HIGHLAND, Kan. - Amid the tall stalks of corn in the very northeastern tip of Kansas, No. 14 ranked Northeastern A&M College amassed over 600 yards in total offense Saturday for a 47-14 rout of the Highland Community College Scotties at Kessinger Field.


Not only was it a triumphant first career victory for new NEO head coach Sherard Poteete, but it enable the Southwest Junior College Football Conference to finish the eight-year challenge with the Kansas Jayhawk Community College on a winning not. The SWJCFC won four of the seven match-ups played Saturday to finish 33-24 in the head-to-head competition.
Next year the KJCCC will play the three teams left in the Iowa Community College Conference as non-conference opponents rather than continue the rotation with the SWJCFC.
"Anytime you can go on the road, it doesn't matter where, and win as convincingly as we did, it's a good day," Poteete said. "Our kids really played well despite the extremely humid conditions. We heard that Garden City even moved their game to 10 a.m. Saturday with Cisco because of the heat and they still had several fans and players treated for heat related illnesses."
While the Golden Norsemen opened the season with a win, Highland fell to 1-1 after the Scotties had earned a 48-31 win at conference foe Fort Scott, Kan.
The Golden Norse make another trip across the border next Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest against Coffeyville Community College at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game was created two weeks ago when both institutions were notified that Metropolitan University of Denver could not field a team and fulfill their obligation to play both teams.
Playing on a grass field, the Golden Norse wasted little time unveiling their potent offensive attack.
Covering 64 yards in nine plays to start the game, NEO redshirt freshman quarterback Tony Kiefer fired a 26-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide out Austin White. The play came on a 4th-and-6 call as Kiefer rolled out and hit White in stride.
Freshman placekicker Tyler Cortez split the uprights to give NEO a 7-0 lead with 9:21 left in the first quarter.
After stopping the Scotties on their first possession, the Norsemen needed only two plays to drive 45 yards for another TD.
Kiefer (5-11, 185 from McAlester) found freshman wide receiver Samory Collier all alone behind the Scotties secondary for a 45-yard touchdown pass. Cortez kicked the point-after with 6:29 on the clock to increase NEO's margin to a 14-0 score.
Just 0:15 seconds later the Golden Norsemen defense put points on the scoreboard as sophomore strong safety Jakii Moore stepped in front of an errant Brandon Bergeron pass and returned it 35 yards for a TD. Cortez added the extra point for a 21-0 Norse margin with 6:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Highland finally reached pay dirt on their second possession of the game after Bergeron connected with wide out Derwin Jones for a 63-yard pass play. Jones was denied the endzone at the NEO 2-yard line by a saving tackle from veteran free safety Mike Cole.
Scotties running back Jordan Ward bulled across from the two and Josh Pasley kicked the PAT for a 21- 7 deficit with 5:19 still left in the opening quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, the Norsemen received a 32-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Sheldon Wilson. Cortez had the point-after blocked and Kiefer attempted to scoop the ball up and run in a two-point conversion but was tackled short of the goal line.
Utilizing the tandem quarterback duo of Kiefer and transfer sophomore Mitch Manley, the Golden Norse put together a five-play, 69-yard drive to consume the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter.
Redshirt sophomore running back Elliot Hawkins dashed through the middle of the Scotties defense for a 28-yard touchdown run with 12:34 until halftime. Again, Cortez missed the extra point as the kick drifted wide left as NEO carried a 33-7 cushion to the locker room at intermission.
"I knew going into this game that we would be alternating quarterbacks and it worked out real well for us," Poteete said. "As long as it works we'll stay with this system because  they both executed the offense real well."
During the first half, the Golden Norse defense stymied the Scotties ground game by limiting them to a minus-3 total yards on only nine rushes.
"Defensive coordinator (Zach) Allen and his staff did a masterful job of preparing for Highland," Poteete said. "They deserve a lot of credit for getting the kids ready to play.
"We put a lot of pressure on Bergeron all night," Poteete said. "We finished with six quarterback sacks and five tackles behind the line of scrimmage while holding them to less than 100 yards total rushing."
Midway through the third quarter the Norsemen used a bit of trickery to score an apparent touchdown. Quarterback Manley took the snap and lateraled to White out on the flank. White threw a strike of freshman wide out Corey Lawrence for a 57-yard TD pass.
But the play was erased after NEO was flagged for an illegal chop block.
Mounting a 72-yard drive that consumed more than three minutes, the Golden Norse scored on a 3-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Cameron Wrenn with 3:02 showing on the clock. Cortez added the extra point as NEO carried a 40-7 advantage into the fourth quarter.
A missed 37-yard field goal attempt by Cortez early in the quarter forced Poteete to make a change in his kicking game.
"We just felt that Tyler was too inconsistent and decided to give freshman Dylan Lipps a shot," Poteete said. "Our kicking game will be a major focus this week in preparation for Coffeyville."
Hawkins, who led the Golden Norse ground game with 158 yards on only nine carries, put an exclamation point on his performance with a nifty 81-yard touchdown run with 8:25 left in the game. The PAT by Lipps created a 47-7 NEO advantage.
The Norse had been pinned at their own 3-yard line after NEO sophomore linebacker Zach Maynard denied Highland wide out Austin Moses access to the endzone on a 4th-and-goal end around.
Freshman running back Elbert Johnson carried the ball six times for 40 yards while scoring on a 2-yard plunge to closeout the scoring for Highland. Pasley added the extra point with 4:02 left in the game.
NEO's offense generated 264 yards on the ground and 377 yards through the air.
"Coach (Chris) Jergens' offensive line did a great job," Poteete said. "The breakdowns in our passing game were a combination of overthrows by our quarterbacks and dropped catch able balls by our receivers. Those things can be corrected."            
                           1st           2nd     3rd     4th
NEO                    27               6         7        7
HCC                      7               0         0        7     
Scoring summary:
First quarter:
NEO -  Austin White 26 pass from Tony Kiefer (Tyler Cortez kick), 9:21
NEO -  Samory Collier 45 pass from Tony Kiefer (Tyler Coretz kick), 6:29
NEO -  Jakii Moore 35 interception return (Tony Cortez kick), 6:14
HCC -  Jordan Ward 2 run (Josh Pasley kick), 5:19
NEO - Sheldon Wilson 32 run (kick failed), 1:38
Second quarter:
NEO - Elliot Hawkins 28 run (kick failed), 12:34
Third quarter:
NEO - Cameron WRenn 3 run (Tyler Cortez kick), 3:02
Fourth quarter:
NEO - Elliot Hawkins 81 run (Dylan Lipps  kick), 8:25
HCC - Elbert Johnson 2 run (Josh Pasley kick), 4:02
Team statistics
                                                                  NEO                   HCC
First downs                                                   27                       17
Rushes-yards                                         49-377                  19-24
Passing yards                                              264                     325
Return yards                                                  62                       21
Passes-att-com-int                                18-32-2              31-52-1
Punts-Average                                            5-36                    8-38
Fumbles-lost                                                4-1                       4-2
Penalties-yards                                        10-85                   11-98
Individual statistics:
RUSHING:  NEO, Elliot Hawkins 9-158-1-(81), Sheldon Wilson 11-113-1-(32), Kendal Holmes 6-40-(23), Cameron Wrenn  4-23-1-(15), Samory Collier 1-22-0 (22), Mitch Manley 9-10-0-(11), Tony Kiefer 8-8-0-(6), Alverey Braxton 1-3-0-(3); HCC, Elbert Johnson 6-40-1-(16), Daemon Franklin 1-13-0-(13), Jordan Ward 6-(-4)-1-(1), Brandon Bergeron 6-(-25)-0-(3).
PASSING:  NEO, Tony Kiefer 9-18-2-155-(45), Mitch Manley 9-14-0-109-(35); HCC, Brandon Bergeron 31-52-1-325-(63).
RECEIVING:  NEO, Samory Collier 6-139-1-(45), Austin White 3-54-1-(26), Alverey Braxton 2-11-0-(7),Corey Lawrence 2-5-0-(5), DeAndre Jennings 1-13-0, Cameron Wrenn 1-12-0-(12),  Theo Berry 1-8-0, Elliot Hawkins 1-11-0, Sam Shepard 1-11-0; HCC, Austin Moses 8-101-0-(33), Dustin Lara 7-22-0-(15), Melvin McAdams 4-102-0-(39), Austin Jones 4-74-0-(63), Brennan Boland 2-22-0, Justin Dickey 2-5-0-(3), Kyle McLellan 2-1-0-(1), Elbert Johnson 2-(-2).