Beal City ruins Evart's homecoming

EVART — It was Evart’s homecoming on Friday in Highland Conference football action.

But Beal City spoiled the event with a 41-14 victory over the Wildcats.

Logan Chilman scored on 1-yard quarterback sneaks in the first and scored quarters and passed to Seth Schafer for the two-point conversion after the second TD for a 14-0 halftime lead.

An Evart fumble on a punt in the third quarter set up a 10-yard Beal City scoring drive and a 1-yard run by Sam Fox to make 21-0.

Evart came back on a 65-yard touchdown play on the hook-and-ladder. Quarterback Carter Pritchard passed to Hunter Maxwell, who lateraled it to Billy Conklin, who raced the final 50 yards for the score and a 21-7 game.

Beal City scored three unanswered touchdowns on a 65-yard run by Ryan Ames and a 30-yard run by Colby Berryhill for a 34-7 lead after the third quarter, plus a 6-yard run by Ames in the fourth for a 41-7 bulge.

Pritchard passed 45 yards to Conklin on a screen play for Evart’s second touchdown late in the fourth.

“It’s been the story of our season,” Evart coach Pat Craven said. “We had too many self-inflicted mistakes. We’re pretty beat up but that’s no excuse. Beal City is pretty beat up as well. We can’t seem to put it all together. I guess that falls back on coaching and preparation. We have to do a better job putting these kids in a position where they can be successful.”

Pritchard had 181 yards passing with two interceptions and Conklin had 88 yards rushing.

Both teams were 0-3 in the league entering the game. Evart (1-5) hasn’t won since the opener against Fremont. Beal City was winless.

“They’re probably one of the best 0-5 teams I’ve seen,” Craven said. “We can’t worry about the opponent’s record. We’re not where we need to be and we have to get better.”

Beal City defeated Evart 20-14 last season.

It’s also Evart’s home finale. The Wildcats play at Lake City (Oct. 5), White Cloud (Oct. 12) and Harrison (Oct. 19) to end the regular season.