Bulldogs Advance to District Championship

The 10-0 Kearney Bulldogs sloshed through four quarters of rain, amassing 452 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in a 63-22 Class 4, District 8 win over the Excelsior Springs Tigers.

Bulldog junior running back, Cameron Emmons set a new Kearney High School record of 12.6 yards per carry in a single game (with a minimum of 10 attempts). The previous record of 12.5 yards per carry was established in 2015 by Logan Hinck.

Bulldog Head Coach Logan Minnick spoke prophetic about the weather on The Coach Minnick Show on Thursday. “They always talk about rain being the great equalizer. With Excelsior being a team that only throws the ball three or four times a game, I don’t think the rain is going to bother them at all. With that being said, we have a pretty good rushing attack ourselves, so it may be one of those games where there may not be a ball in the air.”

Bulldog defense crashing Excelsior Springs running lanes in the 4th quarter of a 63-22 win over the Tigers.

Indeed, total passing yards for Excelsior Springs: Zero; for Kearney: Zero. Fumbles, mis-snaps, and other slippery, rain-soaked miscues forced both teams into an old-school, smash-mouth running game. Excelsior Springs rushed for 236 yards which is not uncommon for the ground-pounding, Tiger offense. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the physical dominance of the Kearney Bulldog defense.

Excelsior Springs quarterback Chance Moreland did his best to put his team on his back, running for 151 yards on 26 carries and a third quarter touchdown. Tigers running back Rakai Gant scored on a 31-yard run in the second quarter. A Kearney Bulldog turnover in the fourth quarter was scooped for a 31-yard touchdown return by Andrew Deornelis.

Meanwhile, the Kearney Bulldogs handed the football to 11 different ball carriers, with Cameron Emmons leading the way in rushing yardage with 177 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns; Zach Grace ran for three touchdowns, Danny Petree had two scores, and Tristan Williams ran for two more touchdowns.

All eyes will be on the dramatic rematch for the district championship between Kearney and defending state champion, Smithville. The undefeated Bulldogs host the Warriors Friday night, November 11 at 7:00pm, by virtue of Kearney’s 20-19 victory over Smithville on September 9.  

KPGZ Sports – Mike Davis contributed to this story.