On Monday, September 9, MHS Junior Varsity and Freshman football teams had their first games of the season. They both played against the Salina South Cougars at McPherson College Fields. 

The freshman team played first and ended the first quarter of the game in the lead with a score of 8-0. In the second quarter, the Cougars made three additional touchdowns plus a two-point conversion, bringing the Pups down 8-20 going into halftime.

In the third quarter, both teams scored a touchdown and the Cougars scored a two-point conversion as well, bringing the score up to 14-28. No one scored in the fourth quarter, leaving the Pups defeated with the final score of 14-28. Although, as Dawson Gottwald, running back, said, “The first game doesn’t show us that much. We’re better than that.” The rest of the team seems to show a similar attitude, along with the coach, Heath Gerstner. “This is a great group,” said Gerstner. “The freshman are very talented. I think they need to work their tails off and we should have a great season.”

The Junior Varsity team also took an early lead when they scored four touchdowns and two two-point conversions in the first quarter, making the score 28-0. In the second quarter the lead was only increased after the pups scored three touchdowns plus two two-point conversions. They went into half time with a score of 50-0, leaving both the players and the spectators optimistic about the rest of the game.

The second half of the game had a running clock. The Pups scored yet another touchdown and a two-point conversion, ending the third quarter with a score of 58-0. After the third quarter, due to penalties there was an untimed down where the Pups scored a touchdown, bringing the score up to 64-0 before the fourth quarter even began. However, no one scored in the fourth quarter, leaving the Bullpups with an outstanding victory score of 64-0. When asked what he thought helped lead his team to this win, Braden Harms, a fullback and linebacker, said, “We were able to work together and help out each other a lot in terms of getting the calls right.” When asked how he thinks the rest of the season will go, Harms responded, “I think we’re gonna have a good season, and based on what we saw in the first game, it’s gonna be a fun one.”