Brett Emig tries to turn the corner to elude a Southwest tackler.
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Carter Crone wards off Wildcat defender Dagun Bassett.
Wildcat quarterback Mack Anderson could not elude Pattonsburg’s Kaden Koch.
Wildcats advance to state with last gasp, 74-68 victory over Panthers
When the smoke clears from this Saturday’s 8-Man state championship game in Columbia, Northwest Missouri football fans might be wondering if the true state title game took place last Saturday in Ludlow, Missouri.
Southwest/Tina-Avalon/Hale quarterback Mack Anderson ran for 404 yards and 8 touchdowns and threw for 170 yards and 2 more scores, but that was barely enough to turn back Pattonsburg in a 74-68 offensive shootout that wasn’t decided until the final minute of play.
Southwest will play Mound City/Craig at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the University of Missouri’s Faurot Field. Mound City defeated Drexel/Miami, 52-6, last Saturday.
Pattonsburg trailed, 74-60, with less than 2 minutes to play when Steven Willhite connected with Brett Emig on a 60-yard scoring bomb. A Willhite to Patrick Cowley 2-point conversion pass cut the Southwest lead to 74-69. Willhite’s TD pass was his 93rd of the season and set a new national record for most touchdown passes in a single season.
Cowley put his patented rotation on the on-side kickoff and Kaden Koch recovered to give the Panthers a last chance to pull out a victory. The Panthers drove down to the Wildcat 20 yard line, where, with 41 seconds left to play, Southwest’s Ethan Hoerr jumped in front of a Panther receiver to intercept a Willhite pass at the 5 yard line.
With no time outs remaining, the Panthers were forced to watch the Wildcats’ “victory” formation as Anderson took a knee on the final play.
With one game remaining, Anderson has already written his name in the Missouri 8-Man record book by recording 2,978 rushing yards and 62 touchdowns this season. Willhite added to his state records by finishing with 5,424 passing yards and a national high school record 93 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 751 yards and 19 TDs this season. His career touchdown passes, 168, is also a Missouri High School record.
Willhite finished Saturday’s contest with 470 passing yards and 5 passing TDs and 119 yards on the ground with 3 TDs. Patrick Cowley turned in his second straight 200-plus yard receiving game, finishing with 19 catches for 246 yards and 3 scores. Brett Emig caught 11 passes for 162 yards and a TD. Carter Crone also had a receiving touchdown.
Southwest threatened to blow the game open in the first quarter with 3 touchdown runs by Anderson that gave his team a 20-0 early lead. Willhite carried the ball 5 times in a series that ended with his TD run at the 2:34 mark. Dakota Eaton snared the conversion pass.
The Wildcats struck twice more before the end of the opening period on Anderson runs of 20 and 2 yards, upping the lead to 36-8.
The second quarter was tit-for-tat on a busy scoreboard. Willhite tossed to Cowley on an inside screen and the junior receiver dashed 35 yards on the first play of the second quarter. Cowley added the PAT. The Panthers took advantage of a Brett Emig interception to score again on a Willhite to Carter Crone 5 yard pass. Cowley again added the PAT from the wildcat formation, cutting the Southwest lead to 36-24.
Three minutes later, Anderson hit Chase Neptune on a 25 yard scoring route and ran in the 2 point conversion for a 44-24 SWHS lead.
The two teams traded turnovers in the final 3 minutes but the Panthers went into intermission trailing by 20.
The Panthers scored 4 of the next 6 touchdowns and cut their deficit to 60-52 after an Eaton interception and Willhite run to kick off the fourth quarter. A defensive stop of Anderson by Willhite on 4th and 1 turned the ball back to the Panthers but a fumble kept them from a possible game-tying series.
An Anderson TD run at 2:32 was offset by a Willhite to Cowley scoring pass 14 seconds later. Cowley fought for the 2 point conversion that cut the gap to 66-60.
With 2:02 on the clock Anderson kept the ball, just looking for a first down. What he found was an open sideline and 33 yards to paydirt. Pattonsburg’s quick strike offense answered when Willhite got the ball to Emig for a 60 yard scoring reception. Cowley caught the short 2 point conversion pass that gave the Panthers a chance until the game’s final turnover.