PITTSBURG — It took two extra days to complete, but Frontenac eventually captured a 41-12 victory over Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan Saturday afternoon at Hutchinson Field.
The contest was originally scheduled for Thursday night but was suspended due to inclement weather. The game resumed on Saturday at the time play was halted, with the Raiders holding a 20-0 lead in the second quarter.
The win kept Frontenac perfect on the season at 2-0 overall heading into its Sept. 20 home game against Commerce (Okla.). The Tigers are 1-1 on the season following a 7-0 victory at Green Forest (Ark.) last week.
Meanwhile, Colgan is off to an uncharacteristic start to the season at 0-2. After dropping its first two games at home, the Panthers will be hitting the road for the first time on Sept. 20 when it travels to Baxter Springs for a CNC matchup. The Lions are also 0-2 on the season after falling 30-21 at Riverton last Friday.
On Thursday, the Raiders set the tone early, getting an 89-yard return for six by Ty Gates on the opening kickoff of the game. Later in the first period, it was the Frontenac defense getting in the act as Brant Chance picked off a pass and returned it 26 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead.
The visitors continued to extend the lead in the second quarter. They picked up their first offensive score of the game on a two-yard run by Alex Johnson to bump the advantage up to 20-0.
That’s when the weather took over, which forced the game to be suspended. When play resumed on Saturday, Colgan tried to get back into things as Derek VanBecelaere found Jalen VanBecelaere on a 27-yard scoring strike to cut the margin to 20-6 at the intermission.
But Frontenac eventually blew the game wide open in the second half with 21 unanswered points. Jake Beckmann and Johnson both accounted for four-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter to push the Raider lead up to 34-6. Johnson was then on the receiving end of a 12-yard pass from Beckmann to push their lead up to 35 points.
The Panthers picked up one more touchdown later in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run from Brice Wood, but that made little difference in the final outcome.
Despite dominating the scoreboard, Frontenac was actually outgained 168-165 in total yardage by Colgan. The Raiders were able to force the Panthers into three turnovers.