At United Wireless Arena in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday afternoon, the Southwest Kansas Storm hosted the Wichita Regulators and evened the score to 1-1 in the season series with an easy 35-12 victory. Southwest Kansas Storm moves to 4-3 on the season, while the Wichita Regulators drop to 1-4.
Tight First Half
This wasn’t a one-sided affair right from the kickoff, but it ended that way. The Wichita Regulators kicked the ball off to start the game. It went out of bounds outside the rebound net, resulting in a point for the Southwest Kansas Storm. The Storm took it from there and never surrendered the lead. The Regulators would hang around in the first half, with both teams trading scores and scoring a touchdown on each of their first two possessions of the game.
After each touchdown, the Regulators would miss both a 4-point and 3-point try. They didn’t score again in the game. The Storm had no issues moving the ball in the first half, scoring every time they touched it. Heading into half-time, the Storm seemed to have a handle on the game, but the game was still within striking distance for the Regulators.
Completely Overmatched
In the second half Southwest Kansas began to pull away, and Matt Struck was the reason. He was confident and in command of the offense and the Storm defense showed up and put the hurt on the Regulators offense. Joseph Hess came into the game in relief of Brewer, but even the veteran could not dent the Storm defense. Southwest Kansas breezed through the second half and salted this one away with a methodical ball-control offense.
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Key Players for the Storm
The biggest note for the Storm is that they have used two quarterbacks in every game this season, with Cam Walters starting most games at the position. On Sunday, Matt Struck got the call at quarterback. He would take every snap in the game, and Walters would not make an appearance. Struck dominated by rushing the ball. The 6-4 220lbs quarterback scored three rushing touchdowns and broke a few big runs in the second half of the game. The Storm are looking to make a late playoff push, and if they’ve found their answer at quarterback, teams will have to take notice.
Key Players for the Regulators
It’s hard to pick anyone as a key player for the Outlaws due to their lack of production on either the offensive or defensive side. They started for Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer, who had his moments on the first two drives of the game. He tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to McKinney. Then followed it up with a 2-yard touchdown run. Brewer would get sacked late in the first half on a third downplay. He was replaced by Joseph Hess, who played the rest of the game for the Regulators and didn’t look great. Hess threw three interceptions and was sacked countless times. Wichita never scored again once Brewer left the game.