Worth County had shown a lot of improvement from their first game of the season, but Archie turned out to be the real deal, beating the Tigers 40-26 Thursday in the state title game. Archie had allowed just 26 points in the regular season all year, and they showed why Thursday. They were masters as stopping the run, holding Worth County to 75 yards. They were also masters of taking the ball away, having picked off Braymer’s prize quarterback in the semifinal five times in the first half and forcing four Tiger turnovers Thursday. And Briar McIntire turned out to be the real deal, running for 227 yards and throwing for another 83.
For the Tigers, history repeated itself, as they have never won a state title after losing a game in the regular season. All of their seven titles followed undefeated seasons.
Worth County dug itself into a 22-0 hole that they could not get out of. Archie threatened to run away with the game like they had with so many other teams, raising it to 40-14 at one point. Then, Worth County nearly made a game of it, cutting it to 40-26 early in the fourth quarter. But they ran out of time and could not complete the comeback.
The first drive for the Tigers set the tone for the whole game. They got the ball first and a 39 yard pass from Tyler New to Grant McIntyre got the ball on the Archie 10. Two rushes from Tyler New got to the three, but then Worth County had a bad snap and he was sacked on third down and Worth County gave up the ball on downs at the Archie 16. On Archie’s first play from scrimmage, there went Briar McIntire 64 yards to the house with 8:01 left in the first quarter. Kaden Sutton ran in the extra points to put the Whirlwinds up 8-0.
The game threatened to snowball from there. Tyler New completed a 32 yard pass to Landon Wilmes to the Archie 33, and then ripped off a 10 yard run to the 23. But at the end of the run, he fumbled it and Archie recovered it at the 22.
Four straight runs from Archie went from the 22 to the Tiger 32. From there, Briar McIntire completed a long pass to Brock Smith for the rest of the way with 4:54 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0.
Worth County got the ball at their own 26 and used three straight running plays to get to their own 35, where they were fourth and one. But Brayde Daniels and Briar McIntire tackled Tyler New for no gain to give the Whirlwinds the ball on downs in Tiger territory. But Worth County finally held off Archie as Tyler New tackled Kaden Sutton for a loss of two to put them behind the chains. McIntire only got two yards next play, and two incomplete passes allowed Worth County to dodge the bullet.
But the respite was only temporary as Kaden Sutton picked off Tyler New at the Archie 38 and ran it back to the Tiger 23. Worth County nearly had Archie stopped on fourth and six at the 19, but McIntire passed his way out of trouble to Kaden Sutton for 18 yards to the one as time expired in the first quarter. On Archie’s first play of the second quarter, McIntire ran it in with 11:58 left. Tristan Leeper threw a strike to Kaden Sutton to make it 22-0.
Worth County started at their own 29 and were faced with fourth and one at their own 38. This time, they converted it as Tyler New got two yards to the 40. A 27 yard pass from Tyler New to Lucas Frisch put the ball on the 18 as they overcame a Delay of Game penalty. McIntire tackled Landon Wilmes for a three yard loss to put Worth County behind the sticks at the 21, but the Tigers rescued a fourth and 13 as Tyler New threw a strike to Bo Collins from the 21 to cut Archie’s lead to 22-6.
But Kale Snook ran back the ensuing kickoff to the Tiger 37 to kill any momentum that the Tigers might have had. Briar McIntire ran for 12 yards before Bo Collins forced a fumble. But Tom Janssen recovered it at the Tiger 25 and the drive continued. On the next play, McIntire took it the rest of the way to the house with 7:40 left to make it 28-6.
The game threatened to snowball from there as Archie forced a three and out and Tyler New’s punt was shanked, and Tristan Leeper ran it back to the Tiger 25. McIntyre ran for 5, 7, and 5 yards down to the eight before Bo Collins tackled Kaden Sutton for a loss of three. An incomplete pass set up fourth and eight at the Tiger 11, and McIntire’s pass to Kaden Sutton was not enough, as Grant McIntyre tackled Sutton short of the first down at the 9.
Tyler New was driven all the way back to the four on Worth County’s first play, but New threw a pass to Grant McIntyre for 10 and Bo Collins for 6 to get out of the hole to the 20. New then threw a 38 yard strike to Grant McIntyre to the Archie 22. New then threw a 22 yard strike to McIntyre for a touchdown with 1:59 left to cut their deficit down to 28-14 after Tyler New passed it to Bo Collins for the extra points.
But that was plenty of time for Archie to answer after they started on their own 29. McIntire rushed for 7 and 5 to get the ball into Tiger territory, then threw a strike to Tom Janssen to the 17. They were faced with third and 10 at the Tiger 17 with 16 seconds left, but then McIntire had a backbreaking play when he ran it in from there with eight seconds to spare to make it 34-14 at the half.
The bad thing about that sequence was that Archie had the ball to start the second half. They started at their own 26, and Archie marched down the field with McIntire carrying the load. He converted a six yard rush to the 40 on a third and two, and then converted a one yard run on fourth and one to the Tiger 30. Finally, on third and two at the 22, McIntire rushed it 22 yards to the house with 7:20 left to make it 40-14.
Worth County started at their own 15 and got a first down to the 27 after Tyler New converted a third and six with an eight yard run. But they stalled there and were forced to punt. This time, Tyler New had a good kick and it was downed at the Archie 7. Archie tried to keep it on the ground and converted a fourth and one at their own 16 to the 21, but on the next play, Kaden Sutton fumbled it and Kolten Smith recovered it for Worth County at the Archie 20. That was the break they needed as they only needed one play as Tyler New took it to the house with 1:53 left to cut their deficit to 40-20.
Then, Archie gambled on fourth and two at their own 25. They had converted all their fourth downs to that point, but this time, Elias Alarcon and Tyler New dropped McIntyre for a loss back to the 24. With a short field to work with, Tyler New rushed it for 7 and then 2 yards to the 17 as the third quarter clock expired. On fourth and one at the 15, Tyler New converted it with a two yard run to the 13, and then threw a strike to Grant McIntyre to make it 40-26 with 11:19 left, still plenty of time.
Worth County had a golden opportunity to draw closer after Lucas Frisch forced a Kaden Sutton fumble and Landon Wilmes recovered it at the Tiger 29. A pass interference penalty put it on the Archie 36, and Grant McIntyre caught an 11 yard pass to the 25. But the turnover bug came back to bite the Tigers as Tyler New threw a pick to Kaden Sutton at the Archie 3 to kill the drive. It was the third time Worth County had stalled deep in Whirlwind territory.
Archie was faced with third and 12 at their own 1, but then they tried some trickery and Kaden Sutton completed a halfback pass to Briar McIntire for 29 yards to the Archie 30 to get out of trouble. At some point in the second half, McIntire injured his hand and had trouble gripping the ball, but it didn’t matter, since their game plan revolved around their line play. From there, they fed Sutton at will as they marched all the way down to the Tiger 20, taking 6:09 off the clock. Finally, Tyler New tackled Sutton one yard short of the first down at the 18 to give them the ball back with 4:42 left.
Worth County got as far as the Archie 37, but then picked up a false start and then Tyler New threw a pick to Sutton at the 10. Two first downs later, Archie was able to kneel out the clock.
For Worth County, Tyler New had 19 carries for 62 yards. Landon Wilmes had 5 carries for 13 yards.
Tyler New completed 16 passes in 31 attempts for 233 yards. Grant McIntyre had 6 catches for 133 yards. Bo Collins had 4 catches for 41 yards, Landon Wilmes 3 catches for 32 yards, Lucas Frisch 2 catches for 27 yards, and Carter Chapman 1 catch for 0 yards.
For Worth County, Tyler New did all he could to hold off the Whirlwinds, getting 23 tackles for the night. Lucas Frisch had 11, Brayden Stevens 9, Bo Collins 8, Landon Wilmes 6, Elias Alarcon 4, Ethan Lininger 3, Grant McIntyre 3, and Kolten Smith 2. Tyler New had 3½ tackles for loss. Bo Collins had 3, and Lucas Frisch, Elias Alarcon, and Kolten Smith all had ½. Lucas Frisch and Bo Collins each forced a fumble. Landon Wilmes and Kolten Smith each had a fumble recovery.
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