The Marmaton Valley Wildcats’ football season came to a sudden end during Friday’s 84-74 loss in a shootout with the Frankfort Wildcats.
Marmaton Valley jumped out to a 10-point lead by halftime but could not stave off Frankfort in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of good teams went home this Friday. In the second round, you’re going to face a lot of tough teams,” Marmaton Valley Coach Max Mickunas said. “We knew that, and it stings because we had them on the ropes. They played a tough schedule, and they were better than us in the second half. Hats off to them for that.”
Senior quarterback Tyler Lord put the Wildcats on his shoulders during a legendary performance, completing 24 of 34 passes for 392 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns. His only flaw, an interception in the fourth quarter, was the game-deciding change of possession but Coach Mickunas believes it should not detract from what Lord accomplished Friday.
“He plays with a lot of heart. He’s a great athlete and he plays with heart,” Mickunas said. “He really wanted to win. I thought he gave it his all but sometimes things don’t go your way.”
Lord was far from Marmaton Valley’s only gutsy performer Friday. Senior receiver Todd Stevenson racked up 16 receptions for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Junior running back Cooper Scharff, who suffered a leg injury and was doubtful for Friday, averaged 4.5 yards per carry while also hauling a pair of passes for 59 yards — including a 46-yard touchdown pass from Lord.
“Our guys gutted it out. Cooper Scharff got injured last week and I thought he played well,” Mickunas said.
“I’m proud of our guys. I thought they responded to some adversity. They played well. They deserved to win but sometimes in life that’s not how it works.”
Senior linebacker Brevyn Campbell also had a strong night on defense with a team-leading 11 tackles, eight solo. Stevenson had four solo tackles, along with sophomore linebacker Kaden McVey. Junior Degan Barney had three tackles, four total and a team-leading two sacks.
With the loss, the Wildcats end their season 8-2 and undefeated in the Three Rivers League for their third consecutive league title.
Mickunas, who also teaches physical education for the district, said he will take the next few weeks to mentally regroup and spend some much-needed time with his family.
“I’m going to spend some time with my family. Maybe sometime late winter, early spring, I’ll start getting the itch to work on things,” Mickunas said. “I’ll look at the season as a whole and appreciate the season we had. The seniors are great. They had a ton of success during their careers and that’s just hard work and belief in the program. We all had the same vision since I got here, when they were in eighth grade.”
