WICHITA, Kan. – The Smoky Valley football team opened play in 3A District 6 on Friday night on the road against Trinity Academy. The Knights built a 13-0 lead by half and a 16-8 third quarter helped them to a 36-16 win over the Vikings in the end.
After Smoky Valley went three-and-out on their opening drive, it looked as though Trinity Academy would do the same. Forced into a punt situation on their fourth play of the game, a bad snap led to a 36-yard pass from Zac Zimmerman to Bryton Baty for a first down. Yamnoel Ayola laid out for a 22-yard touchdown catch to close the drive as Trinity Academy took a 6-0 lead. Bad bounces seemed to be the theme of the night from there for the Vikings.
Trinity Academy was leading 13-0 at half after Baty had an outstanding 29-yard touchdown grab before the break. Early in the third quarter, a pass deflected by Andrew Lochard near the goalline also found Baty’s hands as he caught his second touchdown of the game to put the Knights up 20-0. Smoky Valley responded as Jack Opat scored the first touchdown of the game for the Vikings on a 7-yard run and the two-point conversion run by Opat brought them within 20-8. After a big kick return, the Vikings held the Knights to a 36-yard field goal, staying within two scores at 23-8.
On the ensuing drive, Smoky Valley was headed toward midfield when a fumble was recovered by Trinity Academy. The only turnover of the night turned into another touchdown for the Knights as they led 29-8 after three and punched in another score just past the midway point of the fourth quarter to lead 36-8. Ty Heitschmidt scored on a 2-yard run with 2:13 left and Crew Elliott ran in the two-pointer for Smoky Valley for the 36-16 final.
The Knights outgained the Vikings 365-226. Zimmerman finished with 189 yards and three touchdowns passing to go along with 85 yards and a touchdown rushing. Baty had five catches for 112 yards and two scores. For Smoky Valley, Opat led the way with 114 yards and a touchdown rushing.
Smoky Valley is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the district, while Trinity Academy improved to 2-2 and 1-0. Next up for the Vikings is a home game in the district against Hesston. The Swathers are 3-1 and 1-0 in the district after a 55-12 win at home against Nickerson on Friday night.
Score by Quarters
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | ||
| Smoky Valley | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 16 | |
| Trinity Academy | 6 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 36 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter: TA: Oyola 22 pass from Zimmerman (kick failed) (7:21) (TA 6-0)
2nd Quarter: TA: Baty 29 pass from Zimmerman (Jackson kick) (1:11) (TA 13-0)
3rd Quarter: TA: Baty 33 pass from Zimmerman (Jackson kick) (9:43) (TA 20-0)
3rd Quarter: SV: J. Opat 7 run (J. Opat run) (7:12) (TA 20-8)
3rd Quarter: TA: Jackson 36 field goal (4:15) (TA 23-8)
3rd Quarter: TA: Zimmerman 1 run (kick failed) (0:08) (TA 29-8)
4th Quarter: TA: Oyola 4 run (Jackson kick) (5:13) (TA 36-8)
4th Quarter: SV: Heitschmidt 2 run (Elliott run) (2:13) (TA 36-16)
Final Stats
Smoky Valley
Rushing: J. Opat 16-114, TD, PAT; Elliott 18-92, PAT; Heitschmidt 5-4, TD; Lochard 2-4
Passing: Heitschmidt 3-6-12
Receiving: Lochard 2-9; Elliott 1-3
Trinity Academy
Rushing: Zimmerman 18-95, TD; Oyola 12-71, TD; Kaufman 7-20
Passing: Zimmerman 13-23-189, 3 TD
Receiving: Baty 5-112, 2 TD; Oyola 3-37, TD; Snyder 4-30; Murphy 1-20
Kicking: Jackson 3-5 XP, 1-1 FG
