Ganado cruises to 48-6 homecoming win

GANADO - Recent Ganado graduates were likely confused on Friday night.

The Indians' field and the Ganado team uniforms may not have changed over the summer, but the team has.

Ganado used a sharp spread attack to jump all over the Tidehaven Tigers in the first half and cruise to a 48-6 homecoming win on Friday.

"It was different and probably suprised them," said junior running back and quarterback Clay Vesely.

Vesely, the team's leading rusher coming into the night, threw for two touchdowns and ran for a pair of scores. The Ganado defense held Tidehaven to 102 total yards.

The Indians improve to 3-1 while Tidehaven fell to 0-4.

"We came out, we executed and we did what the coaches wanted us to do," Vesely said.

Vesely completed 4-of-5 passes for 89 yards and rushed for 118 yards on 14 carries.

In recent years, the Indians used a power run game that featured backs like Josh Labay, Tyler Gorman and quarterback Trey Thedford.

During Friday's homecoming, the Indians came out in a spread they only show when they are in catch up mode and build a 35-point halftime lead.

Ganado scored the first 41 points of the game and treated the maroon clad Ganado fans to an easy homecoming win.

"I thought at times we looked real good doing it," Thompson said about Ganado's use of the spread.

Despite being a Class 2A, Division II team, depth and experience was an issue for Tidehaven.

The Tigers came into Friday's game with fewer players on their roster than the Indians and had only 10 upperclassmen on the team.

"When you've got so many young kids as we do, making adjustments does take time," said Tidehaven head coach Brent Mascheck.

After a Tigers punt, the Indians marched 60 yards in eight plays to the Tidehaven's one.

Confusion on a snap turned into a score when senior running back Kenny Kocian picked up a dropped snap and dragged a couple of Tigers into the end zone to give the Indians their first points of the game.

"We didn't draw it up like that, but it worked," Vesely said with a smile.

Added Kocian: "It was supposed to go to me, I pick it up and do what I do."

A 24-yard Vesely pass to Jonathan Martinez helped set up Vesely's first touchdown run, this one from five-yards out.

"We making silly mistakes and Ganado's a good football team and when you make those mistakes, they take advantage of it," Mascheck said.

Vesely put Ganado ahead by three scores when he ran for a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.

He added a 34-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Kameron Smith for a score that put the game out of reach in the first half.

Defensively, the Indians matched Tidehaven's scoring output thanks to Ray Salazar's 35-yard interception return midway through the second quarter.

Ganado held Tidehaven to 102 total yards and hauled in two interceptions. Tidehaven punted six times and picked up only five first downs.

Tidehaven's lone score came on a 67-yard pass from Brandon Litzau to Eric Villarreal late in the third quarter.

"Other than the one play where we let them score the long touchdown, we played great defense all night long," Thompson said.

Smith was Ganado's leading receiver with three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. Offensively, the Indians put up a total of 388 yards and didn't have to punt the entire night.

Litzau led the Tigers offensively going 10-for-21 with 110 yards and a touchdown. Villarreal paced the Tigers ground game with 14 yards on 10 carries.

The Indians have another non-district warmup next week at Flatonia while Tidehaven opens District 12-2A, Division II play at No. 6 East Bernard.