Broncbusters ground Grizzlies for sixth straight win

El Dorado, KS-The Broncbuster defense was at it again. 

Steve McCollom's unit, which entered week eight ranked seventh in the nation in yards per game allowed, held Butler to just 217 and forced two more takeaways, Dejuan Lacy notched his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game, carrying the ball 29 times for 115, and No. 5 Garden City beat the Grizzlies, 21-10 Saturday night at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex.  

The Broncbusters, which won its sixth straight game to improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play, held its fourth straight opponent to less than 250 total yards.  

"Our goal is to keep stacking wins together," Head Coach, Kiyoshi Harris said afterwards. "This was a complete-team win. The offense made plays when it had to, the defense forced a couple of turnovers, and special teams did its' job." 

Tyler Nelson finished 7-of-11 for 53 yards through the air and ran it seven times for 60 and a score for Garden City. Liam Ozckowski also threw for a touchdown, and Lacy added a pair of scores.  

Jayson Zardavets was 9-of-21 for 80 yards, a touchdown and two picks for Butler, which fell to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Jayhawk. Markellus Bass tallied 103 yards on the ground, becoming just the third back to eclipse the century mark against Garden City's defense this season.  

Penalties and an early turnover kept the Broncbusters off the board until the second quarter when Oczkowski found Lacy along the left sideline for a 54-yard catch-and run touchdown that made it 7-0 with 6:14 left in the half.  

But Butler answered less than two minutes later when Zardavets lobbed a wobbly spiral down the right seam to Cam Harris, who beat Louisville transfer, Jeremiah Caldwell for a 53-yard score to tie the game. 

After the teams exchanged punts, the Broncbusters took the lead for good on a seven-play, 46-yard march that ended with Lacy's four-yard rushing touchdown.  

The only issue was that they left the Grizzlies too much time, and Aidan Battle connected on a 23-yard field goal right before the break to cut the Broncbuster lead to 14-10. 

"We've got to do a better job finishing drives; I've said it all season," Harris explained. "We should have had more points on the board." 

In the second half, the defense suffocated Butler, and Caldwell picked off Zardavets on the Grizzlies' first possession of the third period.  

In the fourth, Garden City punctuated a nine-play, 93-yard drive that ate up more than five minutes with Nelson's 11-yard rushing touchdown that extended the lead to 21-10.  

That's all the cushion Harris's team needed.  

Butler failed to pick up a first down in the final quarter, and on their last possession, Zardavets was picked off by Bobo McKinnon at the Garden City 33.  

The Broncbusters limited the Grizzlies to just 4-of-15 (27 percent) on third down.  

There were 18 combined punts in the game, and Garden City held the ball for nearly 35 minutes.