ST. GEORGE, Kan. – The KSHSAA 3A football playoffs got underway with a couple of games on Thursday night on the west side of the bracket. The Smoky Valley Vikings traveled to Rock Creek for a first round showdown. The Mustangs returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and rolled on from there to a 56-0 win.
Jacob Perkins went 77 yards on the kickoff return for the touchdown to start the game. After a three-and-out, Perkins had another great return, this time on a punt, setting up Rock Creek at the Smoky Valley 26. Just three plays later, Perkins had his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard reception from sophomore quarterback Tate Smith. Zion Bell added a one-yard touchdown run to put the Mustangs up 21-0 after the first quarter.
Rock Creek would tack on four more scores before halftime as Smith had a part in all of them. He had touchdown passes of 76 and seven yards to Peter Martinie and sandwiched in the middle were touchdown runs of four and two yards. The Mustangs went to the locker room with a 49-0 halftime lead.
The second half saw just one more score. Smith connected with Perkins on a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which was the fourth touchdown pass of the game for Smith. Smoky Valley was close to being on the board late, but a 63-yard touchdown pass was called back due to a hold and Rock Creek finished with the shutout.
The Mustangs totaled 290 yards on the night. Smith went 10-13 for 198 yards and the four scores through the air. Martinie finished with 83 yards on his two catches that went for touchdowns. Bell was the leading rusher with eight carries for 70 yards. Also of note, Jaxon Pendell went 8-8 on extra point kicks. For Smoky Valley, Ty Heitschmidt finished 8-18 for 82 yards and Andrew Lochard caught five of those passes for a team high 57 yards receiving.
Smoky Valley finished their season at 3-6, while Rock Creek, ranked #4 in the Kansas statewide media poll, moved to 9-0. They are headed to the second round to face the winner of Friday night’s game between Hesston and Trinity Academy.
Score by Quarters
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | ||
| Smoky Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rock Creek | 21 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 56 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter: RC: Perkins 77 kickoff return (Pendell kick) (11:47) (RC 7-0)
1st Quarter: RC: Perkins 1 pass from T. Smith (Pendell kick) (8:49) (RC 14-0)
1st Quarter: RC: Bell 1 run (Pendell kick) (6:47) (RC 21-0)
2nd Quarter: RC: Martinie 76 pass from T. Smith (Pendell kick) (11:07) (RC 28-0)
2nd Quarter: RC: T. Smith 4 run (Pendell kick) (8:00) (RC 35-0)
2nd Quarter: RC: T. Smith 2 run (Pendell kick) (5:09) (RC 42-0)
2nd Quarter: RC: Martinie 7 pass from T. Smith (Pendell kick) (0:39) (RC 49-0)
3rd Quarter: RC: Perkins 13 pass from T. Smith (Pendell kick) (5:46) (RC 56-0)
Final Stats
Smoky Valley
Rushing: J. Opat 13-37; Heitschmidt 7-13; Riedel 3-7; Ratcliff 2-6; Lochard 1-2; Carlson 8-2
Passing: Heitschmidt 8-18-82; Riedel 0-2
Receiving: Lochard 5-57; Ratcliff 2-20; Anderson 1-5
Rock Creek
Rushing: Bell 8-70, TD; T. Smith 5-27, 2 TD; L. Smith 1-2; Timm 2-(-2); Rosa 1-(-5)
Passing: Smith 10-13-198, 4 TD; Rosa 1-4-0
Receiving: Martinie 2-83, 2 TD; Perkins 3-52, 2 TD; Skinner 2-36; Pendell 1-35; Tonsor 1-2; Clark 1-0
Kicking: Pendell 8-8 XP
