Injury-depleted Logan falls to Foxes

LOGAN - An injury-depleted Longhorns team proved to be no match in a 50-0 loss Friday night that showed Fort Sumner to be a probable contender for a state title in its first season of eight-man football.

Logan (0-2) totaled just 21 yards of offense during a game that ended midway through the third quarter due to the mercy rule.

The visiting Foxes (2-0) stormed to a 30-0 lead by the end of the first period.

The Longhorns already were shorthanded before kickoff because quarterback Wyatt Wright and running back Jordan Evans were sidelined after concussions after the previous week's loss to Melrose. Players with concussions must sit out a mandated 10 days.

On the game's second play Friday, running back and linebacker Nick Brown aggravated an ankle injury and didn't play for the rest of the contest.

"When you lose three, it really hurts," Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said. "We were really young out there tonight. There were only two seniors on the field on defense. It was really tough tonight to put everybody where we needed them."

Dante Sanchez took over as quarterback, but Roberts was disinclined to blame him for his team's woes on offense. Sanchez totaled 15 yards rushing on six carries and went 4-for-12 passing for 10 yards and an interception.

"That was Dante's first game starting at quarterback and his second football game ever," he said.

Meanwhile, Fort Sumner senior quarterback Kane Burney went 11-for-17 passing for 270 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed six times for 53 yards.

Despite the Foxes' prodigious scoring in the first quarter, they and the Longhorns started sluggishly. Both teams traded fumbles on their opening possessions, and Fort Sumner gave Logan two successive first downs on roughing-the-passer penalties. The Foxes didn't score until Burney's 9-yard TD pass to Clay Norman with 5:19 left in the period.

"We came out a little slow, and we were sloppy early," Fort Sumner coach Brad Holland said. "We've got a lot to clean up and a lot to work on."

Burney threw two more touchdown passes during the quarter. The Foxes also were aided by an interception return that gave them a short field on one scoring drive, and Creed West returned a punt 80 yards for another touchdown.

The Foxes added two touchdowns in the second quarter to make it 44-0. They finished the game with 7:20 left in the third period with another TD pass from Burney to make it 50-0.

Fort Sumner, a perennial state contender in Class 1A, went to eight-man football at the end of last season. Holland was asked what sort of adjustments were made with the conversion.

"The box is a little shorter, which makes pass protection a little different scheme-wise," he said. "But blocking and tackling, football is football."

Roberts acknowledged the Foxes are stout, but he would favor defending state champion Melrose in a head-to-head matchup.

"These guys do great throwing the ball, but Melrose is too tough up front," he said.