By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Class 6A Championship - Hutchinson 37, Olathe South 14
Hutchinson earned its fourth straight 6A state football championship in bruising fashion, and ran its winning streak to 37 straight games in the process after posting a 37-14 win over Olathe South in the 6A final.
Romero Cotton and Devon Dinwiddie rushed for 275 yards collectively as each surpassed the century mark. Cotton scored first for the victors on a two-yard run. Dinwiddie then gave Hutchinson a 14-0 advantage after a quarter of play when he raced 36 yards for another touchdown.
The Falcons answered with a pair of scores of their own, in the second quarter, and found themselves deadlocked 14-14 with the three-time defending champions at the intermission. Anthony Sanchez scored first for the Falcons on a 44-yard screen pass from quarterback Mike Keese. Jake Byrd tied the game with a 15-yard run just seconds before halftime.
The second half belonged to Hutchinson. Salt Hawk quarterback Grant Dreiling connected with Dinwiddie on scoring strikes of 59 and 32 yards to put Hutchinson up 28-14. Todd Schultz added a 17-yard field goal and Cotton scored from three yards out to give the Salt Hawks their final margin of victory.
South did try to score late, but the Salt Hawk defense held on four straight plays inside the five-yard line.
"Our defense played a great game the whole game," Salt Hawk quarterback Grant Dreiling told the Wichita Eagle. "When we shut them down at the end, that just shows how much heart our team has, how much emotion we have toward each other."
Class 5A Championship - Blue Valley West 31, Wichita Bishop Carroll 19
Blue Valley West scored in all three phases of the game in posting a 31-19 win over Wichita's Bishop Carroll Saturday in the Class 5A state championship football game.
The Jaguars took a 17-0 halftime lead following Mike Besler's 35-yard field goal, Mark Rogers' 52-yard punt return and Todd Harmon's one-yard run. But the Eagles narrowed the gap to 10 points on Brock Bell's six-yard reception from Brett Steven.
Blue Valley West answered with a seven-yard run from Brandon Abbott and a 30-yard Josh Swartz interception return for another score to go up 31-7 in the fourth quarter. Scott Lorg and Blake Bell rounded out the scoring after latching on to 25 and 58-yard receptions respectively from Eagle quarterback Brett Steven.
Steven completed 22 of 39 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns in the losing effort, and threw a couple of interceptions, one of which was returned 30-yards for a touchdown. The Eagle quarterback connected with Joe Brown six times for 97 yards. Lorg caught four balls for 70 yards, while Bell netted 64 yards on three catches.
Besler completed 10 of 21 aerials for 160 yards, but threw four interceptions. He hooked up with Aaron Ashley five times for 67 yards. Grover caught two balls for 51 yards.
Class 4A Championship - Andale 31, Louisburg 14
Andale scored the final 24 points of the game in claiming its second straight 4A state football championship with a 31-14 win over Louisburg last weekend. The top-ranked Indians were tied 14-14 with the Wildcats at halftime, but out scored Louisburg 17-0 in the second half.
Levi Neelly got the scoring started for Andale in the first quarter when he rammed the ball across the goal line from a yard out. But Louisburg came back when Jeff Woods connected with Jared Drew on a 13-yard pass play. Wildcat running back Jason Spradling then reeled in a 73-yard pass from Woods to give Louisburg its only lead of the game at 14-7.
Kyle Horsch tied the game before intermission when he rumbled over the goal line from 10 yards out. Then, in the second half, Andale got a 57-yard scoring run from Neelly, a 26-yard field goal from quarterback Brett Macari and Sam Thoman's two-yard run to round out scoring for the game.
Neelly rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries for Andale and had two rushing touchdowns. Louisburg's Jason Spradling was held to 33 yards on 13 carries. Spradling did catch four balls for 98 yards and recorded a touchdown through the air.
Macari threw for 110 yards on eight of 18 passing for the Indians. Louisburg's Woods connected on 11 of 20 passes for 196 yards.
Class 3A Championships - Garden Plain 48, Silver Lake 7
Logan Dold rushed for 286 yards on 31 carries to lead Garden Plain to a 48-7 win over Silver Lake in Saturday's Class 2-1A state championship football game. The 41-point victory avenged the Owl's loss in last season's championship game.
Dold, who scored a touchdown in every quarter Saturday, tore up the Eagle defense for scoring runs of 6, 5, 72, two and 23 yards. His six-yard run to pay dirt was responsible for the game's first points.
Drew Becker got the game's lone defensive points, in the first quarter, when he raced 38 yards with an interception. Austin Hubert reeled in a 23-yard scoring pass from Dold to score Garden Plain's other points. Dold also threw for 111 yards on five of six passing. Hubert caught three passes for 49 yards and Kyle Perry reeled in two aerials for another 62 yards.
Tyler Roberts scored on a six-yard run in the second quarter to help the Eagle's avoid the shutout. Cameron Renfro ran the ball 12 times for 37 yards for Silver Lake. Roberts finished the game with 14 yards on three carries. Roberts threw for 77 yards on seven of 19 passing. Josh Baden led Silver Lake with three catches for 35 yards.
Class 2-1A Championship - Smith Center 40, Pittsburg-Colgan 14
For the second straight game Smith Center gave up points, and for the first time this year the Redmen fell behind in a game. But Smith Center, who has reeled off 54 straight victories, still won its fourth straight Class 2-1A state football championship with a 40-14 victory over Pittsburg Colgan.
Running back Braden Wilson rambled for 225 yards on 24 carries and scored touchdowns of 6, 6 and 50 yards to lead the victors. Quarterback Joe Windscheffel added 179 yards on just 10 carries and hit pay dirt on runs of 29 and 59 yards. Windscheffel's only pass fell incomplete.
Colgan quarterback Kenny Wachter completed 11 of 17 passes for 91 yards. Wachter also led Colgan on the ground by rushing for 64 yards on nine carries. Joe Wachter reeled in five passes from his brother and netted 58 yards.
Colgan scored the first points of the game on Tino King's 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. King set up the score by recovering Windscheffel's fumble on the second play of the game. The Panthers also scored the game's last points when Wachter hauled in a 13-yard scoring pass.
Sandwiched in between the two Colgan scores were six touchdowns by the Redmen.
Final Kansas Rankings
Class 6A
1. Hutchinson (13-0) 604 - 174
2. Olathe South (9-4) 392 - 218
3. Olathe North (10-2) 385 - 128
4. Goddard (9-3) 378 - 203
5. Olathe East (9-2) 306 - 176
6. Shawnee Mission Northwest (9-2) 356 - 167
7. Junction City (9-2) 405 - 165
8. Lawrence Free State (7-3) 326 - 152
9. Wichita Northwest (7-3) 326 - 142
10. Blue Valley Northwest (5-4) 153 - 187
Class 5A
1. Blue Valley West (13-0) 511 - 140
2. Wichita Bishop Carroll (11-2) 433 - 156
3. Salina Central (8-4) 414 - 270
4. McPherson (9-2) 389 - 138
5. Great Bend (8-3) 309 - 223
6. St. Thomas Aquinas (8-4) 346 - 164
7. Wichita Kapaun Mount Carmel (6-4) 282 - 184
8. Topeka Seaman (7-3) 234 - 150
9. Gardner-Edgerton (7-4) 318 - 241
10. Lansing (8-2) 298 - 181
Class 4A
1. Andale (14-0) 611 - 212
2. Topeka Hayden (10-2) 375 - 171
3. Louisburg (13-1) 531 - 169
4. Baldwin (10-3) 417 - 174
5. Holton (10-2) 450 - 149
6. Ulysses (11-2) 444 - 180
7. Mulvane (11-1) 397 - 230
8. Pittsburg (9-2) 300 - 100
9. Columbus (10-2) 427 - 201
10. Wellington (7-4) 269 - 184
Class 3A
1. Garden Plain (14-0) 745 - 143
2. Silver Lake (13-1) 645 - 144
3. Hesston (10-1) 369 - 143
4. Hoisington (10-2) 492 - 199
5. Salina Sacred Heart (10-1) 482 - 205
6. Sabetha (8-1) 277 - 93
7. Riley County (8-3) 254 - 146
8. Conway Springs (10-3) 291 - 222
9. Rossville (9-4) 350 - 252
10. Horton (8-2) 326 - 109
Class 2-1A
1. Smith Center (13-0) 844 - 20
2. Pittsburg-Colgan (13-1) 538 - 127
3. St. Francis (11-2) 495 - 190
4. Oakley (11-1) 431 - 115
5. LaCrosse (10-1) 494 - 126
6. St. Mary's (9-4) 445 - 250
7. Humboldt (10-2) 407 - 136
8. Centralia (8-3) 376 - 162
9. Lyndon (10-2) 327 - 227
10. Hoxie (7-3) 217 - 147