Rossville stuns Hesston in overtime

In small groups, red-eyed Hesston players and staff filed out Saturday of the locker room at Gowans Stadium, stunned at what had just happened.

The Swathers had leads of 13 and 15 points over two-time defending Class 3A champion Rossville, only to see the Bulldogs rally and force overtime.

The Bulldogs used the experience of their two state titles to pull out a 48-42 victory and their third straight 3A crown. The victory was Rossville’s ninth straight and snapped a nine-game Hesston winning streak.

The overtime began promising for Hesston, which got the ball first at the 10-yard line.

Senior quarterback Zach Esau, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 238 more and two more scores, carried the ball to the 6, and sophomore Parker Roth, who had a team-leading 135 rushing yards, took it to the 2.

On third down, Esau headed toward the goal line, but Rossville’s Sheldon Hulbert jarred the ball loose and teammate Jordan Johnston recovered.

Rossville had four downs from the 10, but needed one play to get the victory. Quarterback Jacob Bradshaw swept left and beat the Swather defenders to the end zone.

And just like that, it was over.

Hesston coach Clint Rider said the fumble at the goal line was deflating.

“It’s tough to pick yourself back up from that, knowing they’re going to get the ball and you’ve got four downs to stop them,” he said. “It’s tough to turn yourself around and get that.

“We knew it was a do-or-die situation, and it was going to be tough.”

Bradshaw rushed for 275 yards on 40 carries and two touchdowns. Fellow senior Dawson Hammes gained 108 on 16 carries and also scored twice.

Hesston’s Roth ran wild in the first half, gaining 117 of his rushing yards by halftime and scoring on runs of 7 and 27 yards.

“He played incredible,” Rider said. “Our whole offense played really, really well. To put up 42 points in a state-title game, you’ve got to feel good about that.”

The Swathers had a 20-7 lead after one quarter and were still ahead 20-13 at the half.

But the Rossville defense stiffened in the second half.

“We knew they’d come right back,” Rider said. “We knew they’d come right back, they’re a real good team, they’re well-coached, they’re going to make adjustments.

“We knew they’d come back, and we’d have to make more adjustments, and we did, and they just made a few more plays down the stretch.”

After surrendering a 61-yard scoring pass from Esau to Zach Vogt on Hesston’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, Rossville did give up a couple more scores, but yielded just 90 second-half rushing yards.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (13-1) turned in very effective offensive drives, and finally caught the Swathers (10-4) at 35-35 with 6:50 to play.

Esau scored on a 2-yard run to push the Hesston advantage to 42-35, but Rossville needed just 2:03 to forge a 42-42 tie and even had a chance to win in regulation. But Frederik Andresen’s 43-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

The back-and-forth nature was troubling, Rider said.

“We knew that their offense was really good,” he said. “We knew Bradshaw was a really good player and would be tough to stop, and he was. They made some really good plays down the stretch.”

Hesston’s only 3A football championship came in 1992, a 3-0 triumph over Rossville. Saturday’s game was quite different, Rider said.

“It was just as close, but there were a few more points scored,” he said. “It’s just one of those things when you have two good teams. We knew that their offense was really good, and we knew Bradshaw was a really good player and would be tough to stop, and he was.

“They just made some really good plays down the stretch.”

A winded Bradshaw was glad he was finished carrying the ball.

“I’m physically exhausted right now,” Bradshaw said. “I know everyone on our side and their side gave 100 percent. That was the toughest game we’ve had all year, and I’m sure they’d say the same about us.

Coach Derick Hammes said he knew he’d look to Bradshaw.

“He was going to get a couple of cracks down there at the end, because we know what kind of playmaker he is,” Hammes said.

Troy 28, Plainville 24 — Brody Winder caught five passes for 207 yards, including a key 82-yard touchdown play near the end of the third quarter, that helped Troy win the Class 2-1A championship in Hays.

Winder also caught a 61-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter that gave Troy (13-0) the lead. Troy quarterback Reid Greaser completed 14 of 21 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns.

Plainville (12-1) was led by Hayden Friend’s 109 rushing yards on 13 carries. He also had a 69-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Rossville stuns Hesston in overtime."