Photo by Brian McLean
By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
PEASTER— Since Trevor Owens took over as head coach for the Peaster Greyhounds, the program has slowly made strides. In his third season at the helm, Owens has led the team to its greatest start in program history, rolling to 6-0 after taking down the district rival Iowa Park Hawks at home.
Despite a defensive first quarter and a late push from the Hawks, the Greyhounds took an early lead and never relinquished it as they cruised to a 46-20 win, keeping the unbeaten campaign alive ahead of its biggest game of the season.
“It’s farther than what I even thought it would get to at this point,” Owens said about the undefeated start. “Kudos to the kids for buying in and taking what the coaches have taught over and over. It’s a player led team. Of 24 seniors, 15 were on varsity in my first year. It’s all very player led, so kudos to them.”
It was an excellent start for Peaster as the offense made a very methodical opening drive of the game, capping it off with a one yard run by Hudson Salyers, who would go on to find the endzone two more times throughout the game. The extra point was missed, however, and the lead was 6-0.
The defenses settled in for the rest of the first quarter, until midway through the second quarter when the Greyhounds pulled some trickery. Salyers took the handoff, flipped it to Slayte Robertson on the reverse, who then rolled out and threw to Cooper Threet for the touchdown to make it 13-0.
After a quick stop, junior quarterback Luke Gray lofted up a pass for Cade McCollough who jumped up in double coverage and came down with the touchdown catch from 32 yards away. However, the Hawks refused to be shut out in the first half.
With less than a minute to go in the half, quarterback Reed McClain found Gideon Towner in the back corner of the endzone. But that was not the end of the half. Peaster quickly drove into Iowa Park territory, but was unable to get close enough for a shot at the endzone.
Thankfully for the Greyhounds, McCollough is arguably the best kept secret in Class 3A, and he came on to kick a 49-yard field goal as the clock ran out in the half to make the score 23-6 at the end of the half.
Iowa Park made some good adjustments at the break and proceeded to take the opening drive of the half 82-yards and exactly six minutes off of the clock for Kevin Saisuwan to cut into the lead, but the two-point conversion was no good.
Gray came up with a response for Peaster when he found Kaden Albert along the sideline. Albert made a cut against two defenders and froze them in their feet for a 30-yard touchdown. Then the special teams came up with a big play as Mark Tullous broke through the line and blocked a punt that immediately went out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Just seconds later, the offense had already driven to the seven yard line, and Salyers found pay dirt for his second time to make it 39-12. However, again just seconds later, Kota Johnson broke free for the Hawks and raced 48 yards for the score to make it 39-20.
Iowa Park made a very strong push in the fourth quarter defensively, and threatened in the redzone twice. However, Tullous and Rhett Kelley both came up with clutch interceptions in the end zone to keep the Hawks at bay.
“Those two dudes were all-state as juniors and should be all-state again this year,” Owens said about his safeties who made the big defensive plays. “They’re two of the best safeties in the whole state, not just the district. Not overly great athletes but extremely smart. They just get a feel for where the ball is going.”
With just under two minutes to go, Salyers put the game away by breaking free for a 41-yard touchdown run, bringing the final score to 46-20.
The win brings Peaster to 6-0 on the season and 2-0 in district play. They will get a week off before facing Paradise in what could be a de facto district championship if the Greyhounds can pull the upset. Meanwhile, Iowa Park falls to 3-2 after losing back-to-back games. With this game being the district opener, they are only 0-1 in district. They will also face Paradise at home next Friday.
