One to go; Scott City heads to Halstead with state title game on the line

Halstead, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–One spot is left for next Saturday’s Class 3A State Champinship game in Hutchinson, as Scott City makes the trek to Halstead to face the Dragons in a Sub-State title game at 2:30 Saturday afternoon at Hess Field.

Scott City is 12-0 for the second time in three seasons, as they dominated the Wichita Collegiate Spartans 26-6 last Saturday at Darner Field in frigid conditions. The Beavers started out up 26-0 before the Spartans scored late in the game when the outcome was decided. Scott City rolled up over 400 yards of offense, including 260 on the ground. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 46-7 through the first 12 games. Cooper Griffith has rushed for over 1,100 yards and 17 touchdowns, and Wyatt Kropp is just over 1,000 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns for the year to lead the Beavers ground attack, while quarterback Trey O’Neil has passed for almost 1,700 yards with 21 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Griffith also leads the defense with 131 tackles on the season, and O’Neil leads the secondary with seven interceptions.

Halstead has now won five straight, after hammering the Minneapolis Lions 66-14 last Friday night in Minneapolis. They scored 30 first quarter points, and led 66-0 at the break. After losing their opening district game to Kingman 30-8, they have scored at least 50 points in three of their last five wins. Halstead averages almost 370 of their 400 yards of offense on the ground, led by a pair of juniors. Tailback Blake Beckett is eight yards shy of 2,000 yards with 24 touchdowns, while quarterback Eli McKee has rushed for just over 1,300 yards with 20 rushing touchdowns, while passing for 345 yards and six touchdowns and three interceptions for the Dragons. 

Saturday’s winner will face Rossville, who scored with 2:15 left on an 85-yard touchdown run to defeat rival Silver Lake 21-14 Friday night. The Bulldogs are 12-0 on the season, as they dethroned the defending state champions, and will make their first appearance in the state championship game since 1992.

Halstead is in their fourth all-time sub-state championship game, and the first since 1980. They are 0-3 in sub-state games. Scott City is in their 10th sub-state title game, and the third straight game. 

Kickoff in Halstead is at 2:30, with a 2 pm pregame on Mix 94 and online at https://www.westernkansasnews.com/mix94/. You can also listen on your Android or Apple device using TuneIn Radio or the KSKL app.