Bulldogs 49-14 over Warrensburg - On to Semifinals

Thunder rolled and lightning flashed in the Missouri Class 4, state quarterfinal playoff round in Warrensburg. The Kearney Bulldog senior running back combination of Tristan Williams and Corbin Emmons combined for 263 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a decisive 49-14 win over the 11-2 Warrensburg Tigers.

Kearney set the tone early, scoring first on a 2-yard Grant Noland run behind a dominating Bulldog offensive line. Jacob Dillon’s point-after kick was perfect for a 7-0 lead.

Corbin Emmons had 96 yards rushing and made two touchdowns for the Bulldogs Friday night.

Warrensburg entered the contest with a 7-game win streak, three of which were playoff wins. Their high-flying offense behind senior quarterback Kobe Westphal struck quickly on a 78-yard pass and run to sophomore ZJ Graham. The point-after kick evened the game at 7-7.

Kearney quarterback Carter Temple ran 11 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter which was set up by a Tre Smith 12-yard, end-around carry. Temple came back immediately with a 2-yard carry for touchdown early in the second quarter giving Kearney a 21-7 lead. Temple would go on to run the ball 12 times for 62 rushing yards.

Warrensburg answered with a Westphal to AJ Smith 22-yard catch and run for touchdown. The Bulldogs came right back with a Tristan Williams 3-yard dash to the endzone to take a 28-14 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs scored on a Grant Noland 1-yard dive with their opening possession in the third quarter. Corbin Emmons tacked on another 1-yard touchdown. The score was 42-14 and Kearney’s defense took to the field with a mission: Hold Warrensburg scoreless in the second half.

“Boys, this is a weight-room game,” said Head Coach Logan Minnick. “I told our kids at halftime, we may not put a receiver on the field the rest of this game,” he continued. “I told our defense, ‘they (Warrensburg) do not score again,’ the defense bought into that, and we got the result we wanted.”

Senior middle linebacker Theo Grace had three tackles, one assist, and three sacks. Grant Noland ran downhill from the safety position recording one tackle, eight assists, a sack, and one tackle for loss.

And so, it continues. Kearney defensive coordinator Marcus Brinkley schemed it perfectly. Kearney’s defense stalled the Warrensburg air show. The Tigers dropped like bricks when they were pressured up the middle or chased down from the edges by the likes of Mason Beaver, Isaac Beaver, Clayton Cowan, Aiden Arellano, Kale Tucking, Tyler Maynard, Theo Grace, Grant Noland, or linebacker/kicker Jacob Dillon, who picked off a pass from a zone coverage that completely frustrated the high-flying Tigers on a potential scoring drive. Mason Beaver even picked off a pass of his own.

Eight sacks, two tackles for loss, and two interceptions; not a bad day at the office by any measure. Corbin Emmons ran 6 yards for the final 49-14 win. Jacob Dillon was perfect on point-after kicks and the Kearney Bulldogs boarded the “yellow dogs” – Coach Minnick’s version of the standard issue school bus – and headed back to Kearney.

By the time any of the players on those buses reads this, they will have moved on to prepare for their next mission; one that requires the utmost urgency. The Lutheran North Crusaders are coming to Kearney for the Missouri Class 4 state semifinal. The winner moves on to the Missouri Class 4 state high school championship game.

Coach Minnick expects his team to play their best football every game; to be stronger, faster, smarter, and tougher with each consecutive contest. This game might perhaps require a mightier effort than the final championship game. We won’t know. Not until we get there. And it won’t be on the “yellow dogs”. It’ll be on a luxury coach.

The Bulldog Radio Network will carry the live broadcast of the semifinal game beginning at 12:40pm on Saturday, November 30, at 1:00pm. Pregame starts at 12:40.

KPGZ News – Mike Davis contributed to this story.

Bulldogs Clinch District Title Over Savannah

For the second straight year, the Kearney Bulldogs are Class 4 District 8 champions. Kearney ran the ball 29 times for 277 yards in a 34-7 district championship win over the Savannah Savages.

Senior Grant Noland scored on a second-quarter 14-yard pass reception from Carter Temple, and a 42-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. He also led the Kearney defense with six solo tackles, four assists, and two tackles for loss.

The Kearney Bulldog defense held Savannah quarterback Aiden Knechtenhofer to only 73 yards passing until a late fourth quarter, 67-yard pass and run to Max Howe for the Savages’ only score. Kearney’s defense slammed the door on any hope of a meaningful Savannah running attack, holding the Savages to only 54 total rushing yards, 41 of which were Knechtenhofer scrambles.

Corbin Emmons dashes in the endzone for a bulldog touchdown. Photo by Eric Stevens.

“Anytime our defense is playing the way they’ve been playing, it doesn't take a ton of points to get to where we need to be,” said Head Coach Logan Minnick.

Bulldog dual-threat quarterback, Carter Temple was 8 of 13 for 85 yards passing and one touchdown. Temple led the Bulldogs in rushing with 95 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Tristan Williams had 66 yards and a touchdown, Noland had 58 yards on 3 carries and a touchdown, and Corbin Emmons rushed for 49 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.

“Coming into this game, we knew Savannah was pretty physical,” said Kearney senior lineman, Nyk Belabre. “We had to be just as physical up front. Our running backs ran hard, and Carter had some great plays.”

“The big guys up front have been good all year and had a great night,” said Minnick. “We challenged them all week. That is a very good defense over there.”

Kearney forced two Savannah turnovers in the first half of play: A Trent Dostal pass interception; and a blocked punt by Jacob Dillon recovered by Conner Reid. Kearney’s offense capitalized on both, scoring 14 points in the second quarter.

Kearney punted the ball once. The defense had six tackles for loss and a sack against a prolific offense led by a talented, athletic quarterback in Aiden Knechtenhofer. The Bulldogs would score three final touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the 34-7 win over Savannah, a team that averaged 34.5 points per game this season.

“You know as we talk about our goals for the year and putting banners up in the gym, this is banner number two this year,” said Minnick. “You win the conference, you win the district and now, we're going to try to make a run at this thing.”

Kearney will face the Warrensburg Tigers in Warrensburg for the state quarterfinal game on Friday, November 22 at 7:00 pm. The Bulldog Radio Network will carry the live broadcast. Pregame begins at 6:40.

Mike Davis contributed to this story.

Bulldogs Overpower Van Horn 49-7

Kearney scored three touchdowns in the first half and four touchdowns in the second half in the Missouri Class 4 District 8 semifinal game. For the seventh time this season, the Bulldog defense held their opponent to one score or less.

Despite their 21-0 lead, the first half of play was uninspiring for the 10-0, defending state champion, Kearney Bulldogs.

Uncharacteristic mistakes, penalties and missed opportunities prompted Head Coach Logan Minnick to call an early timeout and refocus his team on the sideline. “At least offensively, it felt like we extended the bye week into the second quarter,” said Minnick.

“I don’t think we were mentally locked in,” said junior quarterback Brad Doll. “I don’t think everyone was taking (Van Horn) seriously and that’s a great football team over there.”

Emmons had 98 yards rushing for 3 touchdowns on Friday against Van Horn. Photo by Eric Stevens.

Within minutes from the start of the contest, Corbin Emmons scored on a 1-yard touchdown carry. Grant Noland darted 28 yards at the 5:07 mark giving the Bulldogs a 14-point lead. Jacob Dillon was 2-for-2 on the point-after kicks.

With less than a minute to go in the second quarter, Brad Doll tossed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Trent Dostal on a third-and-12 play. Jacob Dillon’s PAT gave the Bulldogs a 21-0 halftime advantage.

“We told our kids – loudly – at times, we didn’t feel like we played our best half,” said Minnick. “We (the first team varsity) hadn’t played into a second half in almost a month. We knocked off a little rust there. We have several things we can clean up. There’s plenty to fix. At this point of the season, you can’t have a bad half. But we’ll take all the bad ‘21-to zero’ halves we can get,” Minnick added.

Sophomore cornerback Aiden Arellano intercepted a pass in the end zone, derailing a sustained Van Horn offensive drive in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Bulldogs’ offensive line and running game went into high gear on a 21-yard touchdown run by sophomore Kale Tucking. Three minutes later, Corbin Emmons scored on a 1-yard carry, giving Kearney a 42-0 third quarter lead. Dillon and Angelo Donze were on target with the point-after kicks.

Early in the fourth quarter, Van Horn sophomore running back Edarrius Scruggs sliced through the Kearney second-team defense 60 yards for the Falcons’ only score. Kearney Bulldog senior all-purpose player, Grant Noland topped off the victory with a 48-yard rushing touchdown. Donze’s point after kick was good for the 49-7 win.

“Van Horn has beaten seven other teams. They’ve got some really good players over there; they’re well coached,” said Minnick. “Give them some credit too for their game plan. We made some really good second-half adjustments. We came out and said, ‘we’re going to be the most physical football team out here,’ and I think that showed in the second half.”

The Bulldogs host Savannah for the district title next Friday, November 15. KPGZ 102.7FM will provide the live, play-by-play broadcast. Pregame starts at 6:40.

Mike Davis contributed to this story.