The Bishop Carroll Golden Eagles are seeking their second consecutive state championship and their third in four years, while the Mill Valley Jaguars are aiming for their first in school history.
Bishop Carroll (11-1) and Mill Valley (11-1) will meet for the Class 5A state title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Pittsburg State University’s Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Jaguars have not won a state championship in their young school history, but a talented group of players entered the season with that goal.
“Our expectations were very high entering the season,” Mill Valley coach Joel Applebee said. “It was more player driven than anything. It has been a day to day process, and they have put in a lot of hard work. I’m very proud of them.”
Mill Valley is on a seven-game winning streak since falling 28-21 to Staley, a Class 5 Missouri school, on Oct. 2.
Quarterback Logan Koch leads the Jaguars as a dual threat. The senior has completed 136 of 202 passes for 2,292 yards with 31 touchdowns, while rushing for 692 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Koch, who has been a three-year starter for the Jaguars, has signed to play basketball at Eastern Illinois.
“He commands our offense so well,” Applebee said. “He’s calm in every situation. He’s seen it all. He gets everyone on the same page. He demands a lot of everyone.”
Senior Christian Jegen, who has offers at South Dakota and Northern Iowa, is a versatile playmaker with 1,199 receiving yards and 721 rushing yards.
Senior Lucas Krull, who has signed to play baseball at Arkansas, has 48 receptions for 659 yards and 12 touchdowns. Defensive end Cole Morris, who has an offer from South Dakota, has nine sacks. Offensive lineman Ben Hecht is verbally committed to play at North Dakota State.
Bishop Carroll has won 11 consecutive games since losing the season opener 31-24 to Wichita Northwest. The Eagles quickly rebounded from their first regular season loss since 2011.
“People outside of the program might have panicked after that first game, but we realized it was one loss against a good team,” Bishop Carroll coach Alan Schuckman said. “It’s very difficult to go 13-0.”
The Eagles returned only five starters from last year’s state championship team and has persevered through several key injuries.
“It shows you the character of this team,” Schuckman said. “Players stepped up, even the kids on the scout team. Everyone responded when they had their opportunity.”
Quarterback Jakob Allen has completed 124 of 189 passes for 1,642 yards and 13 touchdowns, while rushing for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Adam Theis has rushed for more than 1,100 yards and 21 touchdowns.
However, Bishop Carroll is not built around one star.
“The strength of our team is the team,” Schuckman said. “If you took us individually, we probably shouldn’t be here. But the kids really believe in each other.”
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