GARDEN CITY, Kan. - The Independence Football team was unable to regain momentum, as 35 unanswered points from #8 Garden City led to a 35-7 defeat on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates (3-3, 1-2) got off to a strong start, especially on the defensive side as the first drive of the game for the Broncbusters ended on a Dillon Glasper interception, followed by back-to-back three and outs.
The Pirate offense was able to break through later in the first quarter, as Keegan Anderson capped off a nine play 93 yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Mekhi Penix to give the Pirates an early 7-0 lead.
The Indy defense continued to keep the Broncbusters off of the scoreboard for much of the first half, including their second forced turnover of the day, a fumble recovery, as the Broncbusters were driving.
The Pirate offense struggled to get much going after their long scoring drive as an interception and a punt ended their next two drives.
The Broncbusters were able to break through as they hit on an explosive 70 yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to tie the game at 7 apiece.
The momentum really took a turn for the worse when the Pirates stalled out a drive and punted the ball back to Garden City with just over two minutes to go in the half. Garden City cashed in the good field position and took the lead on a 17 yard touchdown pass with just 47 seconds left in the half. Capping a 14-0 run in the final 3:48 of the half, turning a 7-0 Indy lead into a 14-7 deficit.
The second half was much of the same, as the Pirates were unable to cut into the Garden City lead at any point.
The Broncbusters pushed the lead to 14 early in the second half as Reeves Taylor, in his first game action since the opening game, threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Garden City found paydirt once again, this time a 17 yard touchdown rush.
One final Broncbuster touchdown drive was capped off by a one yard run midway through the fourth to lead to the 35-7 final.
Anderson finished the day 11 of 21 for 127 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Reeves Taylor was 8-18 for 65 yards. Ivan Johnson led the way on the ground eight carries for 81 yards, while Anthony Colon had a team high six receptions.
Defensively, Kenneth Ford Jr had a nice day, leading the Pirates with eight tackles, one for loss, and an interception. Josiah Raven and Donya Borden each pitched in six tackles, while Raven recorded a sack as well.
Next week things won’t get any easier for the Pirates, as they now shift their focus to another road test against the #1 team in the country and defending national champion Hutchinson Blue Dragons on October 18th. Kickoff set for 1:00 pm.