Worth County outlasts Rock Port to claim 8-man State Championship in St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Facing a two-score deficit in the second half of Thursday's 8-man State Championship, Worth County never waivered.
Like the iconic words of N.Y. Yankees legend Yogi Berra, the Tigers showed, "It ain't over till it's over."
After Rock Port junior WR Jack Meyerkorth hauled in his second touchdown to start of the second half, it appeared to be an uphill climb for Worth County. Down 26-14 in the early minutes of the second half, coach Jon Adwell and his Tigers battled back.
They responded with a big scoring play courtesy of fullback Jude Archer, who made it a one possession game in the process. It was one of the many explosive runs by Archer, who carried the ball 13 carries for 152 yards and three touchdowns on the night, including an additional 40-yards receiving.
The two teams would trade blows until a costly fumble by Rock Port running back Brock Holmes was recovered by linebacker Sawyer Thurman. In the blink of an eye, the Tigers were in position to take the lead as they trailed 38-34.
One play later, running back Brayden Stevens cashed in with a 16-yard touchdown to give Worth County their first lead of the night with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
From then on they never surrendered the lead, despite a high-octane Blue Jays offense keeping it close, including an 18-yard burst to the endzone by Holmes to help cut the deficit to 50-48. Holmes finished the night with 36 carries for 165 yards and four touchdowns.
Up by two, a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hayden Sanders to junior tight end Caleb New helped seal the 56-46 win, securing the school's first 8-Man State Championship since 2017 at Missouri Western.
"It feels great (to win a championship). We were here my sophomore year and we ended up losing," Stevens said. "We wanted to come back and this is the year we finally got it done."
In his post-game press conference, Adwell said blocking from junior tight end Bo Collins was key in opening up the offense to pull ahead of the Blue Jays.
With tonight's victory, Adwell wins the elusive first championship in his Tiger coaching tenure, one that his players wanted to give him more than anything else.
"In the short years that I've been here he's been the true definition of a head coach," Collins said." He loved every one of us and we love him. It was very important to all us to step up and get the state title."
The MSHSAA State High School football championships will continue Friday and Saturday at Spratt Stadium at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. A full schedule can be found here.
