Penney High School senior LaTroy Harper scored the first four touchdowns of Friday night’s district semifinal game with Putnam County, as the Hornets roared out of the gates to a 34-0 lead, and ended the Midgets season by a score of 47-14. The win sends the defending Class 1 state champions to Princeton this Friday night (7:00/KTTN FM 92.3/Hot Country Z 101.7) for the District 8 championship game with the unbeaten Tigers.
Harper had scoring runs of 80, 20, and 11 yards to give the Hornets a 21-0 lead, before adding a 63 yard punt return for a score. A three-yard run by Justin Knudsen made the score 35-0 after one quarter of play, with Sawyer Morrow connecting on all five extra point attempts.
Both teams scored second quarter touchdowns, as Knudsen had a 3 yard scoring run for Hamilton, while the Midgets had an 11 yard touchdown run, leaving the score 41-6 after the first half.
The third quarter was scoreless, with Morrow scoring on a 45 yard burst for the Hornets in the final quarter, while Putnam County added a 10 yard touchdown run late in the contest. Harper finished the night with eight carries for 189 yards for the Hornets, now 10-1 on the season, with a winning streak of eight straight games. Princeton has not lost since falling to Hamilton on the road in last year’s District 8 championship game.
The winner of the District 8 championship game will play either the East Buchanan Bulldogs or Plattsburg Tigers in the Class 1 state quarterfinals on Friday, November 10th. The long-time KCI Conference rivals will play in the District 7 title game in Gower this Friday, after East Buchanan beat West Platte, 26-10, while Plattsburg won at Wellington-Napoleon 46-30 in the District 7 semifinals.
The top two ranked teams in the state will host district finals this week, as the #2 ranked, unbeaten Marceline Tigers beat Santa Fe in the District 6 semifinals 54-14, while Westran won at Fayette, 40-8, sending the Hornets to Marceline High School for the District 6 final on November 3rd.
In District 5, the Monroe City Panthers, the top-ranked Class 1 team in the state, walloped the Mark Twain Tigers 52-6, giving Monroe City home-field advantage in the district final against the South Shelby Cardinals, a 38-14 winner over Scotland County on Friday night.
In Class 2, the Lathrop Mules picked up the biggest victory in the coaching tenure of Chris Holt on Friday night, traveling to Lexington and knocking the Minutemen out of the District 8 tournament, 34-23. Next up for the Mules is a Friday night trek to Higginsville to play the Lafayette County Huskers in the District 8 championship game. The Huskers shutout the Lawson Cardinals in the semifinal round, 33-0.
The top seed in Class 2, District 7 was knocked out of the playoffs on Saturday afternoon, with the #4 seed Knob Noster Panthers upsetting University Academy 21-20. The win sends Knob Noster to Holden for the District 7 title on Friday night, after Holden claimed a 14-3 road win at #2 seed Summit Christian Academy.
The Chillicothe Hornets and Maryville Spoofhounds will play for a second time this season at Jerry Litton Memorial Stadium at Chillicothe High School, after the MEC rivals throttled semifinal competition. CHS moved to 10-1 on the season with a 60-7 dismantling of the Pembroke Hill Raiders, while the ‘Hounds took a 42-7 victory over St. Pius X at Maryville High School. In Week #3, the Hornets shutout Maryville, 24-0. The rematch, for the District 8 title, will be Friday night at 7 o’clock.
Kansas City Center will host the Class 3, District 7 championship game, after a 28-25 semifinal win over Odessa. The Yellowjackets received home field advantage for the title game after #1 seeded Hogan Prep lost to the Pleasant Hill Roosters, 36-18, sending PHHS to Center for the district title game.
Class 4, District 8 saw an upset, as the #4 seeded Lafayette Fighting Irish won at Kearney High School against the Bulldogs, 38-32, sending the Irish to Platte County for a championship date with the Pirates, who ended the season of the Smithville Warriors, 42-13.
In eight-man football, the Pattonsburg Panthers had their season come to a close with a 36-30 defeat at Southwest Livingston on Friday night. The victory pushes the Wildcats in the District 3 title game, with a trip to Roger Wehrle Field in King City, as the Wildkats stamped their ticket to the title game with a 58-6 semifinal win over Braymer.
In District 4, the Sacred Heart Gremlins, playing on Saturday afternoon in Sedalia, protected their home turf with a 72-20 win over Norborne / Hardin-Central. The next challenge for the Gremlins will be against Greenfield, as the #2 seed Wildcats survived a thrilling semifinal with Osceola, 42-38.
In eight-man, District 1, the Worth County Tigers hammered East Atchison, 66-0, to cruise into the district final, where the Tigers will host the Stanberry Bulldogs. The third-seeded Bulldogs won big at Rock Port on Friday night, 76-34.
The District 2 final will be a pair of Grand River Conference teams duel for the second time this season, as St. Joseph Christian travels to Rosendale to take on the North Andrew Cardinals. SJCS, playing as a #4 seed, stunned the top-seeded Mound City Panthers on Friday night, 42-30, while North Andrew clubbed down South Holt / Nodaway-Holt 60-12.
