The first was a no-holds-barred shootout of a first half that featured more than 120 points and only two defensive stops.

The second was a defensive battle of a second half that saw a fourth quarter with only one touchdown. It was a 21-yard pass from Bearkat running back Josh Colunga to Aaron Long on fourth down with 1:44 left that put Garden City up 84-80. The Bearkat defense then held Throckmorton out of the end zone for the fourth straight drive from its own 23-yard line to seal a victory in a wild shootout that left fans on the edge of their seats.

Garden City moves on to the Six-man Division I semifinals against Follet next week.

“I’m numb,” head coach Vance Jones said. “Coming in, I felt like we had a chance, but I knew they are so talented and they are such a great team that I knew we had to have some luck.”

Colunga ran 33 times for 163 yards and threw for 79 more, accounting for five touchdowns. Quarterback Blayne Batla threw for more than 250 yards and five touchdowns, a far cry from his debut performance earlier this season at Throckmorton, when the Bearkats fell 74-46.

“I can’t say enough of how much he has improved,” Jones said of Batla. “He has gone from a sophomore who never started a varsity game to a seasoned veteran now.”

The game looked dicy for the Bearkats at the outset, when Everett broke a 50-yard run on the Greyhounds’ first play from scrimmage. Fred Foster broke free from 24 yards a minute and a half later, and Garden City faced an early 14-point deficit.

But the Bearkats wouldn’t go quietly. Brett Chudej returned the Greyhound kickoff 35 yards for a score to get his team on the board and  it wasn’t held out of the end zone again for the rest of the first half.

Garden City didn’t stop Throckmorton much in the first half, either, but two forced fumbles allowed the Bearkats to claw their way to a 62-60 halftime advantage.

“It was just about not giving up when they’re hitting you pretty hard,” a tired Batla said after the game. “I’m pretty sore, but I’m pretty happy.”

The Greyhound offense relied heavily on the legs and arms of Everett, who accounted for 10 touchdowns on the night, all but one of the team’s total. He ran for more than 400 yards with six touchdowns on the ground while throwing for more than 250 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

Two key penalties helped the Bearkats keep the Throckmorton offense at bay in the second half, but tough Garden City defense kept them in the game.

With five minutes left, Throckmorton was knocking on the door at the Garden City three-yard line up 80-76. The Greyhounds faced a fourth and goal from the three, but a false start penalty backed them up to the eight yard line.

Everett rolled to his left on the play and tossed a pass to the left corner for Foster, who bobbled the ball off his fingertips three times and did not come up with the ball until he was out of bounds.

Garden City took the ball from there and used four minutes of clock to drive down the field one first down at a time, until Colunga’s touchdown pass on fourth down gave the Bearkats a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“If we just were patient and ran the clock, I felt like we could score,” Jones said. “The only thing I was worried about when they scored was they scored too soon. But luckily our kids came through when we needed them to.”