CHETOPA – District title. Check. Home game in first round of playoffs. Check. Three Rivers League Eight-Man Division championship. Check.
Marmaton Valley High’s Wildcats had a checklist going into Thursday night’s regular season finale. The Wildcats traveled to Chetopa knowing they were in the Kansas Eight-Man Division I playoffs. They just didn’t know if it was going to be a home game or an away game.
The Wildcats took care of business, pounding Chetopa High’s Hornets 60-8. It only lasted two quarters.
Marmaton Valley finishes the regular season on a five-game winning streak. The 5-0 mark handed the Wildcats the TRL championship and the Eight-Man I, District 2 championship.
The Wildcats (6-2) will host Udall, which upset fifth-ranked and previously unbeaten Sedan 62-40 Thursday in Eight-Man I, District 1 play.
Marmaton Valley and Udall (7-2) kick off at 7 p.m. Tuesday in bi-district play at Moran.
Chetopa (6-3) travels to Burden Tuesday to play Central (8-1), which won the District 1 title.
“I knew the kids were ready to play. On the ride down, they were quiet and in the locker room it was quiet. They were focused,” said second-year head coach Kent Houk.
“We went out and knocked Chetopa on their heels in the first minute of the game and kept them there.”
Junior running back Cole Becker scored the first of six touchdowns on a seven-yard run at the 11:05 mark of the first quarter. Becker carried the ball 16 times for 235 yards on the night.
Junior Jimmy Frye had two rushing touchdowns as he pounded out 89 yards on seven carries. Frye had a 12-yard run to the end zone with 7:09 left in the opening period.
A minute later, Frye was back in the end zone, returning a fumble 10 yards for another score. Becker added the two-point run and the rout was on.
Becker had two more touchdown runs of 45 and six yards to pad the Wildcat lead. It was 32-0 at the conclusion of the first quarter.
“Our interior linemen – senior center Kaleb Stroud and junior guards Jared Kale and Nathan Smart – opened huge holes for our running backs to go through all night,” Houk said.
Becker took full advantage of those holes, scoring on runs of 25, six and 33 yard over the course of six minutes in the second quarter. Frye’s 31-yard run at the 4:47 mark made it 60-0.
Chetopa’s lone touchdown came 17 seconds later. Derek Castle got loose on a 57-yard dash to paydirt but the point-after-touchdown attempt failed.
“Our defense played very well. Our defensive lineman of junior Lucas Hamlin, Smart and Kale put on a lot of pressure up front and owned the line of scrimmage,” Houk said.
“Zack English (a senior), Daylen Houk (a junior) did a great job covering as defensive backs. And we had Becker floating around back there also. It was just a great team effort by our kids.”
Kale led the Wildcat defensive unit with four unassisted tackles, three assisted tackles and three quarterback sacks. Frye had four solo tackles and two fumble recoveries. Becker had an interception.
Marmaton Valley is back in the Kansas Eight-Man I playoffs for the first time since 2008. The Wildcats go in one game shy of all the other teams because a Missouri school did not field a team this season. The Wildcats lost to Lebo to open the season then had a week off.
“I thought it did hurt us a bit not having that game. We came back and beat Altoona-Midway then faced Marais Des Cygnes Valley and really weren’t ready,” Houk said.
“But we got back to work and ended the season on a five-game win streak.
“We’re excited to have a home game to start the playoffs. We’re approaching it like we did this season – one game and one week at a time. There’s no looking ahead.”
MVHS 32-28-x-x-60
Chetopa 0-6-x-x-6
MV – Becker 7 yd run (Becker run)
MV – Frye 12 yd run (pass failed)
MV – Frye 10 yd fumble return (Becker run)
MV – Becker 45 yd run (pass failed)
MV – Becker 6 yd run (run failed)
MV – Becker 25 yd run (run failed)
MV – Becker 6 yd run (PAT failed)
MV – Becker 33 yd run (Frye run)
MV – Frye 31 yd run (Frye run)
CH – Castle 57 yd run (PAT failed)
MVHS CHS
First downs 11 3
Rushes-yds 39-356 20-45
Passing yds 0 14
Total Offense 356 59
Passing 0-0-0 2-11-1
Fumbles-lost 1/0 2/2
Punts-avg. 0/0 5-31
Penalties-yds 6-55 4-45
Wildcats capture district title, head to playoffs
