SALINA, Kan.—
As Rose Hill quarterback Derrick Decker thrust the state championship trophy over his head in the mass of his teammates around him, he shouted, “What are we?” What came back at him was the most emphatic, powerful word many players on the team had ever said. “Champions!”Rose Hill won its first-ever football state championship Saturday when it defeated Eudora 21-0 on a windy day at Salina District Stadium.
Rose Hill won the opening coin toss, but deferred to let Eudora take the ball first. The Rockets then had the choice of direction, and chose to go with the north-south wind that was blowing through the stadium instead of choosing to go against it.
Eudora turned it over on its opening drive on a fumble at its own 32-yard line and two plays later, Decker found Caleb Braddy for the game’s first score to go up 7-0. However, Braddy was down for a significant amount of time after the score with a hurt knee. Decker’s favorite receiver did not return to the game.
“Caleb made a great catch at the beginning and that was the end of his game,” said head coach Greg Slade. “What an impact one player had on this game.”
Braddy’s catch seemed to set the tone for the rest of afternoon. Rose Hill had sent the message to Eudora that if Eudora was going to win; it was going to be extremely difficult for them.
It was the only score of the first half, but several times both teams threatened. Rose Hill’s Eastin Dockers took a double-reverse 75 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown, and the Rose Hill side was in frenzy. However, the score was called back because of a holding penalty.
Eudora’s Christopher Pyle took a 35-yard run inside Rose Hill’s 20-yard line, but was unable to punch it in.
On Eudora’s first possession of the second half, Pyle lost control of the ball. It flew in the air and right into the waiting arms of Rose Hill’s Tyler Knight, who took it 68 yards the other way for the touchdown.
Knight stayed on the field to try the extra point, but it fell short of the goal post due to the wind. It looked as if Knight put enough leg on it for a 40-yard field goal, but the wind was just too much.
“Our defense kept us in it today,” said Slade. “They made some big plays. Give credit to Eudora, though. They played so hard.”
Rose Hill essentially iced the game with 1:30 left in the third when Hunter Lewis went 19 yards for the touchdown. The Rockets were staring at a 3rd-and-20 on the drive when Decker found a hole and scampered 17 yards. He pounded through the line for the first down on the next play, and set up Lewis’ game-clinching touchdown.
The Rockets needed to only run out the clock in the fourth quarter after stopping the Cardinals inside the five-yard line.
“We knew what we had to do today,” said Decker. “I didn’t play my best game, but that’s what my teammates are for, to back up each other.”
Slade was elated, as expected, at his team’s first championship.
“(Our mindset was) to just finish this season,” he said. “I told our guys to not be satisfied with just making this far, but to finish. We’re state champions.”
