No. 13 Grizzlies Stay Unbeaten on the Road With Win at No. 15 Highland

HIGHLAND, Kan. – The No. 13 ranked Butler football team earned a 16-10 conference road win over the No. 15 ranked Highland Scotties at Porter Family Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Butler (3-2, 2-0 KJCCC) remains unbeaten in conference play and on the road where they have picked up all three of their wins. Highland moves to 4-3 and 1-3 in KJCCC action.

The Grizzly defense held Highland to -2 yards rushing, forced four turnovers and tallied seven tackles for loss. Sophomore linebacker Landon Boss led the way with nine tackles including three tackles for loss. Butler also ended the game with nine pass breakups, all nine coming from different players.

Starting quarterback Mason McHugh exited the game with an injury at the end of the first quarter. He finished 3-of-4 for 50 yards through the air, leading the Grizzlies to an opening drive field goal with passing connections of 24 yards and 22 yards to Justin Stephens and Noah Bruce keeping the drive going.

True freshman quarterback Jayson Zardavets took over for McHugh and played the rest of the game. It was the first action of his collegiate career, and he finished 10-of-22 for 120 yards and a touchdown, also rushing eight times for 34 yards. Zardavets tossed a 42-yard touchdown to Nick Brown down the seam at the end of the third quarter that saw Butler regain the lead, 13-10. It was Butler's only touchdown of the game. Zardavets had an impressive scramble the play before the touchdown for eight yards, picking up a crucial first down.

Two first half field goals from sophomore kicker Aidan Battle saw the Grizzlies go to halftime with a 6-3 lead in tow. Battle finished 3-5 and 1-1 on extra points. He missed from 48 and 52 yards, either one would have been a career-long for the Leavenworth native.

Highland tacked on their lone touchdown on their first drive of the second half. They put together an eight play, 82-yard drive that ended in a five-yard touchdown rush from running back Myles Murphy, giving them a 10-6 lead. Murphy had 10 rushes for 33 yards and a touchdown as well as five receptions for 59 yards.

Scottie quarterback Gunnar Smith was 17-of-39 through the air for 254 yards and three interceptions. His leading receiver was Dariyonne Bryant who finished with three receptions for 68 yards.

With Butler leading 13-10 late in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies were forced to punt from their own 24-yard line with 2:30 to play. Chevy Edwards punted it 47 yards to the Highland 29 and the Scottie return man muffed the punt. Grizzly long snapper Zach Haber fell right on the ball and recovered the fumble, essentially sealing the game for the Grizzlies. Butler ran 2:04 off the clock on the ensuing drive with Battle able to connect on a 38-yard field goal that gave the Grizzlies a 16-10 lead.

Sophomore Craig Royal intercepted Highland quarterback Gunnar Smith on the last play of the game on a hail mary attempt, the Grizzlies third interception of the game with Jalen Jones and Jamarcus Presley also plucking passes away from Highland earlier in the game.

Grizzly freshman tailback Markellus Bass rushed 21 times for 84 yards in the game, serving as Butler's lead back. Both the carries and yardage were career-highs. Cam Harris finished as Butler's lead receiver with five catches for 46 yards.

Butler returns to action this Saturday when No. 5 ranked Garden City travels to El Dorado for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The game will serve as an 'Alumni Game' for Butler football with all alumni invited to attend. There will be a pregame tailgate in the South end zone parking lot for all football alumni.