Kapaun’s defense, Monty spark win over Heights
A goal-line stand has a mixture of brute force and perfect technique. It’s a matter of will mixed with some good fortune.
“Kids have to stay low on the line of scrimmage,” Kapaun Mount Carmel coach Dan Adelhardt said. “You have to do all the right things. There’s luck involved. There’s hard work involved. Kids making plays. It’s a whole host of things. You can’t put your finger on one thing.”
Kapaun used a goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter Friday night to power its way to a 31-21 win over Heights. Kapaun (7-2) won the Class 5A-District 5 title and will play host to Eisenhower. Heights (6-3) will play at Goddard.
“It was huge,” Adelhardt said. “ Just the mojo.”
“The goal-line stand was pure will by the defensive guys,” Kapaun quarterback Brock Monty said. “It was awesome to see.”
The Kapaun defense had made an equally important stop midway through the third quarter after Heights’ Caleb Belin intercepted Monty at the Kapaun 32. Heights turned it over on downs after gaining nine yards.
Kapaun followed with a drive that included a 60-yard pass play from Monty to Colter Hulling, setting up an Alexander Norris touchdown for the 24-14 lead.
Then Heights took more than five minutes off the clock on its drive that ended inside the Kapaun one.
“The coaches told us not to give up, to battle,” Kapaun defensive lineman Jordan Paul said. “Wrap up and tackle.”
Kapaun’s defensive stop was disheartening for Heights, which excels in the run game.
“It’s certainly frustrating as a coach that we had our opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them,” Heights coach Terry Harrison said. “That’s the difference between playoff football and championship football. It’s the difference between winning and losing.”
Heights cut Kapaun’s lead to 24-21 on Rodney Murphy’s third touchdown — but less than two minutes later, Monty hit Ben Hessman for a 65-yard touchdown score and the 10-point lead.
Monty was unaffected by the rain, which was a downpour at times, and was 14-of-17 passing for 302 yards.
Kapaun used eight footballs in an effort to keep them from getting water logged.
“You strive the whole season to be a champion,” Adelhardt said. “You don’t get many nights to be a champion. I relish every win, but tonight is special.”
Heights | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | — | 21 | |
Kapaun | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | — | 31 |
K — Paul 1 run (Williams kick)
H — Murphy 15 run (Urbina kick)
H — Murphy 1 run (Urbina kick)
K — Monty 23 run (Williams kick)
K — Williams 27 FG
K — Norris 4 run (Williams kick)
H — Murphy 1 run (Urbina kick)
K — Hessman 65 pass from Monty (Williams kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Heights, Murphy 24-206, Haskins 6-60, Garner 9-47, Scott 2-8, Dingman 1-0, Brown 4-(-8). Kapaun, Monty 18-98, Channel 6-30, Norris 10-24, Paul 3-7, Medina 2-7.
Passing — Heights, Haskins 0-1-0-0, Murphy 0-1-0-0. Kapaun, Monty 14-17-302-2.
Receiving — Heights, none. Kapaun, Hullings 3-99, Channel 4-70, Hessman 1-65, Tomblin 3-40, Norris 2-20, Shank 1-8.
This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 7:52 AM with the headline "Kapaun’s defense, Monty spark win over Heights."