yards to keep the first drive of the fourth quarter alive. Later, Scheelhaase completed his second and final pass of the night, a 32-yard strike to Temple for the go-ahead touchdown.
Santa Fe quarterback Cord Pape was unable to find the mark in the second half in an attempt to get the Wolves back into the contest. The senior failed to complete any of his six attempts after intermission.
Scheelhaase iced the game with a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:11 remaining to give the Hawklets their final margin of 21-7.
Santa Fe went to junior running back Randy Ponder early and often. After Matt Jackson's one-handed interception and 34-yard return, the Wolves came through on 3rd and 12 when Pape found Ponder for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Ponder, much like Jackson, reeled in the screen pass with one hand en route to the end zone.
The 6-3 Scheelhaase, Temple, and Baylis combined for 49 yards on four carries on the ensuing possession. But, the Wolves defense thwarted Scheelhaase once again. On 3rd and 1 from the 20, Scheelhaase was intercepted in the end zone, this time by junior Jordan Mitchell.
Later in the quarter, the Hawklets finally got on the board as Temple scampered in from 13-yards out with 3:41 remaining in the half. The PAT evened the score at seven apiece.
On Santa Fe's next possession, Ponder went down with a knee injury with 2:47 left in the first half. Ponder would watch the remainder of the contest on crutches and could be out 2-5 weeks. Ponder finished with 37 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown.
"We just missed our opportunities tonight. We had a few injuries and they didn't have any. That's just the way it goes sometimes," said Santa Fe head coach Dan Coccannouer.
Junior Steven Sumpter, who battled elbow injuries throughout preseason camp and was just released to play on Wednesday, rushed for 60 yards as Ponder's replacement.
Scheelhaase led the Hawklets with 119 rushing yards while Temple added 115 to make up a good chunk of Rockhurst's 315 yards rushing on the night.
Santa Fe now must face the remainder of non-district play without Ponder's services. On Sept. 7, an Ed-lam battle against a vastly improved Edmond Memorial looms.
Kansas City Rockhurst (1-0) 0- 7- 0- 14- 21
Edmond Santa Fe (0-1) 0- 7- 0- 0- 7
Scoring
SF- Ponder 27-yard pass from Pape (Edge kick)
KCR- Temple 13-yard run (Moorman kick)
KCR- Temple 32-yard pass from Scheelhaase (Moorman kick)
KCR- Scheelhaase 1-yard run (Mooreman kick)
PASSING
KCR- Scheelhaase 2-6, 49 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
SF- Pape 5-18, 82 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
RUSHING
KCR- Scheelhaase 19-119-1 TD, Temple 18-115-1 TD, Baylis 7-59, Castelluccio 5-24, Amato 1-2
SF- Sumpter 11-60, Ponder 13-37, Pape 13-25, Mills 4-10, Stayton 2-2
RECEIVING
KCR- Temple 1-32-1 TD, Baylis 1-17
SF- Ponder 2-42-1 TD, Jackson 2-35, Burke 1-5
Scott Hansen: maxprepsok@sbcglobal.net