KIRKWOOD – Sullivan junior Mahlon Foster only completed two passes during the entirety of the game. Senior Chase Blue only caught two passes for the entirety of his career.
So, when Sullivan made the decision to go for a two-point conversion in double overtime of the district championship game Friday, few expected a Foster-to-Blue pass play to be dialed up – including Foster.
“I didn’t think it was going to be a pass, but when I got the play call, I was excited. I was smiling a little bit,” Foster said.
Foster rolled out and found Blue in the end zone to convert the game-ending, two-point play and deliver Sullivan a dramatic 29-28 victory over Vianney in the Class 4 District 2 championship game Friday at Don Heeb Field.
Sullivan (9-3), which won its second district title since 2013, will face defending Class 4 runner-up Festus (9-2) in a Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 4 quarterfinal at 1 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan High School.
A scoreless second half by both teams pushed the district title game into overtime tied at 14.
Sullivan and Vianney exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime. Then, after Vianney scored a touchdown on its first possession of double overtime, Sullivan coach Eddie Haar decided the Eagles would go for two points and the win if they scored on their possession.
“It was only a matter of time before they scored and we didn’t, so we made the decision to go for two,” Foster recalled.
Sullivan had called running plays on 90 percent of its snaps during the game, including all 11 plays during the two overtime sessions, so the two-point, bootleg pass took the Vianney defense by surprise.
“We ran that play earlier in the game and I was wide open. I knew (my defender) was ready for the run and I just ran right past him,” Blue said.
Blue ran uncovered into the end zone, but in Foster’s excitement, he short-armed the pass and it almost did not get there, forcing Blue to dive to the turf.
“It was a little low and I bobbled it,” Blue said. “I was like, ‘Please catch this.’”
Blue kept the ball from touching the ground and sent the Eagles into a jubilant frenzy and into their first state quarterfinal since his freshman year, when Sullivan reached the final four in Class 4.
“I didn’t feel like I was a big part of that final four team, so to build it back and have the brotherhood come together my senior year, is a great feeling,” Blue said.
Sullivan designed a game plan specifically to counter the explosive passing attack of Vianney and quarterback Sam Deen, who had thrown for over 200 yards in nine of 11 games, including a 532-yard, six touchdown performance against defending Class 6 champion De Smet on Sept. 26.
The Eagles did not snap the ball until five seconds remained on the play clock while orchestrating long, time-consuming drives that kept Deen on the sideline and the Vianney offense out of rhythm.
“We normally chew the clock a little bit, but this was different. They’re a very good offense and we knew we had to win the time of possession battle,” Foster said.
Vianney only possessed the ball four times in the first half and scored touchdowns on two of those drives to take a 14-7 lead. With just over a minute to play until halftime. the slow-moving Sullivan offense entered hurry-up mode.
“We’ve been really good at the end of halves this season,” Sullivan coach Eddie Haar said.
After two running plays, Foster dropped back and threw his second pass of the game – a deep bomb down the right sideline. Senior Mark Jennings hauled it in behind the Vianney secondary and ran untouched into the end zone for an explosive 55-yard touchdown with 48 seconds remaining until halftime.
“I saw the busted coverage and (Jennings) made a great adjustment to the ball. That was a huge play to tie the game right before the half,” Foster said.
Tied at 14, both defenses made huge plays to keep the second half scoreless.
Sullivan drove all the way to the Vianney four-yard line before Griffins’ freshman linebacker Christian Fennell stuffed Foster for a tackle-for-loss on fourth-and-1.
A Vianney 16-play drive ended with Blue breaking through for a fourth down quarterback sack. Griffins’ defensive tackle Cayden Konersmann returned the favor by thwarting a fourth down run from Sullivan sophomore Nathan Garcia on the following possession.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Blue chased down a Vianney receiver after a 28-yard gain, forced a fumble and recovered it.
“We were playing our ‘black swarm’ defense and flying to the ball,” Blue said.
Sullivan began overtime with the ball and needed only four running plays, the first three by Blue, before punching it into the end zone. Blue became the workhorse in the second half, gaining 83 of his season-high 123 yards after halftime.
“I’ve been hurt the whole year, and I finally feel like I’m coming back. You hit that stride and you just want the ball. You feel like you can go the whole game,” Blue said.
The Vianney offense found its rhythm in overtime. Deen hit Sam Smith for a 7-yard touchdown to close out the first overtime. Then, the Deen-Smith connection produced another slam dunk, a 20-yard completion that set up a Deen quarterback sneak and a 28-21 Vianney lead.
“Overtime is exhilarating,” Foster said. “You have to score. It’s a do or die scenario.”
Sullivan needed seven plays to score in the second overtime, including a 10-yard run from Jennings on third-and-6 to set up a one-yard touchdown plunge by Blue on fourth-and-1.
Then, trailing 28-27 the Sullivan offense stayed on the field for the decisive two-point play that Foster delivered to Blue.
“Going for two there, the risk-reward was huge,” Foster said. “I knew I didn’t want to let these seniors down. I want to play more football with them.”
For a photo gallery from this game, go to: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2025/Sullivan-vs-Vianney-11-14-15
