COLUMBIA, MO – Lutheran North senior Trey Bass knew the first play of the Class 4 Show-Me-Bowl was going to be a touchdown – three days prior the game.
After watching film of Festus playing exclusively man-to-man coverage, the Crusaders planned a deep pass to Bass to start the game, no matter the field position.
“That was our go-to play. We knew it was going to be open,” Bass said.
Bass scored on the explosive first play, then caught three more receiving touchdowns as Lutheran North defeated Festus 46-7 to win the Class 4 state title Friday at Faurot Field on the campus of the University of Missouri.
Lutheran North (13-1), which finished the season on a 13-game winning streak, won its sixth Missouri State High School Activities Association state title and first since winning the Class 2 title in 2019.
After a long kick return by sophomore Kyren Evans set up Lutheran North near midfield to open the game, quarterback Jonathan Moore dropped back, pumped to his left and then launched a perfect strike to Bass between the hash marks for a 47-yard lightning strike on a deep post pattern.
“(Moore) put it where only I could get it. Just like we drew it up,” Bass said.
The long bomb to Bass was a full circle moment for the Crusaders, as the play mirrored the first play Lutheran North called during the summer.
“Every year we start the season in 7-on-7 football with a deep shot and see what we’ve got. Trey went up and made a heck of a play to start the game, and from there, we were rolling,” Lutheran North coach Kyle Wagner said.
After the Crusaders’ defense stopped Festus on a fourth-and-2, the Lutheran North offense showed it could be just as effective on the ground. Martez Stephenson broke loose on a 37-yard burst up the middle that gave Lutheran North two touchdowns in its first three offensive plays and a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Stephenson led the Crusaders with 53 of their 89 rushing yards in the first half, as Lutheran North gained a robust 8.1 yards per carry.
“We wanted to prove we were the best O-Line in the state,” Lutheran North center Dre’Shawn Pittman said.
Lutheran North continued to show its offensive versatility on its third possession. The Crusaders mounted an 11-play drive that included power running by senior JeVon Blackmon, quick screens to Bass on the perimeter and a raindrop from Moore to Stephenson along the sideline for 18-yard completion.
The Crusaders converted a pair of fourth downs and moved inside the five-yard line, where Moore found Bass on a double move in the back corner of the end zone to give Lutheran North its third touchdown in the first eight minutes of the game.
Blackmon powered into the end zone for his second two-point conversion of the game to make the score 22-0. It was Blackmon’s 95th successful two-point conversion over the past two seasons.
Festus began to recover from the early Lutheran North haymakers and mounted a strong, seven-play drive over the final four minutes of the first quarter. A 33-yard pass from senior Essian Smith to David Russell Jr and a 12-yard run from Leauntae Williams placed the Tigers inside the red zone.
But on the first play of the second quarter, senior Karvon Jefferson forced a fumble and sophomore James “Booby” Bryant recovered at the 10-yard line to squash the Festus momentum. On the next Festus drive, Lutheran North senior Michael Clark blew up a play in the backfield on a fourth-and-1 opportunity.
It was second of five times the Crusaders stopped Festus on a fourth down play, part of a defensive effort that held the Tigers to 215 total yards and 3.7 yards per play.
“We had a great gameplan on defense, everybody did their job, everyone was on the same page. It was amazing,” Clark said.
The Crusaders’ flawless first half was symbolized when Moore fumbled a shotgun snap, scooped it up and raced 22 yards around left end for a first down. On the next play, Moore found a wide-open Bass from seven yards away to give the Crusaders a 30-point lead.
“We drew up rub concepts that got us wide open,” Bass said.
Festus (11-3) scored on a beautiful 33-yard pass from Essien Smith to Trey Lacey down the left sideline right before halftime. Smith threw for 122 yards and gained 52 on the ground.
“Being here with my guys was unreal. I loved everything about it, from the trip, to being on the field, to being in the game, it was a great opportunity that I’ll remember forever,” Smith said.
In the second half, the Tigers still could not reel in Bass, who seemed to have no limit to his end zone trips with his fourth touchdown on a 37-yard strike from Moore early in the fourth quarter.
It concluded a magnificent, 10-reception, 190-yard day for Bass.
“We have so much talent on our team, you never know who’s going to have a big game. It can be anybody in any given week,” Bass said.
Festus had a huge contingency of fans cheering on the Tigers in their first state championship appearance. Coach AJ Ofodile did not want the final result to take away from the historical achievement.
“(Being here) creates belief. If you’ve never done something before, you can say you think you can do it, but once you’ve done it, you know it’s possible,” Ofodile said. “And the turnout from our community, that speaks volumes of what Festus is as a community and as an athletic program.”
Lutheran North experienced its share of disappointment in previous postseasons, losing to St. Charles West in the district championship game in 2022 and to Hillsboro in the state semifinal last season.
“This senior group experienced every way your season can end, except for this way,” Wagner said with the state championship trophy sitting next to him. “Any time we would get in situations where maybe a normal team would go astray; these guys had a memory to look back on.”
In the Crusaders first 10 wins of the season, only two were decided by fewer than 30 points, but they thrived in close games during the postseason, scoring a last second touchdown to beat Parkway North 24-18 in a quarterfinal, and out-dueling Class 4 defending champion Kearney 24-21 in the semifinal.
“Carry the cross. We have a cross on our helmets and that’s our saying,” Wagner said. Carrying the cross is not when you win big, it’s when the game is close – two minutes left and the other team has the ball – Can you stay locked in, execute and make a play? Carrying the cross is being able to face adversity and still play our brand of football.”
He added, “We’ve fought through a lot of off-field adversity, we’ve been through so much together. I’m extremely proud of them. We finished the way we wanted to finish.”
Photo gallery: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2024/Class-4-championship-Lutheran-North-vs-Festus
