The Class 2 powerhouse Lamar Tigers trailed by two points (12-10) headed into the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Class 2 state championship game at Plaster Stadium in Springfield. With their state championship run of five titles at stake, Lamar’s Cooper Lucas scored the go-ahead touchdown, early in the fourth quarter, add Lamar held off a late Trinity Catholic surge, winning 26-18.
Lamar’s victory gives the Tigers a Missouri state record, with the school’s sixth consecutive title. The program has won 34 consecutive playoff games. Stuart McKarus had two touchdowns for LHS, finishing the season with a record of 14-0.
Trinity Catholic, coming off a high-scoring semifinal win at Lawson, finishes the season at 12-1, with quarterback Isaiah Williams throwing for 277 yards in the loss.
For the first time since 1969, two Kansas City area schools met in a state championship game, with the Harrisonville Wildcats (12-3) upsetting top-ranked Kearney in the Class 4 state title game, 21-14. Joe Bowers had 170 yards and Morgan Selemaea 113 yards rushing for HHS, for the program’s first state crown since winning three in a row from 2005 to 2007.
Kearney trailed 21-0 at the half, and while falling short of a repeat state title, the Bulldogs made things interesting in the second half, with KHS scoring single touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. The fourth quarter score, with 3:49 left on the clock, gave Kearney too little time to rally for a potential tying score.
