PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Mill Valley Jaguars have their first state title in the school’s young history.
Senior quarterback Logan Koch rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another as Mill Valley defeated Bishop Carroll 35-14 in the Class 5A state championship on Saturday at Pittsburg State’s Carnie Smith Stadium.
It was the high school’s first state championship in any sport since forming in 2000.
“It means everything,” Koch said. “It’s been 15 years with no state titles. It’s four years for us seniors, grinding every day. It means a lot.”
Koch, who passed for 200 yards and rushed for 79, directed the Jaguars to touchdowns on their first three offensive possessions.
A 13-yard touchdown run by Koch gave Mill Valley (12-1) a 21-0 lead at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter.
“We knew if we did what we needed to and what we did all week in practice that we’d come out on top,” Koch said. “Scoring the first three drives and getting that big lead, we knew the defense would hold them. The defense played a great game. You have to give credit to them.”
Mill Valley held Bishop Carroll (11-2), which was rushing for 244.9 yards per game, to 11 yards on 26 carries.
However, the Golden Eagles, who won the state title last year, were able to keep the game competitive by throwing the ball and with strong special teams play.
Bishop Carroll quarterback Jake Allen passed for 315 yards and a touchdown. Allen’s 55-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Lopez cut Mill Valley’s lead to 21-7 with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
That touchdown combined with Allen’s wind-aided 85-yard punt that forced Mill Valley to start a drive from its own 1-yard-line made it appear the momentum was on Bishop Carroll’s side.
But the Jaguars responded with a 10-play, 99-yard drive that was finished with Koch’s 2-yard touchdown run to make it 28-7 with 7:37 left in the second quarter.
“It’s the same thing it’s been all year,” Mill Valley coach Joel Applebee said. “They responded to every type of adversity that they could throw at us.”
The drive, which included a 33-yard pass from Koch to Christian Jegen, did not require a third down.
“It started up front,” Applebee said. “They were very physical. They did their jobs, and I’m very proud.”
Still, the Golden Eagles fought back with a little trickery.
Running back Adam Theis threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Zachary Wright to cut Mill Valley’s lead to 28-14 with 5:05 left in the first half.
Facing a fourth-and-10 from Mill Valley’s 22, Bishop Carroll attempted a trick play worthy of SportsCenter’s top 10.
With the play clock winding down, the Eagles appeared to make a last-second decision to bring on the field goal unit. Amid the confusion, Bishop Carroll snapped the ball with about two seconds left on the play clock, and Connor Hampton threw a screen pass to an uncovered Colton Woodard for an apparent 22-yard touchdown pass.
The touchdown was called back for an illegal shift.
Bishop Carroll kept within two touchdowns until Jegen scored on a 22-yard touchdown run with 9:46 left in the game.
Jegen rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 87 yards. Lucas Krull had four receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown. Seth Burnett led the Mill Valley defense with 12 tackles and a forced fumble.
Lopez led Bishop Carroll’s receivers with six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Evan Nichols posted 13 tackles.
Mill Valley 21-7-0-7 – 35
Bishop Carroll 7-7-0-0 – 14
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter
MV – Logan Koch 19-yard run (Andrew Hicks kick) – 10:11
MV – Lucas Krull 26-yard pass from Koch (Hicks kick) – 6:55
MV – Koch 13-yard run (Hicks kick) – 3:49
BC – Ethan Lopez 55-yard pass from Jake Allen (Diego Lopez kick) – 2:48
Second Quarter
MV – Koch 2-yard run (Hicks kick) – 7:37
BC – Zachary Wright 23-yard pass from Adam Theis (Lopez kick) – 5:05
Fourth Quarter
MV – Christian Jegen 22-yard run (Hicks kick) – 9:46
Team Statistics: BCHS MVHS
First Downs 16 21
Rushes-Yards (net) 26-11 47-183
Passing Yds (net) 338 200
Passes: Att-Comp-Int 50-26-1 19-10-1
Total Yards 349 383
Punts (Num-Avg) 5-43.2 4-25.5
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1
Penalties-Yards 10-86 10-95
Possession Time 24:15 23:45
Third Down Conv 4 of 16 3 of 10
Fourth Down Conv 1 of 6 0 of 0
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING: BC: Adam Theis 12-21; Gage Gottschalk 1-(-2); Jake Allen 13-(-8). MV: Christian Jegen 22-84; Logan Koch 19-79; Isaac Valencia 2-28; Lucas Krull 1-7.
PASSING: BC: Allen 25-48-1, 315; Adam Theis 1-2-0, 23. MV: Koch 10-19-1, 200
RECEIVING: BC: Colton Woodard 8-67, Ethan Lopez 6-110, Theis 5-50, Zachary Wright 3-53. MV: Jegen 4-87, Krull 4-85, Brady Garrison 1-15, Ben Hartman 1-13.
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