The Garden City Telegram

Take a look at the Garden City Community College injury list and it may appear as though the Bronbusters are being held together by tape and bandages, especially on the defensive side.

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Brad Nading/Telegram Garden City Community College's Cameron Horesky, left, side steps a diving tackle by Air Force Prep's Keith Lawson on a run off a pass reception during a September game at Memorial Stadium.

When the Broncbusters take the field this evening at Memorial Stadium against Jayhawk Conference foe Coffeyville, Garden City will be without five starters, four from the defensive side.

The one thing Broncbuster head coach Lucas Aslin won't do as his team takes the field without those five in uniform, however, is panic.

"We're going to have to have some of the back-ups step up," Aslin said. "They did a good job last weekend against Independence when we had Hiram (Atwater) out, Taylor (Elder) was out, Jarrett (Hernandez) didn't play much, Will Powers was out, (Evan) Bostic was out, and then Cameron (Kenney) got hurt."

The good news for the Broncbusters was that the team was able to recover with so many players out or hurt in the 23-15 win in Independence. This was even more evident on defense as safeties Atwater and Elder sitting out gave players like freshman Kelly Younkin the opportunity to see the field more. Younkin made the most of it, recording a team-high in tackles. Linebacker Aaron Racette, who stepped in for Bostic in the Fort Scott game Sept. 20, earned Jayhawk Conference defensive player of the week after the Independence game. Racette harassed the Pirate backfield all game on his way to finishing with three tackles and two sacks for -24 yards. He also had one quarterback hurry.

Simply put, "He did a great job," Aslin said of Racette.

As the Broncbusters, coming off their first conference win at Independence, hope to string together wins down the stretch toward a run to the conference playoffs, back-ups will be be asked to step up. The positive for the Busters is that they are getting it. On the offensive side, Aslin said he has been happy with the play of receivers Jared Sperber and Dan Rogers, who both received significant time in the Independence game. The Busters (3-2, 1-2) have been strong at receiver with the starting trio of Kenney, Cameron Horesky and Adrian Jones, and the depth has only helped.

Kenney sat out the entire fourth quarter at Independence after he went down hard on his shoulder in the third quarter. He was put into a sling, and x-rays taken early in the week showed that the injury was a sprain. The Busters pre-season All-American will still sit out today.

"With Cam being out, Sperber is going to need to step up, Dan Rogers had a good game last week," Aslin said. "Adrian Jones is going to have to come back and play well."

Garden City's banged-up squad will get plenty of tests today from Coffeyville. The Red Ravens have been in transition mode this season under first-year head coach Darian Dulan, who stepped in following the departure of former Broncbuster coach Jeff Leiker. Coffeyville (2-3, 1-2) is coming off a 21-6 loss to Butler.

"This game is going to be big," Aslin said. "Whoever wins is going to have that inside track on the three- or four-spot on the playoffs. That's what you want."

Garden City will see somewhat of a spread offense from the Ravens, who are led by quarterback Nick Hardesty. In five games, Hardesty has thrown for 842 yards, completing 49 percent of his passes. He has thrown five touchdowns and four interceptions.

Coffeyville has also shown a knack for running with three players rushing for more than 100 yards this season. Kenny Anderson leads the way with 230 yards, but he has averaged just 3.6 yards in doing so.

"I know Dulan very well, and he's done a great job," Aslin said of the Red Raven coach. "He's done it the right way. (Coffeyville) is going to come out and play hard. He's going to have them playing hard. They've improved a lot from game one to here. They're going to keep getting better."