Picture courtesy of Tanner Colvin

The Salina South Cougars hosted senior night at Salina Stadium Friday night against a talented opponent in the undefeated Derby Panthers.

It was a long night for the Cougars, as they were up against their most talented opponent of the season while dealing with injuries themselves.

The Derby rushing attack struck quickly, as Panther quarterback Blade Clark ran it in for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season to grab a quick 7-0 lead over the Cougars.

After a turnover on downs by the Cougar offense, Derby struck again, with a rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0. The Panthers offense punched it in one more time before the quarter was over to take a 21-0 lead over Salina South.

The Derby offense was just as explosive in the 2nd quarter, punching it in two more times on the ground and took a 35-0 lead into the half. The Panther offense was led in the first half with three rushing touchdowns from star running back Davon Morrison and two more rushing touchdowns by quarterback Blade Clark.

Morrision was nearly unstoppable in the first half for the Derby offense, going nearly untouched for the first 24 minutes of the game.

The Cougars offense struggled to find any consistency in the first half, producing five drives, three turnovers on downs, and two fumbles. Jaxon Kitchener was a positive highlight for the Cougars in the first half, coming down with multiple receptions and responsible for the Cougars two biggest offensive plays of the first half.

The second half was a running clock, with both teams making sure they got out of Salina Stadium healthy and ready for their respective playoff runs. Derby won by a final score of 45-6.

The Derby Panthers finish the season with a perfect 8-0 overall record and will be a top seed in the class 6A state playoffs. Salina South finished 6-2 overall and are in prime position to host at least one 5A state playoff game.