This season hasn't been kind to The Ulysses Tigers, who are still winless after their eighth matchup. They suffered a tough 57-37 defeat at the hands of Liberal on Friday. While losing is never fun, Ulysses can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas football rankings (they are ranked 155th, while Liberal is ranked 42nd).
Despite the loss, Ulysses still got an impressive performance from Aden Alvarado, who rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Alvarado was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 61 yards. Carmelo Orosco was in the mix too, providing Ulysses with two touchdowns.
J. Brooks kappelmann continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Liberal, throwing for 265 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.0 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. James Fieser was another key contributor, picking up 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Ulysses' defeat was their ninth straight on the road (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 0-8. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 12-1 Wamego and 7-1 Chanute (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 75.2% over those games). As for Liberal, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.
Ulysses will head out on the road to face off against Buhler at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Liberal, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Newton at 7:00 p.m.
