Penney’s defense leads Hornets to state title game with 20-7 win over Tipton

The Penney (Hamilton) Hornet defense played exceptionally strong on Saturday, holding a normally Tipton offense to just seven points, while the Hornets had a fourth quarter “Pick 6” for the second weekend in a row, leading PHS to a 20-7 Class 1 state semifinal victory from Alumni Field in Hamilton, broadcast on KGOZ FM 101.7. 

With game time temperatures hovering in the upper 20s and a spit of snow from early morning activity in Caldwell County, the Hornet defense stopped Tipton on the game’s opening drive, the offense scored on its first chance with the football, as halfback Carter Kanoy took a wide pitch down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown run, giving the home team a 6-0 lead just three minutes into the first quarter.  Tom Johnson had the play-by-play call on KGOZ: 

The game remained 6-0 for the majority of the first half, before a three-yard dive by sophomore tailback Jack Cooley sent the lead to 12-0 with 20 seconds remaining in the half. 

A ground-ball kickoff to Tipton was recovered at the Penney 44 yard line, giving the Cardinals great field position, but little time to capitalize.  Two pass plays pushed the Cardinals to the 2-yard line with 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock, giving the visitors one play to try to score.  A fullback dive of two yards and a successful PAT left the halftime score at 12-7. 

Penney, stopped early in the third quarter, gambled on a fourth-down punt formation early in the third quarter, but a run by Cooley was stopped by Tipton, giving the Cardinals the football on the Hornet side of the 50.  Threatening to take the lead, Tipton drove inside the Hamilton 10 before the Hornet defense stiffened, stopping the Cardinals on downs at the 2 yard line. 

That stop would be decisive as the Hornets, without adding to the lead, slowly began to regain momentum and improve field possession.  With the defenses dominating play and Tipton having the ball deep in their own territory, Cooley made one of the biggest plays of the season for PHS: 

The two-point conversion run by Isac Bales-Rodriguez made the final margin 20-7.  The win sends Penney to this Saturday’s Class 1 state championship game to play the Adrian Blackhawks, a 21-0 shutout winner over St. Vincent in the other Class 1 semifinal.  The 3 o’clock game from Memorial Stadium in Columbia will be broadcast on KGOZ FM 101.7, with Tom Johnson on the call, and pregame at 2:30 from the University of Missouri. 

Here are the semifinal results from across the state of Missouri last weekend: 

Eight-Man: 

Archie 46, Bishop LeBlond 28 

North Shelby 32, Braymer 30 

Class 1: 

Adrian 21, St. Vincent 0 

Penney 20, Tipton 7 

Class 2: 

Lamar 27, Bowling Green 26

Fair Grove 55, South Shelby 21 

Class 3: 

Seneca 31, Lift for Life 0 

Blair Oaks 28, Maryville 14 

Class 4: 

Festus 21, Warrenton 16

Lutheran North 24, Kearney 21 

Class 5: 

Helias Catholic 14, Lafayette (Wildwood) 13

Platte County 44, MICDS 30 

Class 6: 

Nixa 56, Kirkwood 46

De Smet Jesuit 34, Liberty 14