Broncbusters erase double-digit deficit to win on the road

Independence, KS-This by no means was a work of art, but the way this season has gone, Garden City will take a win any way they can get it. 

Jalen Daniels came in off the bench to throw for two touchdowns, Chenelle Jones' defense recorded a season-best nine sacks, and Garden City stormed back from 17 points down in the second half to beat Independence, 27-23 at Shulthis Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Broncbusters improved to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play. 

"Give these guys a lot of credit, because they could have folded and they didn't," Head Coach, Tom Minnick said.  

Even in victory, the offense was futile for much of the day. They finished with minus-28 yards rushing, the fourth fewest in a game in program history. And Fred Davis, who was an FCS freshman All-American at Mercer, had 18 carries for minus-3 yards.  

"We flat out couldn't run the football today," Minnick added. 

Of course, it didn't help that Garden City was missing starting offensive lineman, Kaliem Croswell, who was serving a two-game suspension for his involvement in the sideline altercation last week vs. Dodge City. James Jones, who at one point this season was leading the nation in rushing, is no longer with team, and five-star Texas A&M transfer, Demond Demas did not make the trip. They were also without starting wide receiver, Giovanni Ribalta. 

"I'm proud of the way we fought," Minnick explained. 

The first half however was a much different story. Tanner Steenboc hit a 28-yard field goal late in the first quarter, and Christian Reid blasted in from one yard out with 90 seconds left in the half to make it 10-0. Then disaster struck when Garden City got the ball back. On Third-and-3 at the Broncbuster 36, Christopher McClain stripped Kody Kirk, and Jashawn Greene recovered for Independence. Two plays later, Reid found Isaiah Myers for a seven-yard touchdown to give the Pirates a 17-0 advantage with 10 seconds remaining. And crazy enough, Independence had a chance to score again when Keyon Brown muffed the ensuing kickoff. But Steenboc's 42-yard field goal was no good at the horn. 

Garden City though flipped the script in the second half.  

With the offense stuck in mud, the defense stepped to the forefront when Jalil Muhammad knocked the ball out of Reid's hands early in the third period. Gyriece Goodman scooped it up and raced 20 yards for a touchdown. Then, after the Pirates extended the lead on Reid's 65-yard scoring toss to Myers, who got free thanks to a coverage bust, Minnick finally replaced Kirk, who was just 11-of-33 for 116 yards, with Daniels late in the third. And the move paid major dividends when the transfer from South Carolina engineered a 52-yard scoring drive that was punctuated with Davis's one-yard touchdown run. Daniels then hit Alexander Lines in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion, and Garden City was within nine, 23-14 heading into the final quarter. 

"I think Jalen had some time to think, and it was good for him," Minnick said. "He made the right plays today."

After missing a chance to pull closer on their first possession of the fourth when Daniels' pass to Jaylan Bean was batted away in the end zone, Garden City caught a major break. The Pirates marched 54 yards to the Broncbuster 22 before the drive stalled. Steenboc was then summoned for a 39-yard field goal, but the snap bounced on the ground, and Garden City took over at their own 31.

The Broncbusters immediately answered when Daniels went back to the air, hitting Brown in stride for a 39-yard score that made it three-point contest, 23-20 (Braxton Frey missed the extra point) with 2:50 to play. 

"We gave ourselves a chance," Minnick said. "That's really all you can ask for in a game like this." 

The Pirates definitely aided in the comeback with what any major college coach would call clock-management malpractice. Nursing a three-point lead late in the game, Independence opted to throw on second and third downs deep in their own end. Both passes were incomplete, saving Garden City from using their timeouts. 

When the Broncbusters got the ball back at their own 43, Daniels didn't waste any time, going up top for Keyshawn Buckley, who badly beat Jonethan Wiltshire and Jordan Johnson for a 57-yard go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining.  

"That play was there all day," Minnick said.  

The Pirates still had a chance to win it, driving to the Garden City 16 on their ensuing possession. But that's where Goodman took over, sacking Reid on back-to-back plays to end the game.  

"It was a gut-check win for our team," Minnick stated.  

Daniels was 10-of-17 for 190 yards and two touchdowns for Garden City. Brown, the one-time Oklahoma commit, finished with five catches for 106 yards and a score. 

Reid, who was the third quarterback used by Independence this season, was 31-of-57 for 387 yards and two touchdowns.