Bison rout Ogallala

McCook High School's Paul Farrell (50), a 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior, has been a force on the offensive and defensive line for the No.-ranked Bison this season. Farrell and his teammates defeated Ogallala 44-0 Friday night at Ogallala. (John J. Mesh/McCook Daily Gazette)

By JOHN J. MESH

Gazette Sports Editor

OGALLALA -- The No. 1-ranked McCook Bison football team had a tough time Friday night at Ogallala, but hung on for a 44-0 victory.

The Bison, who have posted three shutouts to start the season and have outscored their first three opponents 119-0, improved to 3-0.

Ogallala dropped to 1-2.

McCook caught a break early when Ogallala fumbled a Josh Cherry punt at the 12-yard line.

One play later, senior tailback Ryan Bedore scored on a 13-yard touchdown run. Cherry kicked the extra point.

Cherry nearly made state and school history when he attempted a 57-yard field goal in the first quarter.

According to the radio play-by-play on KICX, the kick had the distance but was wide left.

Craig Fritz tacked on a 3-yard TD run in the second quarter. Cherry kicked the PAT to give the Bison a 13-0 lead.

McCook stuffed a fake punt attempt by the Indians and got the ball back inside the 30-yard line.

Fritz scored from 2 yards out and added the PAT run to give McCook a 21-0 lead that stood at halftime.

After McCook's first drive of the second half stalled, Cherry kicked a 36-yard field goal to make the score 24-0.

Senior quarterback Tony Purvis scored from 1-yard out with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. The PAT failed and the score was 30-0.

Purvis set up the TD with a 50-yard run.

On the first play of the next series, Purvis bolted down the sideline for a 49-yard TD run. Cherry kicked the extra point for a 37-0 lead after three periods.

Sophomore fullback Sam Frazier scored from 7 yards out in the fourth quarter and Cherry added yet another PAT to provide the final 44-0 margin.

The McCook Bison rolled up 400 yards rushing and did not gain any yards through the air.

Fritz gained 151 yards on 19 carries, Purvis had 120 yards on 14 carries and Bedore added 87 yards on 12 carries. Mitch Green added 24 yards and Sam Frazier 16.

The Bison limited Ogallala to 73 yards rushing and 52 passing by quarterback Eric Washa for 125 total yards.

Michael Cook led Ogallala in rushing with 41 yards on 15 carries. Troy Jasnoch caught three passes for 41 yards.

McCook's Josh Mullen recovered a fumble.

The two teams combined for 21 penalties for 130 yards.

"We played pretty good team defense," said McCook head football coach Jeff Gross. "In the first half, they got a lot of yardage on the perimeter.

"We made some adjustments at halftime. Our inside linebackers Sam Frazier and Mason Pohl played well.

"On offense, our power play off the veer really hurt them."

Gross said the team had to adjust its intensity the second half.

"The kids came out flat the second half and I got all over them. Then I thought 'wait -- you're the dummy. You're the one who's flat.' I had to raise my intensity level to get their attention. I can't be satisfied to rest on my laurels."

McCook will host a showdown with a top-10 ranked Gering squad at Weiland Field. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Gering defeated Wheatland, Wyo., 44-19 at home. The Bulldogs have not played a road this season.

"They're going to throw the ball 35 times next week," Gross said. "We'll have to make some adjustments. Our best defense next week will have to be our offense."

Score by Quarters

Team stats

Scoring plays:

M -- Ryan Bedore 13 run (kick failed)

M -- Craig Fritz 3 run (Josh Cherry kick)

M -- Fritz 2 run (Fritz run)

M -- Cherry 37 FG

M -- Tony Purvis 1 run (PAT failed)

M -- Purvis 49 run (Cherry kick)

M -- Sam Frazier 7 run (Cherry kick)

Individual Stats

Rushing

McCook: Craig Fritz 19-151, Tony Purvis 14-120, Ryan Bedore 12-87, Mitch Green 5-24, Sam Frazier 3-16, Justin Spector 2-9, Caleb Morgan 2-4, Josh Cherry 1 (-1).

Ogallala: Cook 15-41, Washa 5-17, Knott 6-10, Evans 3-5.

Passing

McCook: Purvis 0-6-0-0.

Ogallala: Washa 4-14-0-52.

Receiving

McCook: No receiving yards.

Ogallala: Jasnoch 3-41, Paumer 1-11.

Fumble recoveries

McCook: Josh Mullen.