Cats leave no doubt at Thomas
Harman throws 6 first-half TDs, defense gets shutout in state title rematch
CASHION DEFENDERS Landon LaGasse (19) and Kaleb Duran (13) sandwich a Thomas ball carrier during the Wildcats’ 47-0 victory on the road last Friday night. [Photo by Brad Stone/www.bestone.shootproof.com]
Their battles from last season were those of two titans.
Only one of the teams, however, resembled its 2020 self when they met again Friday night.
Cashion throttled Thomas early and often, then coasted in the second half before returning home with a 47-0 victory.
In a battle of teams that met for the Class A state championship last season, Cashion’s Ben Harman continued to light up the scoreboard.
The senior quarterback threw six touchdowns as Cashion scored all its points in the first two quarters.
Harman has thrown 18 touchdowns and just one interception in his last three outings.
His scoring tosses went to four different receivers, though none of them were his most frequent connection.
Mason Manning hauled in 11 passes for 196 yards despite not finding the end zone.
Landon LaGasse did, however.
Three times, in fact.
The senior caught five passes for 77 yards.
He scored Cashion’s first two touchdowns, both 20-yard strikes from Harman in the first quarter.
Seth Gilbert added a 22-yard score as the Wildcats led 19-0 after just one frame.
But they were just getting started.
Cashion added four more touchdowns in the second.
LaGasse scored from 10 yards out before Nick Nabavi hauled in a 28-yard pass.
Jackson Vandruff’s 16-yard TD reception made it 40-0.
Nabavi capped the scoring with a 3-yard run before halftime.
Harman ended his night 18 of 22 for 339 yards.
The Wildcats ran it just 18 times, which netted 43 yards.
Nabavi had 44 yards on just five carries.
Thomas, which punished teams a year ago with its physical ground attack, had just 83 yards on 43 rushing attempts against Cashion.
The Terriers managed 139 total yards and averaged 2.8 yards per snap.
Cashion, meanwhile, was good for nearly a first down (9.1 yards) every time it ran a play.
Jackson Vandruff had 11 tackles and also forced and recovered a fumble.
Kaleb Duran added nine tackles and Jake Branson seven.
Since losing to Rejoice Christian in its season opener, Cashion (3-1) has bullied its last three foes by a combined 142-20.
The Wildcats begin defense of their District A-3 crown Friday when they host Watonga.
The Eagles enter the game 4-0 and are coming off a 46-41 win over Minco in a game they trailed 34-6 at just over the midway point of the third quarter.