Garden City smashes Indy; wins fifth straight

Independence, KS-The homecoming couldn't have gone much better. 

In his return to Independence after spending the better part of three seasons coaching the Pirates, Kiyoshi Harris left Shulthis Stadium Saturday afternoon a winner. And his new team soared into the bye week, completing a three-game stretch for the ages. 

Zahmari Palode-Gary and Dejuan Lacy combined for 243 rushing yards, Steve McCollom's defense held Independence to minus-51 yards on the ground, and No. 6 Garden City steamrolled Independence, 57-7. 

A week after dismantling Community Christian, the Broncbusters (5-1, 3-0 KJCCC) put together one of the most dominating defensive performances in school history. They limited the Pirates to just 49 total yards including minus-1.6 yards per carry, finishing off a three-game demolition in which they outscored Ellsworth, Community Christian, and Independence, 189-10.  

"There is still a ton of work to do, but I am proud of our coaches and players; they earned this," Harris said while walking off the field on Saturday.  

Tyler Nelson ran for 48 yards and a score and was 7-of-12 for 35 yards and an interception through the air for Garden City, which won its fifth consecutive game. Liam Oczkowski was summoned in the second half for mop-up duty, connecting with Zac Dyer on a 59-yard touchdown.  

"We just try and get better each and every day," said Harris, who had plenty of fan support on Saturday. "You look at the stat sheet and it tells a story. These players did that; these coaches did that. Now we rest up, and it's onto the next one." 

Following Tanner Rinker's 31-yard field goal that gave the Broncbusters an early 3-0 advantage, Lacy, the nation's fourth-leading rusher, ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run to make it 9-0 (Rinker missed the PAT). It was his first carry of the day.  

But Independence (1-4, 0-3 KJCCC) responded on their ensuing possession, driving 65 yards in seven plays. On second-and-9 from the Garden City 11, Cameron McCAlister hit Nathan Owens on a slant in the end zone to trim the deficit to two. 

There wasn't much drama after that.  

Midway through the second period, Elijah Simmons recovered a fumble deep in Pirates' territory. That eventually setup Lacy's second score of the day: a five-yard td run that stretched the Broncbuster lead to 16-7. 

After Rinker missed a 47-yard field goal on the Broncbusters' next drive, Simmons strip-sacked McCalister, and Nathan Baudry recovered at the Independence 6. On the very next play, Julius Tikoisuva plowed into the end zone, giving Garden City a 23-7 cushion going into the locker room.  

"I say it every game, but we have to clean up some of the mistakes," Harris said. "The work never stops."

Nelson's one-yard plunge halfway through the third made it 29-7. 

It stayed that way until the fourth when Harris's bunch put together a time-consuming march. A 13-play, 41-yard drive resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by Kennesaw State transfer, Gene Sledge Jr.   

However, that paled in comparison to the wackiest play of the day.  

After a three-and-out, the Pirates were forced to punt from their own 27. But Emory Barth's foot went straight into the backside of protector, Tyler Miller, sending the ball rolling towards the end zone where Michael Thomas jumped on top of it, giving Garden City a commanding 43-7 lead.  

"I don't know if I've ever seen something like that before," Harris said. "But we had guys coming at him (Barth)." 

Oczkowski added a 28-yard td run later in the fourth.  

The Broncbusters held Independence to just six first downs. McCalister, who was one of three quarterbacks used, finished 6-of-10 for 86 yards and a touchdown.