By KLINT SPILLER

The Hays Daily News

Hays High School junior Josh Balman used only one word to describe what it took for the Indians to go on the road and defeat Dodge City 28-17 on Friday -- heart.

Despite being out gained 347 to 295 yards, a stalwart defensive effort preserved the Indians' perfect record as HHS improved to 6-0 and 3-0 in the Western Athletic Conference while Dodge City dropped to 4-2 and 1-2 in the WAC.

"(The HHS players) are a scrappy bunch," first-year HHS head coach Ryan Cornelsen said. "We are not extremely fast. We are not extremely big. We are playing with a lot of desire, and I think that is one of the reasons why we have been able to be successful."

Dodge City was the only WAC team receiving votes in the statewide media poll, and though the Indians entered the game on the top of the WAC standings, HHS senior tight end Ryan Rounkles said many were considering the Indians to be the underdogs.

"We had heard the talk," Rounkles said.

"We didn't feel like we were underdogs. I don't think a lot of people expected us to come here and do what we did tonight, but we got the job done."

Dodge City had six opportunities in the Indians' red zone but only walked away with 10 points. Two of Dodge City's red zone attempts came within the Indians' 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, but both resulted in turnovers on downs.

"We just had to hang in there and play our hardest," Balman said. "It just ended up in our hands."

Balman said although the defense had its back to the wall on many occasions, the team never lost confidence.

"Never," Balman said. "We knew we had it in our hands. We knew we could pull it out."

The Indians leaned heavily on the run game, amassing 177 yards.

Balman led the team with 93 yards rushing on 10 carries, and also led the team in receptions with four for 67 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Balman had two key stops late in the fourth quarter, slamming Dodge City wide receiver Alex Harvey short of the first down marker on third down, and breaking up a pass on fourth down.

"I've told him all year that I probably have more faith in him than he has in himself," Cornelsen said. "I know he is a good player and I know how good he can be.

"He just needed to have a game like that to believe in himself. He played with a lot of emotion and played with his heart, and I think that showed."

HHS senior quarterback Bryant Bombardier played a part in all of the HHS scoring drives, running for a touchdown and passing for three. Bombardier ended the day completing 6-of-8 passes for 118 yards and an interception.

Both defenses shut each other down early. Neither team managed more than a four-play drive for the first five drives, but Balman broke it open with a 63-yard run but was tripped short of the end zone.

Bombardier capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to seize the 7-0 lead with 2:01 remaining in the first quarter.

Dodge City responded immediately with a 27 and a 32-yard run by senior running back Jace Banner. Senior quarterback Ty Thomas dove across the end zone for the score, tying the game in only 29 seconds.

The Indians reclaimed the lead with 7:44 remaining in the second quarter on a 42-yard play action pass to Rounkles from Bombardier, following 12 consecutive HHS running plays.

"That was a new wrinkle coach had put in over the week," Rounkles said. "I just tried to run as fast as I possibly could, and the quarterback threw a perfect ball. It was just right there."

However, this score was answered before Dodge City's offense even stepped on the field as Dodge City sophomore Trey Hallman returned the ensuing kick 85 yards for the touchdown.

On the next drive, the Indians marched 65 yards and capped it with a 26-yard play action pass from Bombardier to Balman.

"(Dodge City) had great size," Rounkles said. "We knew we had to come out, fire off and hit them harder than they hit us."

The Indians went into the half with a 21-14 lead.

In the second half, the HHS red zone defense took over. Dodge City had four drives reach inside the HHS 20-yard line, resulting in two turnovers on downs, a missed field goal and a made field goal.

"Everybody stepped up when we needed to," senior linebacker Travis Pfannenstiel said.

"Everyone kept their composure. We didn't get any stupid penalties or anything. We just kept going and doing what we've been doing."

Bombardier answered Dodge City's lone score in the second half with a score of his own, connecting with junior tailback Casey Sedbrook on a 9-yard screen pass.

"We've come a long way," Rounkles said. "I think we've surprised a lot of people and opened up some eyes."

For Dodge City, Thompson finished the game with 259 yards on 19-of-28 pass attempts.

Banner, the 6-foot, 212-pound league-leader in rushing, ended the game with 102 yards on 19 carries and had four receptions for 75 yards.

"One-on-one, (Banner) is better than us, but you could see the times we swarmed the ball, we got him down," Cornelsen said. "The times we didn't, he broke and made some plays. The key was to try to get 11 guys to the football."

The last time HHS started 6-0 was in 2001, which was the last time HHS won the WAC. Cornelsen has an opportunity to replicate that success with a win over rival Great Bend (4-2, 2-1 WAC) on Friday.

With a win, the Indians would finish undefeated in the WAC, but if the Indians lose, they would need Garden City (5-1, 2-1 WAC) to defeat Dodge City for a three-way tie and a share of the title.

"I guess it is the biggest game just because it is the next one," Pfannenstiel said. "Everyone is going to be going to go a lot harder just because it is Great Bend. It would be huge to pick up that one and finish undefeated in the WAC."