Kearney Bulldogs beat Hillsboro Hawks for 5th Missouri football title in school history

Kearney trounced Hillsboro 68-28 for the state championship in Missouri Class 4 high school football in Saturday’s Class 4 Show-Me Bowl at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.

The Bulldogs’ point total was just one off the Show-Me Bowl record set in 2012 by Lamar, which beat Blair Oaks 69-41.

By the time senior running back Cameron Emmons scored his second touchdown of the day on the University of Missouri campus, Kearney (13-2) owned a 34-14 lead that it would take into intermission and protect during the second half.

Kearney was relentless Saturday, scoring on all but one of its first eight drives to lead 47-28 through three quarters.

KHS capitalized on turnovers created by its defense. After an interception by the Bulldogs, Manny Linthacum’s third touchdown of the day made it 61-28 midway through the final period. Kearney forced a Hillsboro fumble and scored again soon after, this time courtesy of an 11-yard run by Cohen Jacobs, and it was 68-28.

This is the fifth state championship for the Kearney football program and first for Bulldogs head coach Logan Minnick. Saturday’s game marked the sixth appearance in the state finale for KHS; Hillsboro (12-2) was making its first state-title game appearance.

Kearney previously captured championships in 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2015. The Bulldogs last played in the state-title game in 2016, losing 21-14 to Harrisonville. Greg Jones, who led KHS to the 2009 and 2015 crowns, is now the defensive coordinator at Central Missouri.

The Bulldogs reached this year’s state championship game by beating Jefferson City 42-7 in last weekend’s semifinals. Emmons scored two first-half touchdowns in that game, too.

Emmons, who scored again in the third quarter Saturday, was a finalist for this year’s Fontana Award, presented by the Thomas A. Simone Foundation to the KC area’s top player in Classes 1-4. The award went to St. Pius X sophomore quarterback Hudson Bailey this past week.

The overall Simone Award winner will be unveiled Wednesday. Finalists are BV Southwest QB Dylan Dunn; Lee’s Summit North QB Elijah Leonard; Liberty North WR/DE Jayshawn Ross; and Grain Valley RB Ty Williams.

The Class 6 Show-Me Bowl, pitting Liberty North against Christian Brothers College, was still to come Saturday. Kickoff was set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, after the Class 2 finale between Lamar and Valle Catholic at 3 p.m.

Missouri football state championships

CLASS 6

Quarterfinals

Christian Bros. College 35, Jackson 23

Liberty North 38, Oak Park 7

Rockhurst 38, Nixa 14

De Smet Jesuit 23, Columbia Rock Bridge 16

Semifinals

Liberty North 28, Rockhurst 27, OT

CBC 31, De Smet 28

State-title game, Saturday at Faurot Field

Liberty North vs. CBC, 7 p.m.

CLASS 5

Quarterfinals

Webb City 49, Grain Valley 35

Cardinal Ritter 68, Ft. Zumwalt North 14

Central (Cape Girardeau) 32, Eureka 29

Republic 28, Helias Catholic 21

Semifinals

Cardinal Ritter 52, Central 22

Republic 21, Webb City 20

State-title game, Friday at Faurot Field

Cardinal Ritter 38, Republic 25

CLASS 4

Quarterfinals

Hillsboro 48, Pacific 35

Lutheran North 70, Hannibal 61

Kearney 35, Nevada 0

Jefferson City 31, McDonald County 28

Semifinals

Kearney 42, Jefferson City 7

Hillsboro 34, Lutheran North 12

State-title game, Saturday at Faurot Field

Kearney 68, Hillsboro 28

CLASS 3

Quarterfinals

Seneca 56, Ava 8

Blair Oaks 47, Westminster Christian Academy 29

St. Pius X 42, Odessa 7

Central (Park Hills) 50, St. Francis Borgia 28

Semifinals

Seneca 41, St. Pius X 17

Central (Park Hills) 48, Blair Oaks 43

State-title game, Friday at Faurot Field

Central (Park Hills) 48, Seneca 34

CLASS 2

Quarterfinals

Bowling Green 50, East Buchanan 22

Lamar 41, Lafayette County 7

Valle Catholic 47, Lift for Life Academy Charter 14

Fair Grove 27, Father Tolton Regional Catholic 13

Semifinals

Lamar 47, Bowling Green 16

Valle Catholic 51, Fair Grove 26

State-title game, Saturday at Faurot Field

Lamar vs. Valle Catholic, 3 p.m.

CLASS 1

Quarterfinals

Milan 13, Penney 12

North Platte 42, Windsor 6

St. Vincent 45, Crystal City 14

Marionville 17, Portageville 14

Semifinals

Marionville 38, St. Vincent 7

North Platte 54, Milan 34

State-title game, Friday at Faurot Field

Marionville 29, North Platte 0

EIGHT-MAN

Quarterfinals

South Holt 60, Plattsburg 58

Archie 82, Lockwood with Golden City 42

Braymer with Breckenridge 84, St. Paul Lutheran 51

Worth County w/NE Nodaway 70, Schuyler County 16

Semifinals

Worth County w/NE Nodaway 40, South Holt 14

Archie 88, Braymer with Breckenridge 20

State-title game, Thursday at Faurot Field

Archie 40, Worth Co./NE Nodaway 26

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