Holcomb 21, Holton 0

On a snowy, sleeting and super cold Saturday in Salina, the Holton offense was slowed by a tough and athletic Holcomb team that went on to claim their first state football championship in school history.  The Wildcats managed a season low of 186 total yards, with only 60 yards on 26 plays in the second half.  The Cats had two trips inside the red zone but came up empty each time and the Longhorns averaged more than eight yards per play while striking for several huge passing connections.

The first quarter endless with no scores, although an intercepted pass by AJ Hausler of the Wildcats gave Holton the ball in Longhorn territory heading into the second quarter.  Holton failed capitalize on one of the few times they had momentum and could not pick up a first down on the next four plays.  Holcomb responded with a 25-yard pass play on fourth and four before Dillon Williams ran in a two yard touchdown with 7:55 left in the half.  After an exchange of punts, Holton converted a pair of third and short plays and drove inside the Holcomb 20 yard line, but a third down scramble pass play took too long to develop as time expired before Holton could use their final timeout or get points on the board.  The Cats trailed 6-0 at the break.  

Holcomb received the second half kickoff and their first play from scrimmage was a 42 yard run by Brandon Stegman, who finished with a season high 103 yards on 13 carries.  The Longhorns capped that third quarter drive on a fourth and goal play from the seven-yard-line as Trey Teeter found Brandon Showalter in the endzone.  The play went from an interception, to incomplete pass, then a touchdown in a matter of seconds as Holton's Will Wright nearly picked the ball, but returning to play this week with his hand injury heavily wrapped, the ball was deflected, then caught near his shoulder pad and eventually grabbed off his back by Showalter for the two possession lead.  Holcomb put the game out of reach on their next drive as Teeter found Showalter again on a 59 yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 with 3:07 left in the third period.

Holton did put together a second drive of 13 plays into the fourth quarter and converted on a couple fourth down plays, but eventually a sack by Brandon Stegman ended the drive in the red zone.  It was the Longhorns 30th sack of the season and their stellar defense preserved their third shutout of the season , while holding the Cats to less than three yards per carry.

Mason Barta led the Holton rushing attack with 64 yards on 19 carries while Spencer Baum had 52 yards on 21 totes and Justin Pool added 39 yards on 9 rushes.  The Wildcats didn't manage a play of more than 20 yards while Holcomb had seven.  The Longhorns finished with exactly 150 yards rushing and receiving while winning their ninth straight game to cap an 11-2 championship season.

In their 18th straight playoff season, Holton finishes the year at 9-4, but perhaps improved as much as any Wildcat squad during a season.  After starting the year 0-2, and 2-3 with a 48 game Big 7 League winning halted, the Cats overcame several injuries and pieced together seven consecutive wins to advance to their seventh state title game and bring home a fourth runner-up trophy and first in Class 4A Division Two.