By KACIE TIMMONS
A critical fourth quarter and last-minute touchdown for the Centralia Panthers earned them an 18-14 victory over the Smith Center Redmen in the Class 1A state football championship game Saturday at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays. The game was a defensive battle, where field position and the gusty north wind played key roles for both teams.
“Our kids were fired up. We had a great week of practice, and we did what we focused on — getting a state championship,” Panther head coach Larry Glatczak said.
The Panthers trailed 14-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. After forcing the Redmen to punt halfway through the quarter, the Panthers took over at the Smith Center 37 yard line. The next play, quarterback Kamble Haverkamp broke loose and ran 37 yards to put 6 more points on the board for Centralia. The Redmen held on the two-point conversion to maintain a 14-12 lead.
The Panthers again forced the Redmen to punt on their following drive after a penalty forced them into fourth and long. The punt was held up by the wind and only netted 7 yards. The Panthers took over at the Smith Center 24 yard line.
Smith Center forced Centralia into a 4th and 12, but Haverkamp completed a pass to Corbin Becker to get them the first down. On fourth and goal at the 2, Haverkamp reached the endzone to put the Panthers in the lead for the first time, 18-14. The Panthers again were unable to convert on the two-point conversion.
With only 55 seconds remaining in the game, the Redmen were unable to get down the field in time, and Centralia secured its state championship.
“We knew it would be a one-possession game, so we just tried to hang on until the end,” Glatczak said. “Once we held them out of the endzone in the third quarter, we knew we had a chance in the fourth and we were able to string some plays together.”
Haverkamp led the Panthers with 117 yards on the ground and 36 yards passing. Trenton Colby ran for 147 yards to lead the Redmen offense.
The game was a rematch of the 2009 Class 2-1A state championship game where Centralia beat Smith Center 20-12 in overtime, ending a 79-game winning streak for the Redmen.
This year, the Panthers stopped a 22-game win streak for the Redmen — who were looking for their third consecutive title, having won state in 2017 and 2018.
This was Centralia’s fourth state title in seven state game appearances, having last won state in 2013. Smith Center was hoping to win their 11th state trophy and become the state title record-holder, but the Redmen were unable to get their offense going in the second half.
Strong defenses prevented either team from scoring until the end of the first quarter. In 13 plays, the Redmen moved the ball 78 yards to reach the endzone. Trenton Colby drove the ball 21 yards on a quarterback keeper to put the Redmen on the board first. Sergio Lambert’s successful PAT kick added another point to make it 7-0.
With a little under two minutes left in the first quarter, Centralia answered in three plays with a touchdown of their own. Haverkamp rushed 40 yards to the end zone as the final seconds on the clock ran out. The Panthers tried for a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful after a false start pushed them back 5 yards. The Redmen led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The offensive momentum slowed in the second quarter, and both teams exchanged possessions twice. With 3:10 left in the half, the Redmen took over at the Panther 38 yard line. Colby pushed the ball to the 5-yard line, but a penalty moved the Redmen back to the 15. Two plays later, Colby rushed 13 yards to score the final touchdown for the Redmen.
With only 52 seconds left in the half, Centralia could not make it down the field in time, leaving the Redmen on top 14-6 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, although they both had the opportunity. The Panthers came close to the endzone on their first drive of the second half when Noah Quigley caught a pass from Haverkamp and broke open to run 40 yards to the endzone.
However, a block in the back overruled the touchdown and moved the ball back to the 32-yard line. A delay of game penalty pushed Centralia back again and forced a turnover on downs.
Early in the fourth quarter, Smith Center’s Jakob Sasse drove the Redmen down the field and inside the red zone, but the team was unable to convert on third and fourth downs. It was the only time the Redmen came close to scoring in the second half.
Both teams finished the season with 12-1 records.