BY CHARLES CHANEY
EL DORADO, Kansas — Butler Magic is back?
The Butler Grizzlies found a way to get it done in their conference opener on Saturday afternoon against Independence, off a Hunter Rioux field goal in overtime, 30-27.
The win moves Butler to 3-0 this season and now will sit near the top of the conference standings with a big road trip to Coffeyville next week.
“I mean, I’m happy to win,” Butler head coach Kyle Woodall said. “I’m never going to ever, ever complain about a win.”
It was the tale of two halves for the Grizzly defense. They were shredded in the first half for over 270 yards in the first half. Indy QB Keegan Anderson had plenty of protection and it appeared Indy had speed and size Butler struggled to contain.
“We had zero pressure in the first half,” Woodall said. “He had all day; as comfortable as a quarterback as I’ve ever seen against the butler defense.”
Butler’s defense was different in the second half. They held Indy to less than 70 yards of offense and most of it came on their solo touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
They forced four turnovers, including two sack fumbles in the fourth quarter. One that gave Butler a slim lead at 27-20 after Caden Lappe had sacked Anderson and Crutis Hood rumbled into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
The comeback was complete but the Grizzlies would need overtime to get it done. Anderson would fumble, setting up the Grizzlies’ game winning drive.
“That second half, man, the crazys dogs showed up and did what they were supposed to do,” Woodall said. “Hats off to coach Landoll. We were squirming for a little bit, like we got to change some stuff up and he had some blitzes and did some different things, changed some stuff up. Hats off to Landoll, coach Andrews and coach Rob on the back end. They did a great job.”
Butler would go through multiple quarterbacks on Saturday. After benching Dylan Dunn, Woodall brought in Davion Wilson who was lackluster. He then turned to Maize South true freshman, Tate McNew.
He’d burn his redshirt in the third game of the season but he was ready to win.
“If we’re going to have musical chairs at quarterback, then why not Tate McNew,” Woodall said. “I looked at Tate and said ‘do you want to go?’ He could have kept his year and do whatever and he said “I want to play. I want to win a game.”
That’s what Butler went and did.
McNew hit Nakai Poole and Nolan Chambers on two gorgeous balls to move the Grizzlies down field. McNew then went ‘Mahomes’ on a play in the third to pull Butler within three in the third.
McNew led the Grizzlies down the field with a couple of nice floating passes and then it was McNew looking like Mahomes, shaking out of a potential sack and then found Noah Bruce for the touchdown for a 13-yard score with 2:00 remaining in the third.
“Obviously, he wasn’t perfect but he sparked our offense,” Woodall said. “He made some plays when we had to have them. Every time I’ve done an interview with somebody and asked me about quarterbacks, I’ve said Tate McNew is fully capable of leading this team. He’s never looked like a freshman to me.”
McNew would finish with 70 yards on 7 of 11 passing with a touchdown and an interception.
His touchdown came with the Grizzlies needed it the most.
Chambers who was on the squad last year when the offense at times couldn’t make plays when it was needed, loves seeing how hard they work and seeing the outcome with the win.
“It’s all the hard work,” Chambers said. “Over the summer, I came back early and to get good with the team quarterbacks and working real hard. That’s one thing we’ve been focused on is just changing the offense.”
Chambers led the Grizzlies with six receptions for 55 yards.
McNew would lead Butler on another scoring drive. This time midway through the fourth quarter as Butler would march into the red zone and settle for a 20-yard field goal that would tie it at 2-all.
In the seven offensive possessions McNew was on the field, Butler had a scoring opportunity in five of them. They would score on three of those possessions.
If you’re going to burn your redshirt, might as well get the win.
McNew’s presence on the field felt different. He made plays with his legs. Multiple times he was able to elude the defense and find a wide receiver.
That first half almost gave the Grizzlies their first loss of the season. They struggled on first down and gave plenty of time to the Indy quarterbacks.
“We got to start faster,” Woodall said. “We got to have a much better preparation week, because I did not have us ready to play. So, that starts with me. I got to go look at my daily habits and how I start my day and how I get things rolling and I got to be more involved in getting our guys the right mindset. So that part’s on me.”
Independence struck first, capitalizing on a fourth down and were able to score when Keegan Anderson found Ejani Shakir for the 6-yard touchdown pass.
Indy QB, Keegan Anderson, threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He was able to make plays with his legs. At one point, he had scrambled up the middle and hit Anthony Colon for a big play over the middle. That eventually led to a touchdown for Indy.
Butler struggled to make plays and even when they made the first quarterback switch. The lack of cohesiveness showed as the first play was almost a fumble but Markellus Bass was able to recover and make a big play of it. Then on the following play Butler would fumble the exchange and that would led to another score for Indy.
Despite being shut out in the first quarter on a couple of forth down stops, Butler answered back right at the start of the second quarter when Singleton split the heart of the Indy defense and into the end zone for the 67 yard touchdown, tying it at 7-all with 14:50.
Independence took advantage of a Butler fumble on an exchange when Davion Wilson tried to hand it to Markellus Bass but it was Nasir Hudson fell on it before a Grizzly could recover. Anderson then hit Anthony Colon on the 18-yard contested catch for the touchdown.
Then, Colon made a mistake.
He spiked it in front of the official and a Butler defender and caught a 15-yard unsportsmanlike call. After they kicked the ball out of bounds, Butler had the ball at midfield.
The Grizzlies tried to answer as Bass had a 23 yard run to push the Grizzlies deep in Indy territory but a bad snap on third down cost the Grizzlies a chance at a touchdown. Hunter Rioux would connect on a 42-yard field goal, cutting the Indy lead in half at 20-10 with 1:04 remaining in the half.
In the end, it was the defense that came through.
Caden Lappe’s strip sack that led to Hood’s score was his second touchdown assist in as many weeks.
“I had the punt block last week,” Lappe said. “I need to get one eventually. As long as we get the win, I’m here for it.”
Lappe’s play in the second half helped the Grizzlies hold what looked like a scary Indy offense in check. They were consistently in the back field, especially in the fourth quarter. Butler finished with seven sacks on the afternoon.
“We’re willing to go in the deep waters,” Lappe said. “We practice every day. We got to dick deep and we know we can dig deeper than they could. You saw the outcome of that.
“We played with a whole different mindset [in the second half]. That’s thanks to coach Landoll and coach Woody for getting on us because that first half wasn’t us.”
Before Indy would go 75 yards to tie the game in the fourth quarter, Butler’s defense had them in check. Indy only had negative 53 yards of offense in the second half.
In overtime, Butler’s defense once again came up huge. It was Mark Debiak putting the pressure on Anderson, who stumbled and tried to use the ball as support but fumbled. He was initially ruled down by contact but replay showed the support effort and it was Dexter Carr who recover the ball.
“I was 100% confident when our defense went out there in over time, that we were going to get a stop,” Woodall said. “Hats off to that defense. Then offensively, we go out, we get it set up, and Rioux, let’s go baby. you missed a couple, no body cares, man. You’re going to make this one and win the game.”
Six rushes later, Rioux redeemed himself from his two misses earlier in the game and sealed it through the uprights.
The Grizzlies ran for 238 yards behind 125 yards from Bass and another 110 from Singleton. It’s the first time since Oct. 5, 2019 the Grizzlies had two 100-yard rushers in a conference game. That game was also against Independence. It’s the first time since the first week of the 2022 season the Grizzlies ran for more than 200 yards in a conference game. They ran for 226 against Garden City that year.
“When you can run the football, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win games,” Woodall said. “I’m really proud of those guys and we didn’t abandon it when we got down 10. We just stuck to the game plan.
“I believe in those guys so much. Bass is a guy I’m always going to lean on and JJ [Singleton] is a true freshman we’ve been kind of bringing along and now it’s Jayhawk time.”
The Grizzlies now will travel to Coffeyville for a rivalry game. The Grizzlies get two weeks off after that, a rare double bye week. Going to a night game at Coffeyville always provides unique opportunities.
Butler is up for the challenge.
“We’re going to come out with the mindset of taking them into deep waters where we know they can’t go,” Lappe said.
“Any time you go to Coffeyville, it’s a tough place to play,” Woodall said. “They’re a very talented football team. Coach Dobler has done an amazing job. They’ll be ready to play and then you add in Butler-Coffeyville for us old school Butler guys, the rivalry is a big deal.”
Butler 30, Independence 27 OT
Indy 7 13 0 7 0 — 27
Butler 0 10 7 10 3 — 30
ICC – Shakir 6 pass from Anderson (Brunke-Brown kick)
BUT – Singleton 67 run (Rioux kick)
ICC – Neal 6 run (run failed)
ICC – Colon 18 pass from Anderson (Brunke-Brown kick)
BUT – Rioux 41 FG
BUT – McNew 13 pass to Bruce (Rioux kick)
BUT – Rioux 20 FG
BUT – Hood 15 fumble recovery (Rioux kick)
ICC – Johnson 26 run (Brunke-Brown kick)
BUTT – Rioux 20 FG
RUSHING: Independence – Ivan Johnson 11-48; Jimarion Guyton 6-16; Nathan Neal 1-6; Ma’Kenttis Adams 2-1; Mickey Herrick 1-0; Team 2–7; Keegan Anderson 8–62. Butler – Markellus Bass 23-125; Jeremiah Singleton 10-110; Kaden Moorman 5-14; Davion Wilson 3-0; Dylan Dunn 1–3; Tate McNew 2–8.
PASSING: Independence – Keegan Anderson 39-24-1-308; Nathan Neal 4-2-0-25. Butler – Tate McNew 11-7-1-70; Dylan Dunn 7-4-0-34; Davion Wilson 3-1-1–3.
RECEIVING: Independence – Ejani Shakir 4-90; Anthony Colon 3-53; Mekhi Penix 1-49; James Resar 3-37; Ivan Johnson 7-34; Peter Edwards 3-24; Phillip DeFelice 2-22; Kedan Johnson 1-18; Jimarion Guyton 1-6; Ma’Kenttis Adams 1-0. Butler – Nolan Chambers 6-55; Nakai Poole 1-23; Noah Bruce 1-13; Markellus Bass 3-7; Jeremiah Singleton 1-3.
