NEWTON – Canton-Galva coach Shelby Hoppes walked off the field after the Eight-Man, Division I state title trophy presentation. Hoppes, with red, teary eyes, held the commemorative championship ball given to the winning team. He was a few feet from the short black fence that separates the field from fans.
“I didn't know if we had that in us,” Hoppes said.
St. Francis scored the game's first 36 points. However, Canton-Galva tallied a pair of touchdowns just before halftime and closed the deficit to 22. The Eagles eventually scored 66 unanswered points and won 66-36 in an historic comeback Saturday at Newton's Fischer Field.
Before the Eagles' win, the biggest known comeback in a state title game was 21 points, according to Kansas playoff historian Brett Marshall. That occurred by 6A Olathe North in 1998, and 3A Scott City in 2012. The 102 combined points tied the second-most in eight-man state history.
“At that point, I knew that we could stay in the game, and I knew we could make it competitive, it's just 'Were we going to run out of gas, before we could get over the top?” Hoppes said. “Because that happens all the time to teams, but once we started wearing them down a little bit, I just got that feeling that the momentum had all shifted, and it was going to be ours, and sure enough, here we are state champions.”
Canton-Galva, ranked No. 1 all season, captured the first state football title in school history and finished 13-0. Canton-Galva was 1-8 just five years ago, though has enjoyed a big rise under Hoppes, an alum in his third season as head coach.
“It's surreal,” senior quarterback Landon Everett said. “I never thought in a million years I'd be in this position considering we weren't even close to the top-10 my freshman and sophomore year. It's crazy what a little work can do.”
The Eagles had no seniors on an '18 squad that finished 10-2, and returned its pair of first team all-state players with Everett and sophomore wide receiver Tyson Struber.
Everett accounted for seven scores, while Struber had three receiving TDs. Both players picked off a pass.
“I give all the credit to our coaches,” Struber said. “There at halftime, we had a little bit of momentum going into half, but our coaches told us that we are just as good of a football team as they are, and we are just as physical, just as big.”
Both players battled injury this fall. Struber missed several games because of a broken left middle finger and played with a brace for the second straight contest. Struber played with two screws, and called the recovery “a grind mentally” to improve his confidence.
“It's just become more and more comfortable,” Struber said. “I knew I had to get it out of my head that I have a brace on, and catch the football, which I was struggling a little bit at the start, but I think I kind of got it in the second half.”
Everett hurt his right (throwing) shoulder in the semifinal game versus Madison. He had limited practice time and required an 80-mile round trip to Hutchinson every day after practice this week for treatment to reduce swelling. Everett winced several times during the contest. Underneath his football pads, Everett wore a AC shoulder pad strapped around his body.
“He's not 100 percent right now,” Hoppes said. “What he is, is he is a warrior. I couldn't be more proud of him. It brings tears to my eyes, just talking about him, because most kids wouldn't even played today, and he went and got treatment every single day.”
St. Francis (12-1) moved to 0-2 all-time in state title games. The Indians had a pair of key injuries in the second half to senior end Jayce Nider (concussion) and junior lineman Jesse Baxter (knee). St. Francis, with just 17 players, had to use a freshman after the injuries.
“Just tough to compete obviously,” St. Francis coach Nick Fawcett said. “And then we just self-destructed. I felt 95 percent of that stuff was self-inflicted.”
The game featured 10 turnovers, five from both teams. In the first half, Canton-Galva had five turnovers, St. Francis three. The Indians took advantage of a lost Eagle fumble and short field for the game's first score on a 12-yard run from junior Shadryon Blanka.
“The physicality, we came out there, we weren't really that prepared,” Canton-Galva junior linebacker Brandon Huff said. “The first quarter, we weren't expecting it, and they got us there.”
St. Francis led 22-0 after the first quarter and 36-0 after Blanka scored from four yards out with 2 minutes, 57 seconds left in the first half. Blanka tallied three rushing scores.
“We had preached about always staying confident, never having your head down, don't show the other team that you are down, and just always pull through and give it everything that you have got,” Struber said. “I give all the credit to the coaches for teaching us.”
At that point, Struber had two catches for 26 yards and often had 1-on-1 matchups with Dinkel, the Indians’ four-year starter at defensive back. However, Struber had a 40-yard reception. That set up a one-yard touchdown run from Everett with 1:39 remaining before intermission.
“That's a tough kid out there,” Huff said of Everett. “He was hurting throughout the game, but he pulled it together. He said, 'I am getting this done no matter what.'”
Two plays later, Dinkel lost a fumble, and then Everett found Struber for a wide-open 26-yard touchdown pass.
“I was still trying to get used to throwing,” Everett said. “I have got some bigger pads on this week, and a hurt shoulder, so I was just trying to get worked into it, and I think I slowly worked into it, and just was able to get it to my players, and made plays. I was kind of throwing it short on him, throwing bad balls in the beginning. But they made some plays.”
Canton-Galva trailed 36-14 at halftime. Everett felt the contest shift after the second touchdown.
“I think we knew, 'All right, we are in this,'” Everett said.
Huff, who recovered a fumble and picked off a pass, said the Eagles' increased their physicality in the second half.
“It's how bad you want it,” Huff said. “That's the best thing to say. Inside, you've got to think about all what you have worked for, all summer in the weight room, all conditioning. You just have to want it.”
St. Francis opened the second half with a punt. Then, Struber took a short pass, broke a tackle and raced 52 yards for a score. Struber added another 26-yard TD reception over Dinkel for a 36-26 deficit with 3:34 remaining in the third.
“We have been preaching that all week, just 'Can't get beat deep, can't get beat deep,'” Fawcett said.
Following another Indian punt, Everett had a 60-yard touchdown run, and Struber delivered the conversion to cut the margin to 36-34.
“There for a little bit, I was worried, but you have always got to believe in what you are doing,” Everett said. “So we just kept believing.”
Overall, Everett finished 10 of 19 passing for 197 yards with three scores against a pair of interceptions. He rushed 17 times for 148 yards with four TDs. Struber had eight catches for 188 yards and three scores.
“I just tried to cut pretty hard, get his hips to flip,” Struber said of the Dinkel matchup. “And I just tried to be a ball player.”
In the second half, Canton-Galva limited St. Francis' standout duo of Dinkel and Blanka to a combined 22 carries for 45 yards in the single wing. Overall, Dinkel rushed 33 times for 161 yards and a TD.
“It was just tackling them when you get to the point of attack,” Hoppes said. “We had to get them on the ground. We weren't doing a good job of that, so that's what we changed.”
Shortly after Baxter suffered injury, Everett delivered a nine-yard run, and Struber scored the conversion again for a 42-36 lead with 6:45 left in the game. Canton-Galva tacked on three more scores, a 27-yard run from Everett and a pair of rushing TDs from junior Brayden Collins. When the clock ran out, Hoppes simply raised his hands in celebration, and then turned to the fan base.
“We didn't turn it over in the second half,” Hoppes said. “We just kept executing, and then you've just got to keep grinding and grinding and grinding and hitting and hitting and hitting, and we eventually wore them down. Couldn't be more proud.”
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