Trying to find a silver lining after getting routed by their rivals in Week 1, the Parsons Vikings showed signs of life in a 22-6 loss to the Fort Scott Tigers, a trendy contender pick in Class 4A, on Friday night at Marvel Park.
“I was extremely proud of the guts, the effort and attitude our kids displayed tonight,” Parsons head coach Jeff Schibi said. “We asked them to play physically every play and they did. We’re disappointed we didn’t come out with a W. But we improved from Week 1 to Week 2 tremendously.”
Parsons went into the locker room at halftime trailing 14-6 and couldn’t find a score the rest of the night.
Demonta Kendrick was responsible for the Vikings’ lone score on the ground.
“Offensively, we strung a few drives together and just didn’t capitalize,” Schibi said. “That’s the difference in the ballgame.”
Parsons quarterback Trey Logan completed just 13-of-31 passes for 136 yards and one interception.
Chandler Hentzen was the Vikings’ leading rusher with 46 yards on 14 carries. Jason Smart caught four balls for 53 yards.
“The biggest thing is lack of execution,” Schibi said. “That comes down to a lot of inexperience on the offensive side. They played better against Fort Scott. We took care of the ball and moved more efficiently. But we’re still showing some growing pains. As long as we keep getting better each week, I like where we’re headed.”
On defense, Makai Baugh registered a gamehigh 18 tackles for the Vikings while Hentzen added 13 to go along with an interception.
“I thought our defense really played well,” Schibi said. “They adhered to our gameplan. Fort Scott is a tough offense to stop. But our kids forced some turnovers and did a great job defensively.”
Up next
Parsons stays at Marvel Park in Week 3 to face Christ Prep Academy, a private, non-KSHSAA school based in Lenexa. Christ Prep is 2-0 to start the year with a 27-19 win over Cincinnati Landmark, a private school in Ohio, in mid-August, then a Sept. 7, 35-14 win over Lathrop from Missouri.
The Parsons matchup is part of a three-game tour of the region for Christ Prep Academy, which plays Caney Valley and Coffeyville after the Vikings.
“The thing about them is that there’s no common opponents we have,” Schibi said. “They played a few Kansas teams last year. But we don’t know a whole lot about them. Once we get film, we’ll get a gameplan ready to go. From what I can find, they look pretty athletic. They look like they have some fast kids that can make some plays. They went 9-3 last year and they’re 2-0 this year. So they’ll be a pretty good team.”
Nasir Hagood of the Parsons Vikings pushes off Fort Scott defender Brody Gomez on Friday. Ray Nolting/Sun photo
