It was another tough matchup for the Salina South Cougars as they fell to the Hutchinson Salthawks 57-14 on Friday night at Gowans Field in Hutchinson. For the Cougars they now fall to 0-5 on the season, while Hutchinson moves to 3-2.

The Salthawks got out on the front foot quickly as returner Terrell King returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Hutch then proceeded to score touchdowns on five of their first six offensive possessions as they held a 35-0 lead as halftime approached.

For the Cougars, their offense struggled to find any rhythm early as they punted on three of their first five possessions. Their most promising drive came on their third possession as they marched into Hutch territory on a 13 play 51-yard drive that ended with a turnover on downs.

The Cougars did find the end zone right before the half as quarterback Layson Sajdak found fullback Ryan Copeland for a nine yard touchdown reception with 53 seconds left untill the halftime break.

 The second half did not go much better for the Cougars as they allowed the Salthawks to reach the end zone on three of four possessions as Hutchinson rushed for 292 yards in the half.

The Cougars finished with 201 yards of offense on the night with 136 of those coming from the arm of Sajdak. The Cougars were only able to muster 65 yards on the ground, with 70 coming in the second half as Salina South had negative five rushing yards in the first.

The Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game was young receiver Jaxon Myers. Myers finished with 91 yards of total offense on just six touches. Myers had three receptions for 56 yards to go along with three carries for 35 yards.

The H&R Block of the Game went to Ryan Copeland as he bowled over multiple defenders in the second quarter to extend a crucial drive with a 28 yard reception. That drive ended with a touchdown caught by Copeland.

The Cougars will now head back home to Salina to take on Newton coming up on October 6th.