By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
When Daniel Grizzell's call to go for the first down on fourth-and-one from his own 21-yard line came up short late in Saturday's Eight-Man 1 Championship game the Macksville coach was hoping somebody - anybody - would bail him out.
On third-and 10, from the 21-yard line, Luke Green and Evan Loomis pressured Hanover's Preston Schotte before Loomis took the quarterback down for a 12-yard sack, giving Grizzell the big defensive play he so desired. Schotte's fourth down pass to Rick Bruna fell harmlessly to the ground preserving Macksville's 24-20 win over the Wildcats at Newton's Fischer Field.
"I could have looked like a hero there, or I could have looked like a, well, I won't say," Grizzell told the Topeka Capital Journal. "The kids stepped back after we didn't get it, and our defense made four really big plays in a row, and we ended up getting out of here with a victory."
Hanover nearly scored on first down on that crucial drive. But Schotte's pass to Kellan Tegtmeier fell just out of his reach in the end zone. On second down, Schotte's shovel pass fell incomplete as well.
Hanover (12-1) built a 14-0 advantage early in the second quarter on Schotte's 17-yard pass to Kirk Loges and a 14-yard run by Ethan Zabokrtsky. Macksville pulled within one score at halftime when Kade Schnoebelen broke the goal line from five yards away.
Mustang quarterback Jared Loomis then scored on runs of 61 and 1 yards and hit Sergio Espino for a 30 yard strike to give Macksville the lead for good at 24-14 following a string of 18 straight points in the third quarter. Schotte scored on a four-yard run in the third quarter, however, to pull Hanover back to within striking distance.
Macksville (13-0) rushed for 193 yards on 42 carries in the game, compared to 125 yards for Hanover on 39 carries. The Wildcats out gained Macksville through the air 111-67. Loomis rushed for 127 yards on 26 carries.
The Eight-Man 2 contest, the second of the day at Fischer Field, wasn't nearly as dramatic as the days first contest. In fact, the game was literally over by halftime.
Sharon Springs (13-0) scored touchdowns on seven straight possessions in the first half to give the Wildcats the 48-0 win before halftime even became a reality. Four different players scored for Sharon Springs led by Taylor Elder's three touchdown runs of seven, three and 14 yards. Elder finished the game with 113 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Wildcat quarterback Jeff Hennick rounded out the balanced attack by throwing for 181 yards after completing five of eight passes. Alex Howard and Tate Andrews hauled in 84 and 85 yards in receptions respectively.
The Sharon Springs defense held South Haven (12-1) to just 71 yards of total offense.
Class 6A
Jake Byrd managed just 12 yards rushing in the first half of Olathe South's 24-6 semifinals win over Olathe North. But he scored on a 50-yard run on South's first possession of the second half to boost the Falcons to the 18-point win.
South (9-3), who held a 10-6 halftime advantage, was stopped on their next possession. But the punt deflected off of a North player and was recovered by the Falcon's Tanner Miracle. Seven plays later Byrd scored, again, from a yard out to round out scoring in the game.
Byrd finished the game with 104 yards rushing on 25 carries. Falcon quarterback Mike Keese completed 13 of 19 passes for 161 yards.
South is set to take on three-time defending state champion Hutchinson, who is in the midst of a 35-game winning streak, at Washburn University's Yager Stadium in Topeka at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Salt Hawks, a 55-28 winner over Goddard, are making their fifth straight appearance in the 6A title game.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Hutchinson exploded for 10 points to stretch a slim 17-14 advantage into a 13-point differential at intermission. But it may have been Devon Dinwiddie's 86-yard return for a touchdown to open the second half that sealed the deal for Hutchinson.
The return gave the Salt Hawks a sudden 20-point cushion.
"I just got some great blocks and found a big hole," Dinwiddie told the Wichita Eagle. "That really changed the game. Momentum is a huge thing in a football game."
Goddard thought it had regained the momentum when quarterback Logan Watkins took the ensuing kick off 84 yards for a score of his own. But Romero Cotton scored four plays later for Hutchinson on a 21-yard run to give the Salt Hawks a 41-21 advantage. Hutchinson went on to win 55-28.
Class 5A
Blue Valley West quarterback Mike Besler used his arm to antagonize St. Thomas Aquinas much of the night in Friday's Class 5A semifinal match up. But it was his kicking foot that put the finishing touches on a 20-17 win that sent the Jaguars into Saturday's 5A championship game at Emporia State University's Welch Stadium in Emporia at 1 p.m. against Wichita's Bishop Carroll.
His 37-yard field goal was true with 11-seconds left on the clock.
"I could barely hear my heart beat, their crowd was so loud," Besler told the Kansas City Star of Aquinas' crowd. "I had to block everything out."
West had built a 17-7 advantage in the third quarter. But Saint defensive lineman E. J. Walter forced a safety when he blocked a Jaguar punt. Aquinas then tied the game on quarterback Ricky Nachbar's 12-yard scoring pass to Zach Bourquin and the ensuing two-point conversion run by Nachbar.
Bishop Carroll made their way into the championship game by knocking off Salina Central 17-7 in the other semifinal game.
Brett Steven led the way for the Eagles by throwing for a pair of second half touchdowns after Central scored on its second possession. Steven finished the game with 253 passing yards and he rushed for another 94 yards in the win.
Central's Andrew Braxton rushed for 99 yards on 28 carries and scored the Mustang's lone touchdown on a six-yard run in the loss.
Class 4A
Jason Spradling was hurt during Louisburg's 31-20 win over Baldwin in late September. And he returned the favor Friday by punishing the Bulldogs with 161 rushing yards and a touchdown on 30 carries in Louisburg's 21-14 4A semifinal win over the fellow Frontier League school.
Spradling also intercepted a pass on Baldwin's last gasp drive in the fourth quarter to wrap up the victory.
The Wildcats got the game winning play when receiver Colby Keuser out wrestled his defender for the ball and raced to the end zone on a 69-yard pass from quarterback Jeff Woods.
With the win, Louisburg will take on defending 4A champion Andale Saturday at Salina District Stadium in Salina at 1 p.m.
Andale's win wasn't nearly as easy as the 52-7 score may indicate. Both offenses churned out plenty of yards while marching up and down the field. But Andale scored on their possessions, and Ulysses, simply put - didn't.
The Tigers ran for 456 yards against Andale, but scored just once. On five of their possessions, the Tigers moved inside the Andale 20-yard line, but fell short of the goal line. Three times the Indians stopped Ulysses on downs. On another, the Tigers missed a field goal.
Andrew Anderson rushed for 197 yards on 23 carries and Jared Grimes added 181 yard on 17 rushes, including the lone Ulysses score on a 10-yard run, in the season-ending loss.
The Indians took to the air on the arm of Brett Macari, and they finished drives to complete the rout. Macari threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Three Indian receivers caught at least 93 yards in receptions. Ethan Ungles led the way with eight catches for 149 yards and a 25-yard score.
Class 3A
Silver Lake secured its sixth straight trip to the Class 3A state championship game with a 42-0 win over Rossville. The Eagles are set to face Garden Plain, a 42-0 winner over Conway Springs in the other semifinal, for the second year in a row at Hutchinson Community College's Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Tyler Roberts threw for 246 yards and four touchdowns for the Eagles, who led 35-0 at halftime. Josh Baden scored three times, for Silver Lake, on passes of 21 and 37 yards and a run of 23 yards. Cameron Renfro started the fireworks for the Eagles when he raced 82-yards for a score with the opening kickoff.
Logan Dold led Garden Plains into the rematch by running for 203 yards on 20 carries and scoring five times, all on runs. Dold also completed two of five passes for 37 yards. Garden Plains led 28-0 at the half.
Class 2-1A
Smith Center's streak of 11 straight shut outs came to an end Friday. But the Redmen are still in the hunt for a fourth straight Class 2A state championship following their 44-6 semifinal win over St. Francis.
The win secured a spot in the state title game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Fort Hays State University's Lewis Field Stadium in Hays against Pittsburg-Colgan, who ended St. Mary's season 28-14 in the other semifinal.
The 44 points were also a season low for Smith Center.
Colgan, who will appear in its eighth state championship game in nine years, used a balanced offense to upend the Bears by the 14-point margin. The Panthers churned out 199 yards on the ground and threw for another 173 yards.