HUMBOLDT Forty-eight points on the scoreboard represented Humboldts dominance over Southeast-Cherokee as the two sides jogged into the locker room at halftime.
Conor Haviland needed only nine carries to rack up 212 yards rushing along with 5 rushing touchdowns. The Cubs wound up crushing the Lancers 60-14 by the time the final whistle blew, moving to 10-0 and capturing another regional title.
Two weeks ago, Humboldt traveled to face the Lancers in Cherokee. Then, Humboldt held the Lancer offense in check, but led only 14-6 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. A last-second score enabled the Cubs to take a two-touchdown lead into halftime, and the Cubs cruised in the second half en route to claim the district title.
Head coach Logan Wyrick was fully aware his offense would perform to its usual high standard the second go around, it was just a matter of getting his Cub defense to force three-and-outs against a grind-it-out Lancer offense.
Humboldts defense did exactly that, forcing the Lancers to punt it away on their first possession. On the Cubs second offensive play, Haviland broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run, and Isaiah Coronado added the 2-point conversion, giving Humboldt the 8-0 lead.
Haviland added four more touchdown runs in the first half, with runs of 37, 1, 37, and 48 yards.
While the offense glistened, Humboldts defense stood firm, and even got on the scoreboard themselves. Senior Gunner Elder intercepted a pass that went 84 yards for a score. Heading into halftime, Humboldt led 48-0.
I felt like we might have flown better to the ball then we have all year on defense, head coach Logan Wyrick said. I thought Blake Walker played his best game all year, and probably the game of his life that he played on defense. And as a corner, Cooper Jaro was almost like another linebacker on defense. He did a great job coming up as a corner and setting edges.
Humboldt rotated its lineup to start the second half, and Southeast answered with two touchdowns, but the Cubs responded. Senior Cooper Jaro found the end zone on a 15-yard run, and Gavin Paige scampered in on the quarterback keeper from 5 yards out. The two fourth-quarter scores gave Humboldt the 60-14 final advantage.
Jaro finished as Cubs second leading rusher with 67 yards rushing on 4 carries. In the passing game, Haviland completed both attempts for 56 yards, with 44 yards belonging to Jaro. It is no secret that Haviland likes to tuck and run, but Wyrick was pleased with his decision making on his 44-yard completion to Jaro. Keeping defenses on their toes will give Humboldt more room to work with offensively as the Cubs progress in the 2A state playoffs.
Everyone knows whats going on, so he (Haviland) has to make sure he is doing a good job readings things, Wyrick said. He still wants to keep the ball on some times when he should be getting it out.
Moving forward, Humboldt will play Nemaha Central next Friday in the state quarterfinals. If the Cubs plan to keep this playoff push alive, Wyrick highlighted that Humboldts secondary needs to be prepared when opposing teams choose to air it out as opposed to ground-and-pound offenses like Southeast.
