Lined up in the victory formation, Mid-Buchanan (12-1) junior quarterback Javan Noyes, received the final snap of the Missouri Class 1 quarterfinal and took a knee, securing the Dragons 35-8 victory over South Harrison (11-2) and punching their ticket to the semifinals for the second year in a row.
There was no massive celebration by the players, a few hugs and high fives were the extent of their celebration. Instead this team's demeanor, an extension of their head coach Aaron Fritz, was all business.
A year ago the Dragons were just enjoying the ride of an unexpected semi final appearance. This year, considered one of the favorites in Class 1 from the beginning of the season, the Dragons are determined to finish the job.
Achieving that job, a State Championship, is something Coach Fritz stressed to his team after the game, there was still a lot of work to be done in order to accomplish.
“This win meant everything for us and this game allows us to continue our path to where we want to be,” Fritz said. “We have something that is still eating at us and we’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity to be together, as a family, for another week.”
A week removed from an all out war that came down to the wire against fellow KCI Conference member Hamilton, the Dragons took the lead early against South Harrison and never looked back.
On their second possession of the game, Noyes busted a 40-yard run up the middle of the Bulldogs defense giving Mid-Buchanan an early 7-0 lead.
The Dragons next score came early in the second quarter when junior T.J. Runyan scored on a 27-yard touchdown run. Aiding his touchdown run one play earlier, was a bruising run from Brayden Burleson, a run that had Dragon defensive coordinator Jake Rumpf hopping down the sideline in excitement.
Noyes picked up his second of three rushing touchdowns on a one yard quarterback keeper before the first half came to a close.
In the third quarter, Noyes got the scoring started with a four yard touchdown run before fellow junior Kaden Anderson scored the Dragons final touchdown on the day with a three yard run.
Entering the contest it was South Harrison who was known for a dominant running game, but in this game Mid-Buchanan flexed its muscles on both sides of the ball when it came to the running game.
“Our effort up front stocks out the most,” Fritz said. “We were severely undersized but our kids continued to battle, drive their feet, get off of the football and play to the whistle. I’m so dang proud of those guys up front.”
T.J. Runyan led the team in rushing with 96 yards on nine carries with one touchdown. Noyes ended the game with 56 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns and Burleson carried the ball five times for 40 yards. The Dragons rushing performance pushed the team past 3,000 rushing yards for the season, a major accomplishment for a spread offense.
In the passing game Noyes completed 12 of 19 passes for 124 yards with one touchdown. His leading receivers were senior Christian Scaggs with seven catches for 61 yards and junior Drew Russell with one catch for 32 yards.
Defensively the Dragons were able to keep a dangerous South Harrison running game in check for the majority of the contest. The Bulldogs only score came late in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.
“Our defense has played so dang hard all season, and today was no different,” Fritz said. “We had eleven hats to the ball a lot and we tackled well. That’s a very good group of backs that South Harrison had (three different 1,000 yard rushers) and we did a great job of keeping them contained and eliminating the big play from them. Very proud of our defensive effort.”
The Dragons leading tacklers were Brayden Burleson with 12 and Christian Scaggs with 10.
Up next for Mid-Buchanan will be a road contest in the Missouri Class 1 Semifinals when they travel to play Valley Catholic (12-1) next Saturday, November 30.
“We worked for a little bit tonight and looked at Valle. They have a ton of weapons and spread it out and will sling it all over the field. They are going to present a lot of challenges for us on both sides of the football,” Fritz said.
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