ST. PAUL — Marmaton Valley High’s Wildcats captured a district championship and cinched a perfect regular season Thursday night, thanks to the persistent blocking of their offensive line and the relentless speed of their ground game.
With a 52-6 win over the St. Paul High Indians, the Wildcats are champions of Kansas 8-man I, District 2.
“We came out strong early in the game, and hammered it down their throats,” coach Kent Houk said of his aggressive offense. “Our line blocked well and our defense stepped up as well.”
The Wildcats came out swinging in the first quarter with an early score by senior tailback Cole Becker.
If they had one weakness in Friday night’s trouncing, it was the four fumbles lost — one of which ultimately resulted in St. Paul’s only score of the night in the first quarter.
From that point, it was all Marmaton Valley.
Becker did his job well, scoring six touchdowns in three quarters. He racked up 310 yards rushing on 23 carries, averaging almost 13.5 yards per carry. The game ended in the third quarter due to the Kansas eight-man mercy rule.
Becker ended the first quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run. The second quarter was all Becker as well, he had three touchdown runs — covering 37 yards (twice) and a 5-yard jaunt.
The Wildcats drove the nails into the Indians’ proverbial coffin early in the second half. Becker ran once again for a 5-yard touchdown. Senior quarterback Ryan Smith finished the game with a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The offense wouldn’t have had the yards without Marmaton Valley’s effective defense — another well-oiled machine, Houk said.
“For a team that normally averages over 200 yards on defense, we held them to just 97,” Houk said. “That’s pretty impressive.”
The Indians ran for 59 yards on 25 carries, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.
Senior Daylen Houk led the Wildcats in tackles with nine and an interception, followed by Becker with eight stops. Senior Jared Kale contributed to the defensive onslaught with two sacks and a fumble recovery. Senior Jimmy Frye had an interception as well.
Houk said he was impressed with the way his team played this season, as well finishing at the top of their district.
But he knows the road gets tougher, and Marmaton Valley has until Tuesday evening to prepare for Udall to open postseason play.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the Marmaton Valley football field.
“We’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year,” Houk said. “If you can’t do the fundamentals right, you can’t do anything.”
Houk knows what to expect from Udall next week, recalling last season’s playoff thriller in which Udall failed on a two-point conversion in the game’s final seconds of Marmaton Valley’s 46-45 win.
Marmaton Valley 16-24-12-x—52
St. Paul 6-0-0-x—6
MV — Becker 3 yd run (Houk run)
SP — O’Brien 4 yd run (PAT failed)
MV — Becker 15 yd run (Houk run)
MV — Becker 37 yd run (Becker run)
MV — Becker 5 yd run (Smith run)
MV — Becker 37 yd run (Becker run)
MV — Becker 5 yd run (PAT failed)
MV — Smith 5 yd run
MV SP
First downs 12 5
Rushing-yds 33-251 25-59
Passing-yds 0 38
Total offense 351 97
Passes 0-2-0 5-13 -1
Fumbles 4 2
Punting 0 5-38
Penalties 2-20 5-50
Wildcats unbeaten headed into playoffs
