Butler overcomes early deficit to pound Fort Scott, 60-14

For the first time this season, the Butler football team found itself behind on the scoreboard as they trailed Fort Scott in the first quarter on Saturday night at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex.

Butler scored first when Dreamius Smith broke free for a 74-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the game. It not only gave Butler a quick 7-0 lead but also marked the third time in as many games that the Grizzlies have scored on their first offensive possession.

Fort Scott, however, would not back down. The Greyhounds went to their bag of tricks and scored on a 78-yard flea flicker pass from Jared Dangerfield to Colton Morrison to tie the game 7-7 just 17 seconds later.

The Greyhounds then took the lead on a 56-yard interception return when William Bland stepped in front of a Billy Cosh pass and returned it to the end zone for a 14-7 advantage.

Butler would use another big play later in the first quarter when Cosh connected on a deep ball to speedy receiver Javess Blue for a 66-yard touchdown pass to tie the game 14-14.

The Grizzlies then took advantage of two blocked field goals in the second quarter. The first was returned 97 yards by Jimmie King, setting up a Butler field goal. With less than a minute left in the first half, Butler blocked another Fort Scott kick and this time the ball was returned 60 yards by Max Martinez for a Butler touchdown. That gave the Grizzlies a 24-14 lead at the half.

Butler would not look back in the second half, scoring two touchdowns – one on a 40-yard pass from Cosh to Blue and another on a 39-yard touchdown run by Derrick Thomas – to make it a 38-14 advantage.

The Grizzlies added another 32 points in the final quarter as they got a 19-yard touchdown pass from Cosh to Trey Hallman, a Robert Rawlings field goal, a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tommy Sanders and then closed the scoring with an 18-yard run by Ty Suggs.

Individually, Billy Cosh was 15-31 passing for 231 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Dreamius Smith had 13 carries for 129 yards while Derrick Thomas had 16 carries for 94 yards. Javess Blue caught three passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns while Jacob Hurla and Chris Fields had four receptions apiece.

Tommy Sanders led the defense with six tackles, four of which were behind the line of scrimmage. In addition to the interception return for a touchdown, he also broke up a pass, had a sack and two other quarterback hurries.

Butler improves to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in Jayhawk Conference play. The Grizzlies, who have played two straight games at home, now will play two straight on the road, with a game at Independence next Saturday and a game at Highland on Sept. 22 before returning home to play Air Force Prep on Sept. 29.