Conqs get first win of season over Ravens

By Matt Martinez, Dodge City Daily Globe
October 25, 2008

So that's how it feels to win a football game. The Dodge City Community College Conquistador football team snapped a ten-game losing streak that went back to the 2007 season Saturday by beating the Coffeyville CC Red Ravens 31-30 at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Coffeyville.

Breakout performances by freshman running back Jacquese Seward and sophomore receiver Scott Donaldson as well as the return of starting quarterback Colby McGill put the Conqs (1-7, 1-5 Jayhawk Conference) over the top in what turned out to be a Saturday night thriller.

With 29 seconds remaining, McGill threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Donaldson that capped off a 79-yard drive and tied the score at 30. Kicker Ryan Carrell, who had missed two extra points earlier in the game, came through when it counted and gave his team the most important point of the game. "That was pretty big-time," Dodge coach Bob Majeski said of the kick that finally made it through the uprights.

Donaldson finished the day with eight catches for 96 yards and the clutch touchdown grab. McGill managed the game well in his return to the field after leaving week 4's game in Hutchinson with a concussion, finishing 22-of-34 passing for 184 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Seward finished the game with a season-high 173 rushing yards on 23 carries. He also had eight catches for 40 more yards and three total touchdowns.

Before the Conqs could celebrate the cathartic win, though, they had to dig themselves out of an early 23-6 hole. The Red Ravens (2-6, 1-5 Jayhawk Conference) put up 20 points in the first quarter behind two rushing touchdowns of 37 and 64 yards from running back Deshon Daniels.

Daniels finished the game with 137 yards on the ground, gaining only 36 yards in the final three quarters of the game. The Conq defense, behind the penetration of linemen Marquis George, Kevin Dix and Deon Vornes and the sure tackling of linebacker Joey Garcia, did not allow a Red Raven score in the crucial final quarter.

The Conqs will try to carry the momentum of the win into the final game of the season, a home game at Memorial Stadium slated for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. The Conqs will be battling the Highland CC Scotties, who are 1-7 overall and 1-5 in Jayhawk Conference play.

"We just beat one of the premiere name football teams in Juco football, which shows that we're moving in the right direction," Majeski said. "It'd be really big to carry a two-game win streak into recruiting and into workouts, and big for our confidence." Read Daily Globe Story >>>