Holton 40, Jeff West 20

If it wasn't for the first three Tiger offensive plays of the night, the battle between 5-0 Holton at 5-0 Jeff West certainly would have lived up to all the hype in the Big 7 championship game.  However, the Tigers turned the ball over with a fumble and interception and the #1 ranked Willdcats took advantage with two short fields for a 14-0 lead in route to 38th consecutive league victory.  Jeff West also had a punt blocked and fumbled again before halftime as Holton lead 23-0 at the break.  The Tigers registered only three first downs in the first half, two of which came on their final drive.

Holton opened the scoring with a 15 yard run by senior quarterback, Ethan Holaday on a busted play then Drake Ewing scored on a 7 yard run in his first action in three weeks.  Holton needed only 62 total yards to take a 14-0 lead.  Ewing scored his second TD from one-yard out capping a 13 play, 61 yard Holton drive to make it 21-0 early in the second quarter and Nils Bergsten blocked a Jeff West punt for a safety with 4:57 left in the first half.

The third quarter showcased plenty of fireworks and big plays from both teams.  Tiger quarterback Ian Mullins tossed scoring passes of 62 and 13 yards to Bret Ricklefs, but the Cats responded with a 65 yard run by Mason Barta and an 80 yard score from Holaday to make it 37-12 after three frames.  Jeff West was turned over on downs in the red zone late in the third quarter but did hold Holton on a pair of 4th and short conversions.  Ian Mullins, who accounted for 261 yards passing and 75 on the ground scored the Tigers third TD on a 3 yard run to make it 37-20 with 4:14 to play.  Holton concluded the scoring with a 27 yard field goal by Brendan Hampton, who also made all 6 extra point tries.  

Holaday was the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company "Player to Bank on" with 198 yards rushing on just 11 carries.  Jason Yingst had a diving interception and Indie Allen had a sack and led the Wildcat defense in tackles.  Barta finished with 94 yards rushing and Ewing added 55 with a pair of scores as Holton (6-0) secured their sixth straight Big 7 football title and did not have a turnover.  

Jeff West had only turned the ball over three times total in their first three games, but could not overcome the trio of mistakes in the first half before falling to 5-1.  Ricklefs had 102 yards on 8 catches and Alex Broers caught 2 balls for 78 yards.