Seaman football falls short against Basehor Linwood: 'Give them credit for executing'

Special teams errors and long passes ruined Seaman’s hope of keeping pace with the leaders of the United Kansas Conference Friday night. The Vikings fell at home 47-32 to Basehor-Linwood under the weight of big plays.

Seaman fell off the pace atop the conference, dropping to 4-2 while Basehor-Linwood improved to 5-1 in the league. De Soto held onto the top spot in the conference with a 6-0 mark.

Things started poorly for the Vikings, but they fought back to give themselves a chance. Here are four takeaways from the game:

More:Holton football routes Hayden on senior night: 'All our preparation is for Hayden'

Special teams were not special for Seaman

A nightmare of errors on special teams put the Vikings in a 13-0 hole early in the game. A blocked Viking punt was scooped up and carried 15 yards for the game’s first score by Basehor-Linwood’s Nate Martin.

The ensuing kickoff was mishandled by Seaman, setting the Bobcats up with a first down deep in Viking territory. Basehor-Linwood punched it in three plays later.

After Seaman scored on its next possession, it lost any momentum it might have gained when the Bobcats’ Caleb Scott raced 90 yards with the kickoff. Basehor-Linwood had 20 points after running just nine offensive plays.

“Special teams have been big for us all year, and that was huge at the start, getting the blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and then the kickoff return for a touchdown,” said Basehor-Linwood coach Rod Stallbaumer.

Special teams breakdowns continued to rear their ugly head throughout the half. Seaman had two extra points blocked, costing them a couple more precious points as they fought to make up the early deficit. In all, Seaman failed on three kicks and two pass attempts on point-after conversions, leaving a total of seven points on the table.

Only once did Seaman convert after a touchdown, that coming on a pass from quarterback Max Huston to tailback Bryson Vawter.

“That definitely takes the wind out of your sail early on,” Seaman coach Jared Swafford said of the miscues. “That’s a huge setback. When you’re playing a good team, you can’t have those things. It’s nothing that our kids did. That all falls on me as the head coach.”

Basehor-Linwood answered with quick strikes

Aside from exploiting special teams breakdowns, the Bobcats torched Seaman with long pass plays. Basehor-Linwood’s junior quarterback Brady VanDonge tossed touchdown passes of 79, 74 and 31 yards. In all, VanDonge hit 11 of 15 throws for 295 yards. Senior receiver Brant Wilson consistently found holes in the Seaman defense with five receptions for 141 yards.

“They were exposing us with the run, and right when we thought we were protecting against the run they passed on us,” said Vawter, who played linebacker on defense for the Vikings. “We’ve got to be better, to assess some things on film and just be better.”

When Seaman fought back to a 20-12 deficit early in the second quarter, Basehor-Linwood took just one play to snatch back the momentum, with Wilson taking a pass 74 yards for a touchdown.

And in the fourth period, when Seaman pulled to within 41-26, the Bobcats hit a 79-yard catch and run for another back-breaking quick strike.

“Give them credit for executing,” Swafford said. “They did a heck of a job. Whenever we answered the bell, they did it right back too. That’s what good teams do.”

Seaman relied on long drives

Seaman more than doubled the number of plays run by Basehor-Linwood. The Vikings put together six drives of 10 or more plays throughout the contest. While those long drives chewed up the clock and didn’t ultimately offset the Bobcats’ big plays, Swafford was pleased with the Vikings’ offensive execution.

“It was good to see that against a good defense that challenges you,” Swafford said. “In the second half there were a few that we weren’t able to finish off, but that’s football.”

To keep the offense moving, Huston attempted 41 passes, completing 29 for 282 yards. Taking risks to spark a comeback in the second half, the sophomore was picked off twice.

Huston relied on Callen Barta to move the sticks and looked to Aaron Merritt for big plays. Barta led the Vikings with 11 receptions while Merritt covered 98 yards on eight catches. Tristan Berg turned in a 51-yard reception for Seaman.

Vawter and fellow running back Jack Bloom hammered for a combined 172 yards on 41 carries.

“I think we (ran the ball) well,” Vawter said. “Our offensive line got good push and good yards on the ground.

“I think we did well responding. We got down early and didn’t give up. At halftime we got some good things in, but we just couldn’t capitalize on our drives, and in football that’s the biggest part. It doesn’t matter if you get down to the red zone if you can’t score.”

Seaman looks ahead

The Vikings will travel to Piper for their last scheduled contest. Then they will wait to learn their playoff opponent. Piper’s 4-2 record in the United Kansas Conference mirrors Seaman’s.

“We’re a darn good team, and our season’s still in front of us. We’ve got a lot of good things going right now, a lot of excitement,” Swafford said. “The guys are working incredibly hard and it’s back to work on Monday for us.

Swafford saw enough good things in the loss to Basehor-Linwood to like his team’s resilience.

“I think our guys did battle and we continued to fight all the way to the end,” Swafford said. “We’re going to progress and continue to get better, which is what you have to do after a loss.

“Even though we’ve got a nice record and got some good things going, our backs are against the wall, and that’s the approach we’ve got to have the rest of the way. Our seniors have done a heck of a job leading us this year and it’s time for all of us to fall in line and take the next step. I know we will.

One of those seniors leading the Vikings is Vawter, who struggled to 98 yards and a touchdown on 25 rushes. Vawter, who plans to play baseball at Kansas City Community College next year, was a workhorse against Basehor-Linwood. The 210-pound tailback carried the ball on 10 of Seaman’s first 11 plays of the second half.

“This is my last time putting on pads, and I love this sport,” Vawter said. “If I didn’t have baseball, I would be pursuing this sport. This team means a lot to me. We’re brothers. I respect each and every one of my teammates. I respect my coaches.

“We’re going to make a good run, I believe. We’ve just got to get in (everyone’s) head that there are two games left. We’ve got to make the most of it.”

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Seaman football falls to Basehor Linwood