Worth County clinched its seventh state football title by dismantling Sacred Heart 64-21 Saturday as they finally returned to the pinnacle of Eight Man Football after six years in the wilderness. It was their first title in the post-Borey era. Tevin Cameron had 33 carries for 257 yards, which was enough to put him over the 2,000 yard plateau; he has taken the Eight Man Rushing Title. It was the eighth title for Northeast Nodaway; they have six girls basketball championships to go with two titles as part of Worth County’s football cooperative.
For Coach Chris Healy, he has been on the sideline for all seven of Worth County’s titles. He was there in 1995 as a manager, for 1998, 2000, and 2001 as a player, for 2007 and 2011 as an assistant, and now for 2017 as a head coach.
Sacred Heart had never been seriously challenged and only one opponent, Greenfield, had gone the distance against them in the second week of the season. They were in only their third year as a football franchise. Yet here they were on the brink of football’s Olympus. It looked like nothing would change for the Gremlins as quarterback Trenton Lyles stiffarmed his way out of a third and long to the 30 for a first down and then aired it out to 6’5” Micah Tanguay for 50 yards for a strike. An extra point was called back to the 18 by an illegal chop block, only for Lyles to air it out again to Tanguay to make it 8-0 just 49 seconds into the game.
Tevin Cameron had a nice runback to the Gremlin 33 and picked up nine on his first carry to the 24, but then Ryan McClellan was driven back two yards as the blocking broke down and Tevin Cameron was stopped for no gain as Worth County gave up the ball on downs.
Everything seemed to be going from bad to worse at that point. What had been touted as a beautiful day was instead nasty and rainy, with the wind howling out of the north. Sacred Heart had rarely been stopped all year, meaning that the only way for teams to beat them was to score and keep scoring. That was how Worth County had beaten Miami of Amoret in 2001.
Sacred Heart got the ball with a chance to go up two possessions, but then Mason Hawk and Isaac Alarcon dropped Lyles as he tried to pass. Tanguay caught a screen pass, but was dropped by Isaac Alarcon on the 20. A false start drove the Gremlins back to the 15, and Lyles’ scramble was short of the first down at the 28. That stop gave Worth County the confidence it needed that they could be stopped.
The next drive by Worth County gave them the confidence they needed and helped them realize they could move the ball on them. The ensuing punt was shanked by Sacred Heart, giving Worth County good field position at its own 37. Tevin Cameron ripped off 12 to the 28, then Ryan McClellan’s keeper picked up nine to the 17. Isaac Alarcon took a direct snap, a play they hadn’t used since the early part of the year, and took it 14 yards down to the 3. Another one put him in the end zone with 5:28 left to make it 8-6.
A squib kick bounced around and stayed inbounds somehow and Sacred Heart was buried at its own 11. The long field didn’t matter as they rescued a fourth and two at their own 19 as Lyles threw a pass to Tanguay at the 31 for a first down. On third and four at the 37, Lyles burst through a hole and was off to the races, putting his team up 15-6 with 2:55 left.
But then, Cameron got another long runback on the kickoff and a horsecollar on the Gremlins was the only thing keeping him from a touchdown as the ball was placed on the Gremlin 13. Cameron took a spread draw to the house on the first play and then knocked his own teammate, Caleb Parman, out of the way to get in for the extra points to make it 15-14 with 2:41 left.
Sacred Heart was pinned at their own 15 by a long kickoff into the end zone, and an attempt at a screen pass backfired horribly as nobody was in the vicinity but Ryan McClellan, whose pick-six permanently swung the momentum in Worth County’s favor with 2:34 left. Tevin Cameron dove into the end zone for the extra points and all of a sudden, Worth County was on top at 22-15. Ryan McClellan had blown up a similar play by South/Nodaway-Holt at the beginning of the year with a pick-six and picked a perfect time to get another one. For Lyles, it was the first pick he had thrown all year after completing 75% of his passes, throwing 44 touchdowns, and getting over 1,900 yards.
Faced with third and five at their own 20, Lyles aired it out to Tanguay for another first down to the Tiger 37. But faced with third and four at the 31, Mason Hawk came in for a sack on a play action pass that fooled nobody and Lyles’ short pass to Nicholas Cashman was stopped inches short at the 27 as Worth County took over on downs. Worth County could not score either. Tevin Cameron got loose for 22 as Bryant McCord’s crackback block set him free. On fourth and six at the Sacred Heart 22, Ryan McClellan got loose for an apparent touchdown, getting a block from Drake Kinsella, only for it to be called back to the 16 by a holding penalty. It was good enough to get a first down, but two plays later, a bad snap was covered by the red shirts.
A long punt pinned Worth County at their own 8, and there was a heartstopping moment as a keeper from Ryan McClellan around the end on fourth and one at their own 17 fooled nobody and a swarm of red shirts dropped him at the 12. Two cracks by the Gremlins netted four yards to the 8, then Lyles came under a heavy rush by Mason Hawk. It was ruled a forward pass as the ball came out and squirted out of bounds and then called intentional grounding, putting the ball on the 25 for fourth and 23. Lyles aired it out to Nicholas Cashman, who was apparently open at the 5, but then Bryant McCord closed out hard on him and broke it up to give Worth County the ball back on downs.
Penalties were a killer for Sacred Heart, as they were flagged 17 times for 166 yards. There were a lot of penalties in the game; Worth County was flagged 11 times for 98 yards.
Worth County was faced with third and 8 at its own 27, but then Caleb Parman got loose on a reverse, something that they hadn’t done all year. This was the kind of team Coach Chris Healy had put on the field all year, always forcing teams to defend something they hadn’t practiced against. He would have gotten in for a touchdown, but it was called back to the 12 by a block in the back. It didn’t matter as two carries by Tevin put the ball on the 3 and he did the rest, getting blocks from Mason the Hawk and Isaac Alarcon with 3:29 left to make it 28-15.
An onsides kick attempt fooled nobody and the Tigers were flagged for hitting someone in the 10 yard area between the kicking tee and the wall of Gremlin players, putting the ball on the Tiger 27. But once again, Worth County made a stand as a chop block penalty and a holding, which wiped out a first down run, forced fourth and 20 at the Tiger 37. Mason Hawk stopped Lyles’ spread draw attempt after two yards and Worth County started moving the ball down the field with time winding out. Tevin Cameron’s power sweep put the ball on the 25 with 1:10 left and the Tigers were faced with third and six at the 21 with 35 seconds left. From there, Tevin Cameron aired it out to Caleb Parman with 19 seconds left for a score and Worth County was up 34-15.
It looked like Sacred Heart would get the momentum right back after Nicholas Cashman ran back Worth County’s squib kick to the Tiger 37. With two seconds left, Lyles aired it out to Cashman, who caught the score despite double coverage and Teagan Trammell’s extra point kick made it 34-21 at the half.
But penalties were a killer all day for Sacred Heart and two costly ones led to Worth County’s next score. First a rare defensive block in the back penalty put the ball on the 40. Then, a pass interference call put the ball on the 17 for another first down. Finally, with third and seven at the 14, Worth County faked the power sweep with Tevin Cameron as he took off the other way and took it to the house with 8:39 left in the third. He cut through a big hole up the middle to make it 42-21.
From there, Sacred Heart tightened up and made some strong defensive stands during the next phase. Sacred Heart went three and out on its next series, but Worth County got a false start and went three and out as well. On its next series, Isaac Alarcon took a busted play and rumbled 29 yards into Gremlin territory at the 22, but a holding penalty stopped Worth County and Ryan McClellan’s scramble attempt on fourth down was stopped at the 27.
On its next series, Sacred Heart got stopped on fourth and five at its own 33. But instead of kicking it, they tried with one shot to get back into the game. They aired it out to Micah Tanguay, isolated on Bryant McCord. Trenton Lyles had the arm and the range to get it down the field, but McCord outjumped Tanguay despite giving up six inches and broke it up, giving Worth County the ball back on downs.
It looked like Worth County would get nowhere as they got driven back by two false starts and a holding penalty. They were faced with third and 32 at their own 26, so they elected to have Tevin Cameron run the spread draw and see what he could do. He wove through traffic and all of a sudden broke into the clear for a back-breaking score with 10:29 left to make it 48-21. At this point, all the hard work in the weight room paid off as Worth County had Sacred Heart’s number for the rest of the game.
Frustration set in after Jaxon Anderson got a hard tackle on the kickoff and a late hit buried the Gremlins on their own 4. Once again they tried to air it out to the 6’5” Tanguay and once again, the 5’11” McCord was there to tip it away at the last minute as it sailed harmlessly through Tanguay’s hands. Worth County only needed one play to score this time as Tevin Cameron took off down the right side and shot through everyone for another score from 49 yards out with 9:21 left. Ryan McClellan’s pass to Isaac Alarcon made it 56-21.
Nicholas Cashman’s catch and run went for 21 yards and got to the Tiger 29, but then a holding set Sacred Heart back to its own 30. Nicholas Cashman’s 15 yard catch and run put the ball on the Tiger 36, but then Ryan McClellan got his second pick of the afternoon and returned it to the 40. Worth County was faced with fourth and seven at the Gremlin 26, but then Ryan McClellan found Bryant McCord open and he weaved and juked his way to the 9 for a first down. A delay of game penalty set the Tigers back to the 14, but then Tevin Cameron followed blocking back Devan Jackson into the end zone with 3:04 left. Ryan McClellan’s pass to Bryant McCord made it 64-21 and both teams ran out the clock.
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