GEARY – Homecoming king Major Lewis notched a passing touchdown and carried the ball 19 times on Friday, but that wasn’t enough to push Geary over the top as they fell 22-6 to Buffalo in a battle of the Bison.
Buffalo was able to largely stymie the Geary rushing attack by dominating the trenches, and its offense capitalized on a few big plays to pull away from Geary late. Still, Geary head coach Jason Goodknight agreed the game was closer than the final score might indicate. “We just got beat on some deep passes and stuff like that,” Goodknight said.
“We just got beat on some deep passes and stuff like that,” Goodknight said. “Coverage, they kind of found a little bit of a weakness on us, and that’s something we’ve just got to get better on and improve next week.”
Buffalo (1-4, 1-1 District) started the game with a sneaky onside kick, but Geary jumped on it without problems to start the game’s first possession. Unfortunately, it would be a quick one for the home-team Bison – a three-and-out with nothing but negative plays, and a punt.
Buffalo was able to move the ball on its ensuing possession, gaining two first downs including a fourth-and-4 conversion. When Geary stopped them again, Buffalo attempted a fake punt – but QB Camden Yauk’s pass fell incomplete down the field for a turnover.
The first quarter ended scoreless, but the second started nicely for Geary when Buffalo fumbled the first snap of the quarter and senior Jaydin Leger jumped on top for the turnover. Taking the ball at the Buffalo 31, Geary started the drive with rush attempts from Lewis and from Spencer Davidson, but the Bison didn’t gain any ground.
Caught in no-man’s land, Goodknight decided to go for it on fourth and 11. The choice paid off big-time; Lewis dropped back for a rare pass attempt, got enough protection and threw a high arcing ball to Raul Espinoza, who was sprinting out of the backfield down the right sideline.
The pass fell perfectly over his should in the end zone for the score, a 32-yard completion that put Geary up 6-0 after a missed conversion.
Geary would be outscored 22-0 the rest of the way.
Trailing by just two points right before halftime, Geary had its best shot for more points. The Bison took the ball at their own 39 with just 22 seconds remaining, but got a huge boost from Lewis when he broke off a 51-yard run up the middle. Taking the ball inside the 10 with seconds remaining, Lewis completed a short pass to Braydon Richey and Geary called a timeout.
Needing just a couple more yard for the touchdown, though, Davidson was brought down by the ankles at the line of scrimmage as time expired.
Buffalo scored on its very first drive of the third quarter, putting it up by 10. Though Geary’s next drive consumed the final 7:30 of the quarter, the Bison failed to earn any points from the drive and turned the ball over on downs. Buffalo’s touchdown in response effectively iced the contest.
The Bison will return this Friday, Oct. 8 with a road contest against the defending Class C state champions, Tyrone.
“We’ve got a tough game next week ahead of us,” Goodknight acknowledged. “But this is a group of kids that I don’t think are going to back down from the challenge.”
The game kicks at 7 p.m.