The Grand River Conference’s Western Division champions are the new state champions, as the Worth County Tigers overwhelmed the Sacred Heart Gremlins on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, winning the eight-man title game 64-21.
Tevin Cameron tied a state record, as the Tiger running back had six touchdowns on the ground during the contest, with 257 yards in the title game.
The first quarter of the game was a back-and-forth affair, with Sacred Heart twice taking a lead on touchdowns. Back-to-back scores by Worth County (a 13 yard run by Cameron and a 7 yard interception return by Ryan McClellan) gave the Tigers a 22-15 lead after 12 minutes. Worth County outscored the Gremlins 42-6 over the remainder of the contest. Cameron had four unanswered scoring runs in the second half, including three in the final quarter as Worth County completed an unbeaten 2017 season.
The season came to an end for the East Buchanan Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon, as the KCI Conference co-champions, despite a spirited fight, came up short against the Clarence Cannon Conference champions from Monroe City, 28-14. The unbeaten, #1 ranked Panthers, for the second consecutive season, will play in the state title game, with the Valle Catholic Warriors serving as the opponent on Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.
The unbeaten Lafayette County (Higginsville) Huskers will try to end the state championship run of Lamar in the Class 2 title game. The Huskers traveled to Kahoka on Saturday afternoon and dominated play against the Clark County Indians, winning 45-22. Higginsville and Lamar play for the Class 2 championship on Friday afternoon at 3 o’clock in Columbia.
Maryville’s late-season run has brought the Spoofhounds to the Class 3 title game, where Matt Webb’s team will look for retribution from last year’s title game loss to Monett. On Saturday, the ‘Hounds traveled to Jefferson City and beat the Blair Oaks Falcons, 49-20. Maryville will play Mount Vernon on Saturday morning at 11 o’clock from Faurot Field.
Webb City, coming off a semifinal win over Platte County, is back in the Class 4 championship game, as the Cardinals play Ladue Horton Watkins on Friday night at 7 o’clock.
Staley High School from North Kansas City will represent the western state of the state in the Class 5 title game, Saturday night at 7. The Falcons opponent will be Pattonville, out of the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights.
The Class 6 state title game, played on Saturday night in Springfield, was won by Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School of St. Louis, 31-14 over Blue Springs High School.
