In the Class 1 state quarterfinals, played Friday night at East Buchanan High School in Gower, the Bulldogs used an up-tempo, quick pass offense to take the Princeton defense out of its comfort zone, as junior quarterback Tyler Schottel threw for 337 yards and five touchdown passes in a 48-30 win that ended the Grand River Conference and District 8 championship season of the Tigers at 12-1.
Conner Karl had 11 catches for 134 yards for East Buchanan, using the combination of good hands and elusiveness to frustrate Princeton. Princeton senior quarterback Andrew Smith had three touchdown carries and threw a fourth-quarter scoring pass to Blaine Millburn, finishing with 240 yards passing and 84 yards rushing for PHS.
The Tigers played from behind for nearly the entire night, as East Buchanan scored on a 38 yard pass from Schottel to Carter Cornelius and a 15 yard strike from Schottel to Ethan Kilgore in the first quarter. Successful on 1 of the 2 two-point conversions, the Bulldogs were up 14-0 when Princeton began a comeback. A 30 yard run by Smith got the Tigers on the board:
Tom Johnson had the call on KTTN FM 92.3 and Hot Country Z 101.7. The two-point conversion failed, but the Tigers tied the game midway through the second quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run and two-point scoring run by Smith.
The most critical portion of the game, for both sides, came in the last few minutes of the second quarter, and the start of the second half. East Buchanan stifled Princeton’s momentum by putting back-to-back touchdowns on the board, on a 10 yard pass to Seth Kenagy and 2 yard run by Schottel. The halftime score was 26-14 Bulldogs.
Princeton was unable to get the critical first points of the second half, as a 5 yard pass to Kenagy, and a two-point run by Karl, pushed the lead for East Buchanan to 34-14 midway through the third quarter. Princeton traded touchdowns with the Bulldogs the rest of the way.
The Tigers cut the lead to 34-22 at the end of three, with Smith scoring on a 2 yard plunge, and adding the two-point conversion. Answering a 21 yard pass from Schottel to Karl early in the final quarter, Princeton cut the lead to 40-30 on a clutch 4th down pass from Smith to Millburn:
With Princeton unable to gain possession of the football, the Bulldogs put the game away on a 29 yard touchdown run by Tristin Smith, and the successful two-point conversion, with 3:21 to go, making the final score 48-30.
The win sends East Buchanan to Monroe City on Saturday afternoon at 1 o’clock, to play the #1 ranked, unbeaten Panthers in the Class 1 state semifinals. Monroe City advanced with a 44-7 beat-down of Westran in a Saturday afternoon quarterfinal.
In the other Class 1 semifinal, Valle Catholic will play host to the Lockwood Tigers, also this Saturday at 1.
The eight-man final is set for this Saturday, November 18th, at 3 o’clock from Plaster Stadium in Springfield. The GRC eight-man champion Worth County Tigers, coming off of a 58-14 semifinal win over North Andrew, will take on the Sedalia Sacred Heart Gremlins. Sacred Heart won big at King City in Friday night’s semifinal round, 69-6.
The unbeaten champions of the MRVC, the “Higginsville” Huskers, make a long trip to Kahoka on Saturday, to play the Clark County Indians in a Class 2 semifinal. The game will be played at 2 o’clock. The Huskers won at Holden 34-14 on Friday night, while the Indians dominated North Callaway, winning 33-7. Lutheran North and Lamar will play in the other Class 2 semifinal.
In the Class 3 state quarterfinals, Maryville won a hard-fought home game against Kansas City Center on Saturday afternoon, 19-13, sending the Spoofhounds to Jefferson City on Saturday afternoon at 1 o’clock. The Falcons beat McCluer South-Berkeley in the quarterfinals, 32-16. Lutheran South will battle Mount Vernon in the other Class 3 semifinal.
The Platte County Pirates will head to Webb City in the Class 4 semifinals, with Parkway Central against Ladue Horton Watkins on the other half of the bracket. In the Class 5 semifinals, Pattonville plays Fort Zumwalt North with Kansas City Staley hosting Carthage (Saturday at 1).
The Class 6 state championship game will be played this Saturday night at 7 o’clock in Springfield, as Christian Brothers College (CBC) takes on Blue Springs. The state championship games for Classes 1 through 5 will be played Thanksgiving weekend at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Memorial Stadium.
