BAXTER SPRINGS — Taming the Baxter Springs Lions, the Parsons Vikings notched their first win of the season, 38-7, in Week 4 to start district play on Friday night.
“I’m really happy for the kids,” Parsons head coach Jeff Schibi said. “Any time you work hard, especially in the offseason, and the first few weeks of the season are tough, you want to get a win. It was extremely gratifying and it was nice to see the kids see success for their hard work.”
The Vikings’ offense found success on the ground — a pleasant evolution — as they tallied 232 yards on the ground.
Da’karyi Jones led Parsons with 119 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while quarterback Trey Logan added 70 yards and a score on eight carries.
Logan was also 10-of-19 passing with two touchdowns, both going to Wyatt Shultz who had five catches for 85 yards.
“It was nice seeing us being able to run the football,” Schibi said. “Jones really solidifies our backfield. We were pleased with how he played tonight. Trey also threw the ball well and Wyatt (Shultz) was a stud. He stepped up big time.”
Defensively, Baxter Springs was limited to 118 yards, all through the air, as it didn’t net a single rushing yard on 13 carries.
Parsons registered nine tackles for loss — four from Connor Largent.
“Our defense has played pretty darn good for most of the season,” Schibi said. “The offense had put them in some bad situations at times this season. When we’ve been healthy, we’ve done a really good job. They allow us to stay in games. Tonight, we were dominant.”
Up next
Parsons returns to Marvel Park on Friday to face Frontenac in Week 5. The Vikings, after a rough 0-3 start to the campaign, believe they can compete in their district. Frontenac is the favorite to win the district.
“The last two years, we’ve had some absolute battles with Frontenac,” Schibi said. “We felt like we’ve had chances to win those games, especially last year with a chance to win a district title. We know Frontenac will be tough, physical and run right at us. We’ll have to go to work this week. Hopefully we stay healthy and give it our best shot on homecoming.”
Frontenac is helmed by head coach Leon Miller, a former Parsons coach who roamed the Vikings’ sideline when Schibi was a player.
“They’ll be straight up, power-I football,” Schibi said. “It’s the offense I ran my senior year of high school, so I know what they’ll try to accomplish. There isn’t a whole lot of trickiness to it. They’ll just try to run right over you. So we’ll have to match their physicality.”
