The Penney Hornets, heavily favored in the Class 1, District 8 championship game on Friday night against the visiting Princeton Tigers, had difficulty building an early lead, as the Hornets managed just six points in a hotly contested first quarter, a 66 yard touchdown catch by junior standout LaTroy Harper, to take a 6-0 lead.
The advantage doubled to 12-0 in the second quarter, as Harper, playing his only series of the night at quarterback, connected with Brock Swindler on a 40 yard scoring strike.
Things got interesting at Alumni Field in Hamilton later in the quarter, as Princeton’s upset bid got a big boost from the right arm of junior quarterback Andrew Smith. Tom Johnson had the call on KTTN FM 92.3:
The Hornet advantage stayed at 12-6, as the extra point attempt by Princeton failed, leaving the Tigers down one score, with 1 minute and 52 seconds remaining in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Penney began an avalanche of points that would give the Hornets a 40-6 lead by the middle of the third quarter:
Leading 20-6, the Hamilton defense forced a Princeton punt, leaving the Hornets a full field to traverse in just over 30 seconds. A scramble by senior quarterback Jaran Richman got the ball to the Tiger 45 yard line, as the unbeaten KCI champions looked for their all-state performer again:
Being down 20 at the half took the starch out of Princeton, as Hamilton poured on the points in the second half. Swindler scored on two long runs in the third quarter, going untouched for scampers of 66 and 80 yards, pushing the lead to 40-6. Two more scores by the Hornets, on a 10 yard pass to Harper and a 15 yard run by Richman, completed the scoring.
The 56-6 final ends Princeton’s season at 4-8, with the Tigers eagerly looking forward to 2017, having finished 2016 with a huge late-season surge, punctuated by district wins at Polo and Maysville. Princeton loses only three seniors from its 2016 roster, including wide receiver Cash Hartley. Hamilton, the runner-up in Class 1 from 2015, returns to the state playoffs, where a quarterfinal meeting with Plattsburg awaits on Friday night at 7 o’clock from Plattsburg High School. Plattsburg advanced in the District 7 title game with a 28-6 victory over East Buchanan.
In other final scores from Friday night, the eight-man state quarterfinals were won by Stanberry, North Andrew, King City, and Sedalia Sacred Heart. In the District 1 final, Stanberry overwhelmed Rock Port by a final score of 76-22. North Andrew’s defense was the story in the District 2 final, as the Cardinals took down South Holt / Nodaway-Holt 56-6. From Ludlow, in a battle of “Wildcats”, King City’s Wildkats ended the season of Southwest Livingston, emerging victorious 42-20. Sacred Heart, in the closest eight-man game of the night, survived against Greenfield 40-38. Sacred Heart and King City will host state semifinal games on Friday night.
The Marceline Tigers, a state semifinalist from 2015, are back in the Class 1 state playoffs. Marceline got a tougher than anticipated test from Lewis and Clark rival Westran, but took down the Hornets 28-15 at Chester Ray Stadium. Marceline’s state quarterfinal will be on the road, at District 5 champion Monroe City, a 28-12 winner over Mark Twain last Friday.
The Lawson Cardinals moved on in Class 2, with a stirring road win at Lexington to take District 8. Todd Dunn’s team beat the Minutemen 38-35, pushing the Cardinals into a quarterfinal home date with Summit Christian Academy, a 41-20 winner over Butler in the District 7 final. The unbeaten run of the Macon Tigers ended on Friday night, with Centralia getting the victory at Hugh Dunn Field, 35-6.
In Class 3, Maryville won the battle of unbeatens with Richmond, winning 35-23 at the “Hound Pound”. The #1 ranked Spoofhounds, champions of the Midland Empire Conference, will take on Kansas City Center in the state quarterfinals. Center rolled over Clinton 63-27 last Friday night.
In Class 4, the highly-ranked Hannibal Pirates and Kearney Bulldogs are into the quarterfinals, with Hannibal beating Helias 21-14, and Kearney winning a shootout against Platte County, 58-41.
In Class 5, Staley High School of Kansas City shutout Liberty 36-0, while Park Hill South took down Fort Osage 37-6.
