Maize South tops Andover Central, wins district championship

For a program that’s only been around for the current decade, Maize South’s football team has shown flashes of old school toughness.

Earlier this season, the Mavericks did it by shutting out their first three opponents and flirted with a fourth against Mulvane.

On Friday, with a chill in the air and a district title on the line, Maize South took down Andover Central with true grit.

The Mavericks forced six turnovers and rode workhorse running back Max Domnick’s 197 yards and three touchdowns to a 23-13 victory at Andover District Stadium, finishing the regular season at 8-1 with a Class 4A-I-District 6 championship.

Maize South will host District 5 runner-up Wellington (5-4) in next Friday’s first round of the playoffs. Andover Central (4-5), which had its three-game winning streak snapped, will travel to Mulvane (6-3) for the opening round after finishing second in the district.

“We get a home game because of this and that’s huge,” said Domnick, who churned his yards on 45 attempts. “It’s always good to get the district title. That feels really good. It was just a good night.”

Domnick fumbled twice in the first half as the teams combined for nine turnovers in the numbing cold. But the Mavericks continued to lean heavily on the 165-pound senior throughout the game after spinning the momentum with some key fumble recoveries of their own.

Maize South trailed 13-7 in the final minute of the first half when Andover Central quarterback Reagan Jones and running back Mitchell Allison failed to connect on a handoff. Maize South’s John Moses recovered the ball at Central’s 3, setting up Domnick’s touchdown plunge three plays later that gave the Mavericks a 14-13 lead just 14 seconds before the break.

“I think that was the turning point of the game,” said Maize South defensive back Jack Wagner, who had one of the Mavericks’ three interceptions. “That really gave us momentum.

“We were really struggling a little bit. We were still getting stops, and then we got that fumble and punched it in.”

When Andover Central fumbled the second-half kickoff, its good vibes from a strong second quarter were gone.

“We were pinned down all of the third quarter, and it’s hard to get out of that sometimes,” Andover Central coach Tom Audley said. “You don’t want to take too many risks, and we might have gotten a little too conservative.”

Jones, who gave Andover Central a 13-7 lead with a 44-yard touchdown pass to fellow sophomore Matt Macy in the second quarter, struggled to connect with receivers in the second half. He misfired on his first nine attempts after the break with one interception and finished 8 of 24 for 109 yards.

Maize South’s defense contributed to the scoring by tackling Allison in the end zone for a safety after punter Korban Trapp pinned the Jaguars at the 1. Maize South receiver Corey Minks returned the ensuing free kick 45 yards to the Central 34, and the Mavericks followed with a huge dose of Domnick.

Domnick carried the ball eight times on a 10-play touchdown march that put Maize South up 23-13. He eventually reached the 200-yard plateau before a 3-yard loss in the fourth quarter left him with 197.

By then, Domnick’s early fumbles were long forgotten, and the Mavericks were on their way to their sixth consecutive victory over Andover Central in as many seasons.

“We know we can’t turn the ball over like that, and that is 100 percent on me,” Domnick said. “It really helped that all my teammates had my back. I definitely kept my head up after that, and we came back really strong.”

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 11:05 PM with the headline "Maize South tops Andover Central, wins district championship."