Make it 6 for Miege: Stags cruise past Andover Central, claim another Kansas 4A crown
Juniors ruled the day as Bishop Miege added to its burgeoning trophy case with a sixth straight Kansas Class 4A football championship at Topeka’s Hummer Sports Complex Stadium.
The Stags (11-2) led Andover Central 49-0 at halftime en route to a 68-7 victory Saturday over the Jaguars (11-2). Their six straight titles ties only Hutchinson for the most in Kansas high school football history. Coach Jon Holmes said six straight carries a lot of pride for him, especially because he is a graduate of Miege.
“Each year, it feels like the expectation gets a little bit higher,” Holmes said. “We come into the playoffs, and we’ve got the target on our back every week, and our guys have got to perform at a high level every week.”
Another lopsided title game spurred fan accusations on social media that Miege recruits its players, recommendations the Stags get bumped up to Class 5A and requests that the state activities association change its rules governing the private school from Roeland Park.
Holmes said he talks with his players throughout the season about blocking out such noise.
“We tell our players, ‘At the end of the day, it’s our job to show up and play a game, and if people are upset about the way we’re playing, that means we’re doing something right on the field,’“ Holmes said.
Miege controlled Saturday’s game from the outset.
Junior Carson Key returned the opening kickoff for an 99-yard touchdown, and fellow 11th-grader Timothy Dorsey connected with yet another junior — receiver Phillippe Wesley — for six more points not long after.
Dorsey also hit junior tight end Mack Moeller for a 21-yard score to close out the first quarter, then found Wesley for two more scores through the air and ran in a quarterback keeper after the Stags got the ball back on an interception by junior Jack Kincaid.
A senior got into the box score for the Stags’ first touchdown of the third quarter, with running back Brison Cobbins plowing across the goal line from 3 yards out. West’s fourth TD reception from Dorsey (but a missed extra-point kick) made it 62-0 before the fourth quarter began.
In all, Dorsey accounted for seven touchdowns Saturday. Backup QB Joseph Lopez hit Daniel Jackson for the final one of the afternoon.
After a scoreless fourth quarter, the Stags’ celebration began.
The Stags have now beaten Andover Central twice, plus Topeka Hayden, Buhler, Andale and Goddard, during their remarkable string of a half-dozen consecutive state championships.
Holmes said on the bus ride home, some of the underclassmen were already asking when the quest for a record-breaking seventh straight title begins. Holmes said that although the titles are great (and seven straight is the goal), Bishop Miege’s focus has shifted away from football.
“Our job as a coach is to try to develop these young men, and that can be a challenge at times with some of these guys,” Holmes said. “We try to make sure when they leave our program they’re going to be somebody that’s going to be successful.”
Saturday’s other Kansas finals
CLASS 6A: Derby 63, Olathe North 26 — At Emporia State’s Welch Stadium, the Panthers collected their fifth state championship in six seasons. Olathe North had fought its way back to the Kansas big-school final for the first time since 2010.
CLASS 5A: Mill Valley 40, Wichita Northwest 31 — At Pitt State’s Carnie Smith Stadium, Mill Valley and Northwest played the game of the day. A late field goal put the back-and-forth contest out of reach as the Jaguars of Shawnee won their third state championship in as many appearances in the state-title game — all in the last five years under coach Joel Applebee.
CLASS 3A: Andale 35, Perry-LeCompton 7 — At Hutchinson Community College, Andale left no doubt with a lopsided, wire-to-wire victory over Perry-Lecompton.
CLASS 2A: Nemaha Central 19, Norton Community 0 — At Salina’s District Stadium, Nemaha Central claimed its first state championship in school history.
CLASS 1A: Centralia 18, Smith Center 14 — At Fort Hays State’s Lewis Field, Kamble Haverkamp scored three times as Central rolled to its fourth state crown.
EIGHT-PLAYER DIV. I: Canton-Galva 66, St. Francis 36 — At Newton’s Fischer Field, Canton-Galva prevailed in a battle of unbeatens to finish a perfect 13-0. The 8-player Division II game was played later Saturday in Newton.
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 3:47 PM.