BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
JUNCTION CITY — Kale Kern's hustling 6-yard touchdown reception from Maxson Smiley helped Great Bend slice Junction City's lead to 14-7 after a shaky defensive start.
Kern swung the offensive momentum after a failed fourth-and-1 conversion run by Cal Schartz from shotgun formation.
The Panthers' kickoff coverage by Jaxon Wondra pinned the Bluejays at their own 8-yard line.
But Junction City started Great Bend's defensive collapse with a lightning quick 92-yard scoring drive for a 20-7 lead.
McNeese scored on a 27-yard pass from Khaliel Walker and Josiah Totive caught a 17-yard pass from Walker on the final play of the half for a 28-7 lead.
The defensive nightmare had just started in Junction City's 55-14 victory over the Panthers Friday.
The No. 6 West seed Panthers (6-2) will face Mulvane (4-4) in the 4A playoffs after missing a chance for the No. 1 West 4A seed and home-field advantage. Now, the Panthers are paired with Buhler (6-2) for a probable second-round matchup.
Great Bend's defense collapsed with lackluster tackling as the Bluejays dominated the Panthers with six consecutive touchdowns and 343 yards on 30 offensive plays.
Great Bend's injury bug hurt.
Defensive starter Christian Alcala departed after one snap. Standout receiver Cooper Ohnmacht and all-state linebacker Kern also missed playing time with injuries.
"The wheels fell off, and one thing led to another," said Great Bend coach Erin Beck. "We were outmanned and struggled up front and in coverage. They moved the football at will. We had injuries that were deflating and that took the air out of our team."
Jaxon Wondra delivered the Panthers second-half highlight with a career high 50-yard run. He gained 64 yards and scored on a hustling 2-yard touchdown for a 49-14 score.
Beck cited a trio of players for hanging tough despite the adversity -- sparkplug Jaxon Wondra, Gavin Wondra and receiver/safety Alec Premer. Backup Kason Stone rushed for 17 yards.
"There were bright spots," Beck said "Alec Premer played his tail off. Gavin Wondra made big tackles. Jaxon Wondra played really well and tough."
The Bluejays' Adrian Moreno tacked on his second 2-yard touchdown run for a 55-14 final. Great Bend had no defensive answer for quarterback Khaliel Walker who rushed for 137 yards and passed for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Smiley completed 17 passes for 98 yards with the Panthers unable to complete any plays downfield. Kern had 38 yards receiving.
Beck said it was a frustrating night after a 6-0 start.
The Panthers had their worst setback since a 51-0 loss to Hays High in 2021. The Panthers had swept 24 regular-season wins before losing 35-7 to Hays last week.
"The game of football deserves more than we gave tonight," Beck said "We need to find leadership when things are tough and don't go your way. You don't want to take winning for granted. You've got to claw and fight, and play your tails off every play and I didn't see that up front tonight."
Great Bend's 'special teams' were anything but special. Junction City's McNeese returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown when the Panthers failed to tackle the returner. Punter Smiley launched an 8-yard punt and had a 3-yard net punt after a 30-yard return.
Great Bend (6-2) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Junction City (4-4) 14 14 14 13 — 55
JC—Boeckman 27 pass from Walker (Castro kick); JC—McNeese 72 punt return (Castro kick); GB—Kern 6 pass from Smiley (Cruz kick); JC—McNeese 27 pass from Walker (kick fails); JC—Totive 17 pass from Walker (Beene pass from Walker); JC—Proietti 12 run (Castro kick); JC—Proietti 7 run (Castro kick); JC—Adrian Moreno 2 run (Castro kick); GB—Jaxon Wondra 2 (Cruz kick); JC—Adrian Moreno 2 run (kick fails);
RUSHING—GB—22-76; Wondra 4-64; Stone 4-17; Schartz 7-16; Ohnmacht 2-(-3); Smiley 5-(18); JC—39-352; Walker 13-147; Proietti 11-62; Moreno 7-59; Nabus 1-36; Gracia 2-18; Andrew Moreno 2-15; McNeese 1-8; (39) 1-5; Boganowski 1-2
PASSING—GB—Smiley 17-29-0, 98; JC—Walker 9-13-0, 158.
RECEIVING—GB—Kern 5-38; Premer 3-22; Ohnmacht 5-20; Jaxon Wondra 1-12; Schartz 3-6; JC—Boeckman 2-47; Nabus 1-46; McNeese 3-42; Boganowski 2-34; Totive 1-17.
WESTERN ATHLETIC
Hays 4-0 7-1
Great Bend 3-1 6-2
Garden City 2-2 5-3
Liberal 1-3 3-5
Dodge City 0-4 3-5
10-23—Junction City 55, Great Bend 14; *Hays 33, Liberal 14; Garden City 28, Wichita East 27; Dodge City 45, Wichita South 6
4A WEST
1—McPherson (7-1) vs 16—El Dorado (1-7)
8—Augusta (5-3) vs 9—Rose Hill (5-3)
4—Wellington (6-2, +46) vs 13—Arkansas City (2-6)
5—Ulysses (6-2, +45) vs 12—Winfield (3-5)
2—Wamego (6-1) vs 15—Abilene (1-7)
7—Rock Creek (6-2, +39) vs 10—Highland Park (4-4)
3—Buhler (6-2, +51) vs 14—Circle (2-6)
6—Great Bend (6-2, +44) vs 11—Mulvane (4-4)
