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Busters' sophomores have extra incentive at Fort Scott
Published 9/20/2008 in Sports : GCCC
By MIKE KESSINGER
mkessinger@gctelegram.com
It didn't take much for Garden City Community College running back Ryan Smith to admit how much Saturday's Jayhawk Conference battle at Fort Scott means to him and his sophomore teammates.
"Sophomores on the team, we still have a little anger from last year," Smith said. "We're going to go out there and make sure they're going to feel it where we should have got them last year."
A year ago, Smith and the Broncbusters were not just beaten once by Fort Scott, but twice. The first was a 24-20 setback in Garden City on the final week of the regular season. The loss placed Garden City third in the Jayhawk Conference standing, and gave Fort Scott the No. 2 spot in the conference playoffs a week later. The next week, the Busters traveled to Fort Scott and the Greyhounds routed Garden City 55-28.
That was a year ago, and no one knows it better than Fort Scott head coach Jeff Sims.
"We're expecting to see the best team we've seen in our two years here," Sims said of the Busters. "They're a very good team. They've got a great quarterback, and he's got great players around him. They're the team to beat."
A lot has changed since last season, but Fort Scott, has undergone an incredible transformation in Sims' first year at the helm of the Greyhounds. Fort Scott's only two losses before its participation in the Valley of the Sun Bowl in Mesa Ariz., were to Butler, who went on to become co-NJCAA national champions. But with change in some of the key positions, the Greyhounds have proven to again be solid. Fort Scott opened the season by knocking off Kilgore (Texas) on its home field. After its bye week, Fort Scott returned home and shut out perennial power Coffeyville 15-0, on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The Greyhounds play their home games on a natural turf surface and shares the field with Fort Scott High School.
"Some teams have indoor practice facilities, some play on artificial surfaces, and we play outside all year around," Sims said. "For us playing in the elements is an every day event. (Saturday's game) was a neat experience."
Gone from the Greyhounds 9-3 team of a year ago is quarterback Greg Cross who was the Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Cross inked with the University of Pittsburgh. Despite his departure, though, the Greyhounds are ranked No. 12 behind incumbent Zac Dickey.
"He's 2-0, and that's the best measuring stick of how he's done," Sims said of his quarterback. "He does have big shoes to fill, but he has everything we've asked of him. He manages the game well."
In the first two games, Dickey has thrown for 289 yards on 53 percent accuracy. He has run for 58 yards and three touchdowns.
"He's a good player," Garden City head coach Lucas Aslin said. "He doesn't make a lot of mistakes."
To what Fort Scott will be up against in Garden City, Sims is well aware of the Busters defense and players like defensive tackle Brett Spresser and safety Hiram Atwater. He also is impressed with the Buster offense, noticing quarterback Eugene Smith's control of the team.
"I can see watching film of him, he's the leader," Sims said of Eugene Smith. "The coaches have given him more responsibilities and he carries about what he's suppose to do."
The Greyhounds will have to deal with the Busters aerial attack that includes receivers Cameron Kenney, Cameron Horesky and Adrian Jones, who have combined for 63 of Eugene Smith's 77 completions. After last weekend's 30-7 win against Air Force Prep, the Busters proved to have a reliable ground attack. The Busters ran for 288 yards, led by Ryan Smith with 105 yards on just six carries. Freshman Chase Beiberle added 81 on the ground with a 68-yard touchdown run included in his total. Ryan Smith, who has started in two of the three games for the No. 14-ranked Broncbusters, will get the start again Saturday.
"They both have a done a great job," Aslin said.
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