Sabetha 34, Horton 7

Defense ruled the night in a battle of 1-0 district teams.  On the third play of the game, Horton's Trey Dishon batted a pass by Brandon Poe and caught the ball before rumbling 17 yards into the endzone for an early 7-0 Charger lead.  However, the Jays would not attempt another pass or make any other mistakes on the night and they scored the next 34 points to win big and clinch a District Title and secure their 7th straight playoff berth.  The Horton offense struggled most of the night with only 29 total yards and a single first down before trailing 14-7 at halftime.  

The Bluejays held the ball for over 10 straight minutes in the second half as they recovered a fumble on the Chargers first drive of the third quarter and scored three plays later on a 10 yard run by Brett Plattner.  Sabetha then recovered the ensuing squib kick and marched 13 plays in a six-minute drive before Plattner scored his third TD of the night on a three-yard run to convert on fourth down.  Trae Snyder capped the Bluejays scoring with a seven yard run to make it 34-7 with 7:04 to play.  Sabetha was trailing 7-0 until the first play of the second quarter when Brock Frey ran in a 20 yard touchdown and Plattner added a 21 yard TD Run in the final minute of the first half to break the 7-7 tie.

Sabetha dominated time of possession and ran 62 times for 319 yards.  Keegan Schumann  led the way with 152 yards on 18 carries including a 48 yard run after the controversial Horton fumble early in the third quarter.  Plattner added 117 yards on 24 totes while Frey finished with 45 yards and Snyder added 27.  

Horton was held to just 134 total yards in their first loss of the season and was just 4 of 14 passing with all completions going to Dishon for 64 yards.  Besides two turnovers and failing to cover a kick, the Chargers dropped a wide-open touchdown pass in the second quarter and turned the ball over on down at the Sabetha six-yard-line in the fourth frame.  75 of their total yards came on that final Horton drive of the game.  Derrick Stone was held to 33 yards on 12 carries.

Jacob Leuthold was named the Denison State Bank online "Lineman of the Game," while Schumann nudged Plattner for the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company "Player to Bank on."  Sabetha improved to 6-2 overall with their fifth consecutive win and has the district title and a first round home playoff game, no matter how they do against Hiawatha on Thursday night.  Sabetha appears set for a rematch against rival Nemaha Central, who topped the Jays 35-27 in week one.  

Horton, the undefeated Northeast Kansas League Champs are now 6-1 and host Riverside on Thursday with the winner advancing to the post-season and a first-round game at Centralia.  Horton is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and avenge a 34-32 loss to Riverside last year.