Fort Osage topped by Vianney in Missouri Class 5 football final

Vianney ran, and Fort Osage ran out of answers in the Missouri Class 5 state football championship.

As the game wore on at Faurot Field, home of the Missouri Tigers, the Vianney Golden Griffins relied on the legs of their most explosive player: Notre Dame commit Kyren Williams. The senior had over 300 yards of total offense — more than the entire Fort Osage team.

The Fort Osage Indians (9-5) let a 14-0 lead slip away and lost 28-14. They finished second in the state, their best finish since they won the title in 2015. Fort Osage quarterback Ty Baker, a Missouri state commit, threw for 114 yards and rushed for 40 more.

“It’s a game of momentum,” Fort Osage coach Brock Bult said. “We had it in the first half, capitalized. They got it in the second half. We could never get it back.”

Fort Osage started the season 3-4 before rattling off six wins to reach the state title game.

“A lot of people doubted us, but at practice we kept fighting the whole way through,” senior linebacker Von Young said. “We rolled with what we have. We fought our way all the way over here.”

Neither team had offensive success in the first quarter. Fort Osage posted minus-14 yards of total offense and didn’t have a first down, and Vianney’s only trip into Indians territory ended with an interception.

Baker completed just two passes for 2 yards in the first quarter. He had the chance to play on a Division I field on Saturday, and his opponents made sure to introduce him to the turf. The Griffins sacked the quarterback three times in the opening quarter.

Baker revived his lackluster stat line with a big play early in the second quarter. With two Vianney linemen barreling toward him, Baker sprinted to his right and unleashed an off-balance throw. The ball fell into the arms of D’Muari Franklin for a 39-yard gain.

“It was a broken play from the start,” Baker said. “They had a guy blitz up the middle who came right at me, so I just went outside and my guy kept running across the field. I found him wide open.”

The long pass put the Indians at the 4-yard line, and Young pounded his way into the end zone three plays later. Baker leapt with excitement as he rushed to his sideline.

Vianney began to march down the field after Fort Osage’s touchdown, going 75 yards in 12 plays. Williams collected 59 rushing yards on the drive, and he hurdled a defender on a 16-yard gain. Fortunately for the Indians, the star running back couldn’t hold onto the ball when he fell to the ground on the long run. Giovanni Willis fell on the fumble, giving Fort Osage the ball back at the 7-yard line.

“After that, I really just thought in my mind that if I’m down, the whole team is going to come down,” said Williams, who finished with 289 rushing yards. “So I just thought I had to stay even-keeled, show the team that it’s not over, we’re still in this game.”

Baker took advantage of the turnover. He completed a 46-yard pass, then ran for another 15 yards moments later. Brandon Gregory capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, and Fort Osage trotted to the locker room with a 14-0 halftime lead.

Fort Osage’s first drive of the second half stalled around midfield. The Indians brought the punt unit onto the field instead of going for it on fourth-and-1, and Fort Osage’s long snapper launched the ball over punter Blake Murphy’s head. It bounced to the 2-yard line. With Griffins defenders racing at him, Murphy grabbed the ball, turned around and managed to boot it to the 47-yard line.

The unorthodox punt delayed a Vianney score, but it didn’t stop the Griffins. Williams ran for a first down on fourth-and-6, and Percy Mitchell rushed for a 12-yard touchdown.

“They have two really good backs,” Bult said. “We talked about it all week. Everyone talks about (Williams) but (Mitchell) is just as explosive, just as good. They have a big offensive line, and they keep pounding, and eventually they find creases.”

Vianney’s defense forced a stop, and the Griffins went for it on fourth-and-1. They put the ball in the hands of their most explosive player: Williams. The senior got the first down, and he didn’t stop there. He bursted through a hole and streaked into the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown. Vianney kicker Andrew Copeland missed the extra point, keeping Fort Osage ahead by a point.

The Griffins took the lead on another run-heavy drive. Mitchell scored on a 2-yard run. Fort Osage cornerback Cahleel Smith sustained an injury on the play, and an ambulance came to the field to pick him up. Bult said after the game that he heard Smith will be OK.

“I think that put our team back a little bit,” the coach said. “That’s one thing I never wanted to see as a coach. I’m glad they took the precaution and we had the medical staff here.”

After a delay, the Griffins converted a two-point conversion to make the score 21-14.

When the Indians got the ball back, Baker found a hole and rushed for 21 yards. Fort Osage failed to convert on third-and-5, however, and Bult decided to punt with 7:37 left. Vianney went 90 yards in nine plays, and Mitchell all but sealed the game with a touchdown run.

“(Fort Osage faced) a lot of adversity tonight, throughout the whole season,” Baker said. “I wouldn’t trade these guys for anyone else. Ever.”

As Bult rose from his chair after the postgame interviews, he looked toward the players on his right.

“I love you guys,” he said.

The players hugged their coach, tears fresh on their cheeks and the loss fresh in their minds.

This story was originally published December 1, 2018 at 9:53 PM.