COLUMBIA, MO – Hillsboro senior Chase Sucharski knew from watching film that the Class 4 state championship game against Kearney had the makings of an offensive shootout.
A physical Kearney offensive line, tough running backs and a quarterback who loved to throw the deep ball would create a challenge for the Hillsboro defense, and Sucharski knew the Hawks had to match them score-for-score.
“It was going to be a battle, and we knew had to put some offensive pressure on them,” Sucharski said.
But in the first half, Hillsboro was stopped at the one-yard line on two separate possessions.
And the Kearney offense could not be stopped.
Kearney scored touchdowns on 10 of its first 11 possessions and made key defensive stops in defeating Hillsboro 68-28 in the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 4 Show-Me-Bowl Saturday at Faurot Field.
Kearney (13-2), which won its first state title since 2015, scored the second-most points in MSHSAA state championship game history, trailing only the 69 scored by Lamar in a 69-41 victory over Blair Oaks in 2012.
Hillsboro (12-2) got its offense rolling on the second play of the game when senior Peyton Brown made a beautiful, one-handed catch over the middle and raced into the clear. But Brown, who had been nursing a leg injury since Week 7, felt himself getting caught from behind.
“I started to veer to my left when I saw there was someone catching me, but I probably should have kept going straight,” Brown said.
That someone was Kearney speedster Grant Noland, who made up considerable ground and tackled Brown at the one-yard line after a 79-yard catch and run.
“Huge shout out to Grant Noland. He ran 80 yards across the field to make that tackle,” Kearney coach Logan Minnick said. “That’s something we preach with our defense, make them snap it again.”
In fact, Hillsboro snapped it four more times and could not punch it in, turning the ball over on downs at the Kearney two-yard line.
“Any time you get near the goal line, you have to come away with points in a game like this, but credit to them for making the stop,” Hillsboro coach Bill Sucharski said.
Kearney immediately mounted a 13-play touchdown drive that consumed 98 yards and over six minutes of the first quarter. A throwback screen to sophomore Corbin Emmons covered 21 yards and set up the first of four short touchdown runs by his brother, senior Cameron Emmons.
Kearney faced only three third downs in the entire first half, none of them requiring more than three yards to convert.
“It seemed like every play call was perfect, every alignment was perfect,” Cameron Emmons said. “The O-line was getting pushes, and we weren’t getting touched for five yards.”
Minnick added, “It makes it easy to look down at the call sheet on second-and-mediums and third-and-short.”
The Kearney defense forced a fumble on the following Hillsboro possession, and quarterback Casey Rooney immediately went deep, connecting with senior Manny Linthacum on a 34-yard deep post to put the Bulldogs ahead 13-0.
“We knew we couldn’t give stuff up over the top,” Sucharski said. “We knew (Linthacum) was going to get the ball on a play-action post route. We saw it on film, and we knew couldn’t give up those plays if we were going to win the ball game.”
Hillsboro made its share of big plays in the first half, including a 55-yard touchdown run by Payton Brown, a 34-yard touchdown reception by Chase Sucharski, and a halfback pass from Brown to Sucharski that covered 58 yards and set up the Hawks at the four-yard line right before halftime.
But once again, the Kearney defense made a play near the goal line, as Noland jarred the ball loose from Preston Brown and Aiden Smith-Coldren recovered in the end zone with five seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs defense had bookended the first half with goal line stands and entered halftime with a 34-14 lead.
“If we can punch those two in, we have a closer ballgame and maybe we put some pressure on them,” Chase Sucharski said.
But the one-play, five second possession prior to halftime turned out to be the only Kearney drive in the first 11 that did not result in a touchdown as the Bulldogs rolled up 508 yards of total offense.
“It feels amazing. Coach (Minnick) challenged us to score on every drive and we almost did tonight,” Linthacum said.
The Hillsboro offense racked up 488 yards itself, and the two teams 996 combined yards of total offense nearly eclipsed the record of 1,070 total yards set by Park Hills Central and Seneca in the Class 3 state title game one day earlier.
“They fought the whole game,” Hillsboro coach Bill Sucharski said of his team. “I couldn’t be more proud of them for the season that they had and what they did for our community.”