Loyal falls to Colby on the gridiron

The Loyal Greyhounds came up short in their most recent home game against the Colby Hornets, as the Greyhounds’ defense had a hard time holding the Hornets at bay.

The Hornets scored frequently in the Sept. 8 game, starting with their second drive of the evening which ended in Brennan Geiger running 12 yards for a touchdown. The extra point by Bryan Camargo was good. Colby scored again before the quarter was up, with Gavin Voss running for six yards and Camargo again kicking the extra point.

Colby picked up another touchdown to start the second quarter, but Loyal had a surprise for Colby on the Hornets’ next drive. When it was second-and-10 on the Colby 10, Loyal’s Louis Nikolai intercepted a pass intended for Hayden Kaiser. A few moments later, Nikolai ran the ball in for a six-yard gain and touchdown. Reed Stieglitz passed to Parker Smith for two-point conversion, putting the score at Colby 21, Loyal 8.

Unfortunately for the Greyhounds, that would be the last time they would make it into the end zone for quite awhile. Colby scored three more touchdowns in the second quarter and another in the third to make it 48-8.

In the final frame, Loyal seemingly came alive with a 29-yard touchdown run by Eli Zettler with 5:05 remaining. The two-point conversion run was no good. Colby got another touchdown at 3:09 left. Then before the clock reached 0, Loyal’s Parker Smith completed a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to put Loyal at 20 points. It was too little, too late for the Hounds and the final score was 54-20 in Colby’s favor.

Nikolai was Loyal’s leading rusher, with 15 carries for 62 yards. Zettler had 35 rushing yards over five carries. Cain Toufar was Loyal’s leading receiver, with a 12-yard catch.

Loyal’s Louis Nikolai breaks up a pass intended for Colby while Eli Zettler assists with the tackle in the Friday night game at Loyal.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO