Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
The Kimball football Longhorns are back, and so are their fans at Keith Staehr Field. The program's rebuild is under way.
Kimball High School's resurrected Longhorns football team travels to Leyton this week after opening its new era last week with a challenging matchup against Hyannis.
Game time for the non-conference game is 6 p.m. Friday at Leyton's field in Dalton. The Warriors are 1-0 on the young season after a 49-10 victory at Hemingford.
For the 0-1 Longhorns, it's another formidable opponent as the football program re-establishes itself under new coach Darrell Howitt after missing last season due to lack of players.
Howitt told the Observer that the 72-12 loss to Hyannis, a 2021 playoff team, wasn't what the Longhorns were looking for in the home opener at Keith Staehr Field, but "the fan support was tremendous" and he did see some positives from his squad.
"The score probably is not indicative of how the game went," he said. "We played some solid defense in the first half, but we tried to make some things happen in the second half and things got away from us."
Howitt said Hyannis probably was more physical than Kimball expected, but the Longhorns responded Monday with a good, physical practice. Against Leyton, he said the Longhorns will face an offense that uses some "trickery" and will try to cause some "misdirection on defense."
Junior Brandon Paxton played quarterback for the Horns against Hyannis, completing three of 10 passes for 96 yards, included a 55-yard completion to junior Derek Kauffman. All three of Paxton's completions were to Kauffman, two for touchdowns. He also threw a pair of interceptions.
Freshman Ryker Berhend gained 16 yards on two carries to lead the Horns on the ground. Paxton had Kimball's longest run, 11 yards, but ended up with 9 total rushing yards due to backfield losses.
On defense, senior Ethan Evans led Kimball with six solo tackles and seven assists for a 13 total. Senior Trey Schindler followed with four solo tackles and seven assists for 11 total. Paxton had three solo tackles and three assists, and Kauffman added a solo tackle and eight assists.
Kauffman and sophomore Tig Woolington each contributed a sack.
Senior Wyatt Phillips led Hyannis with five touchdowns, three rushing and two receiving, for 30 points. Senior quarterback Max Kostman completed eight of 10 passes for 154 yards, and sophomore Kutter Accord led the visitors with 147 rushing yards on 23 carries.