With about two minutes to go before kickoff of his debut as Kickapoo High School football coach, Nate Thomas was feeling the jitters.
Turns out he had nothing to worry about … not with junior Mason Auer under center.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound quarterback put on a show on opening night, running for three touchdowns and passing for two more as the Chiefs pulled away in the second half for a 45-19 victory over Parkview.
Auer helped keep Kickapoo in the lead in a first half where both teams took their best shots offensively. Then in the second half, the Chiefs scored the final 17 points and put the Vikings away.
“I thought everything went as I thought it was going to go” Auer said. “We just executed and got everything done.
“We were just reading their defense, and we read them right pretty much every time.”
Auer finished with 165 yards rushing on 18 carries, to go with 15-of-18 passing for 176 yards and no interceptions.
Running back Dalton Coates had 52 rushing yards and a score, plus a 61-yard TD reception in the first half.
By the fourth quarter, Auer was ready to take a seat after a busy and successful night.
“We knew what he was capable of and what kind of athlete he was, and that he was going to be a big threat,” Thomas said. “He did a tremendous job – he took care of the football and ran our offense.”
Auer opened the scoring with a 39-yard TD run on Kickapoo’s first possession, then hit Coates with a scoring pass on the second play of the second quarter for a 21-7 Chiefs’ lead.
Auer’s second TD run was his most impressive one. He tried the left side and couldn’t find room as he neared the sideline, then doubled back to the right side. He eventually found room down the right sideline and went in from 20 yards out and a 28-13 lead.
Kickapoo needed every bit of that first-half offense, as Parkview stayed close behind the running of junior Blake Delacruz. He was the Vikings’ most consistent offensive performer, racking up 206 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and hauling in a TD reception.
Parkview quarterback Trevor Boice had two TD passes, completing 14 of 21 passes for 125 yards.
Boice and Delacruz hooked up on a 14-yard TD strike on a fourth-and-5 play in the final seconds of the first half, keeping the Vikings within 28-19.
In the second half, the Chiefs took control early.
Auer hit Austin Hutson for a 22-yard TD on the first possession of the third quarter, then the QB ran it in from 4 yards out on Kickapoo’s next possession. A 32-yard field goal by Josh Scheiderer made it a 45-19 game late in the third quarter.
Kickapoo’s defense provided some big stops throughout the game, intercepting four passes. Jack Haydon and Drew Kellogg picked off passes in the first quarter, with Adrian Davis (third quarter) and Kellogg again (fourth quarter) stopping Parkview scoring threats.
“That’s something that we emphasized to these kids this week,” Thomas said. “Early in the season and late in the season, teams that take care of the football and win the kicking game are the ones that are going to win. These kids played their hearts out.”
Thomas breathed a sigh of relief after winning his Kickapoo debut, but warned there’s a need for big improvement from what he saw in the opener.
The Chiefs travel to Rolla next week before coming back home to play Joplin.
“We’ve got to get better, there’s no doubt about it,” Thomas said.
Parkview stays on the road next week, playing Joplin. The Vikings’ home opener is Sept. 1 against Rolla.
