Skyler Branam with a huge touchdown catch to open the game. (Photos by Eric Rinehart).

By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — With the Wichita media in attendance and Sellers Park packed on an unusual Thursday night game, Wellington defeated Kapaun 20-19.

The Crusaders, those from Sumner County, will now be advancing to the Class 4A quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Andover Central defeated Winfield 35-7. Both games were moved up 24 hours because of possible inclement weather Friday night.

Wellington overcame a 19-7 deficit early in the fourth quarter after Kapaun’s Cal Purvis rumbled in from the 3 with exactly nine minutes on the clock. However, a key play came after when Purvis was stopped just short on the two-point conversion. It would loom large for the rest of the game because it kept Kapaun under the two-touchdown threshold.

Had Vegas placed the win probability at that moment, Wellington’s chances of victory would have been under 10 percent.

Post game interview with victorious Jeremiah Meeks. pic.twitter.com/aDn5Kajnv8

— Tracy McCue – Sumner Newscow (@Cueballnewscow) November 8, 2024

But that’s when the Crusaders went to work.

Stymied for most of the second half, Wellington suddenly found its offense again. Skyler Branam, who was this game’s top receiver, opened the next drive with a 12-yard reception. That was followed by a Jalik Armstrong screen pass reception putting Wellington down on the Kapaun 28.

Dusty Bannister drags a bevy of Kapaun defenders.

Then, on a 3rd and 12, Dusty Bannister found Grady Norris on a 30-yard touchdown fade to the endzone. A Crusader Red PAT made it 19-14

The Wellington defense then stopped Kapaun on a three-and-out. Forced to punt, Wellington was back on its own 48.

It was a stunning drive. Jamar Armstrong took a 3rd and 2, and scrambled 20 yards to the 23. Branam then made a top-dragging-the-sidelines catch to the 13.

Then came the play of the game. With the Crusader formation heading left, Bannister went right and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Milo Elder on a counter-flag route. It was his first catch of the season, and it couldn’t have been in a bigger moment.

Wellington 20, Kapaun 19, 3:33, 4Q. Milo Elder 14-yd pass from Dusty Bannister gives Wellington lead. pic.twitter.com/zwXSx1XbE6

— Scott Paske (@PaskeKSHSAA) November 8, 2024

“I was originally supposed to throw it to Carter (Burnett),” Bannister said. “But I saw that Milo was so wide open I threw it to him instead.”

Wellington, left for dead just five minutes earlier, was leading 20-19.

But there was still so much time – 3:33 left, and an out-of-bounds kick gave Kapaun the ball at its 35.

Kapaun drove into Wellington territory on a Peyton Gosch pass reception to the 41. Then quarterback Dylan Burr rolled out and threw it to another Crusader. But this was wearing red and named Cooper Hatfield.

Cooper Hatfield on the tackle on an earlier play before the interception.

“I don’t know what I was thinking when he threw it,” Hatfield said after the game. “Honestly, I think I’ve blacked the whole thing out.”

Wellington needed one first down with 2:33 to play. A blindside block on Wellington resulted in a 10-yard penalty, putting the Dukes in a first-and-20 situation with a stopped clock.

But then Brody Weir made two huge runs to pick up the first down, and Kapaun was powerless to stop the clock from winding out.

Wellington head coach Jeremiah Meeks was ecstatic.

“I told the seniors this was their time. We were down, we were down, we were down. But they weren’t worried. They were more calm than I was. We battled through adversity and got the W.”

———

For a huge chunk of this game, Kapaun was the team in control.

Wellington opened the game on a Bannister 56-yard touchdown pass to Branam on a go-route to give the Red a 7-0 lead with 8:36 in the first.

But from that point until the early fourth quarter, Kapaun’s defense took over. The Crusader Blue had shut out four opponents this season and held Rose Hill to 7 last week in a 55-7 throttling.

Kapaun got its two biggest plays of the game on fourth-down conversions. With the players loading the box on a 4th and 1 from the 36 early in the second quarter, Purvis somehow found a hole and scrambled in for a touchdown to tie the game at 7.

Grady Norris on a kickoff return.

Then, seven plays later, Kapaun decided to go for it on a 4th-and-inches. Burr was able to scramble around the right side and run 76 yards for a score. Kapaun took a 13-6 lead at the half.

In the meantime, Wellington could not generate any real offense. Bannister, despite gaining 253 yards passing, was having trouble connecting with his receivers. Wellington had seven consecutive possessions in which it came up empty.

The Wellington team is 20-19 winners.

The third quarter went scoreless, with neither team getting to the end zone. On a punt reception, Wellington was called for a personal foul for what many Crusader fans (the red ones) considered a well-acted flop. Kapaun started the drive on the Wellington 32. This may have been the best sequence of the game, as the defense stiffened and eventually forced a Kapaun punt.

Wellington’s offense found itself in a fourth-and-39 situation on the next drive. Elder, who not only had a touchdown reception, had a sensational night punting repeatedly, getting the Dukes out of many dire situations.

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