On the 100th anniversary of Tiger Football, Jude Archer carried the Tigers to their eighth state title Thursday, gashing Rock Port time after time after all hope seemed lost early in the third quarter. It looked like the Blue Jays had the game under control after they went up by two possessions. But then Archer, who had stepped up as a running back after Cole Ruby only saw limited action during the playoffs (stress fracture, hip) had his best game yet as a Tiger and finally recovered a squib kick to seal it after Worth County had gone up two scores at 56-46 late in the fourth. Worth County was able to run out the clock to secure the win. Archer ran 13 times for 152 yards for the Tigers. Defensively, Archer was not one of the leaders in tackles for the Tigers, but his defensive role was just as important; he held up his lineman despite giving up a lot of size and kept Rock Port from getting the kind of pushes they had thrived on all year.
The title was the eighth for Worth County and the first that they had won after dropping a regular season game, to Rock Port in the first game of the year. Jon Adwell has established himself as one of the most difficult coaches in the area to beat twice in a year. His Tigers beat Platte Valley in 2023 and 2024 after losing to them in the regular season, Albany last year, and now Rock Port. The Tigers completed a revenge tour, beating North Shelby, who beat them last year and celebrated on Worth County's home turf, and Archie, who had beaten the Tigers in the State Title game from 2023.
Before the game, Corey McDonald, a referee from Mound City, was recognized for 25 years of officiating football. The Worth County runner-up team of 2005 was recognized along with Mound City, which won it 42-0 to kick off a six-year run for the Panthers in which the only team that could beat them during that stretch was the Tigers. The Worth County band performed the National Anthem before the game. The championship also marked the 100th year of MSHSAA.
The scoreboard showing the highlights of the Worth County and Mound City game from 2005 looked like it was going to jinx the Tigers at first. It was played in the same stadium, at Missouri Western, in the same bitterly cold conditions. Thursday's game started off with the same script as 2005 as Worth County got a promising drive going only to see it evaporate. A swing pass to Jude Archer picked up 32 yards to the Rock Port 20 to start the game. But then the devastating pass rush duo of Gabriel Gebhards and Ryder Herron dropped Hayden Sanders for a sack to derail the drive.
The game continued to follow the script from 2005 as Rock Port took it right down the field and scored. They had two basic plays they ran. Their main play was to run the ball with Brock Sebek-Holmes, who could crash through defenses at will; he was the leading rusher in the state with 2,778 yards coming into Thursday's game. Their second play was passing it from Westyn Amthor to Jack Meyerkorth, one of the fastest players in the state, and who could win most jump ball situations if the ball was thrown in his area. They had a few other plays in their back pocket, but those were the two they ran with all night. Worth County knew what the play was going to be, and they still couldn't stop Sebek-Holmes, who carried the ball down the field to the tune of 55 yards and finally scored with 4:07 left in the first quarter to put Rock Port up 6-0.
Similarly, in 2005, Mound City had used a fumble return to kill a drive after Worth County got in the red zone. But the spell was broken there. Back in 2005, Mound City proceeded to hold Worth County to 81 total yards and pull away for the win. But after Archer was stuffed in the backfield, Hayden Sanders broke loose for 32 yards and carried it to the Rock Port 28. Brayden Stevens picked up five more to the 23. Worth County was faced with third and six at the 24, only for Cole Ruby to rip off 10 yards to the 14. With that carry, Ruby went over the 1,500-yard mark. The Rush family has had a long tradition of running backs who have run hard over the years, with Wyatt Rush running for over 1,500 yards in 2013 and Cole's stepdad, Jason Rush running for 2,000 in 2001 during Worth County's state title run that year. Jason Rush also shares the single-game record for most carries in a game with Kyler Hiatt with 45 carries.
Lucas Frisch scored from 14 yards out on a quick hitter and Hayden Sanders ran in the extra points with 1:59 left in the first to make it 8-6.
But Worth County had trouble buying a stop all night. They seemingly had Rock Port stopped on their next drive and Amthor was under a heavy rush on third and 13 at their own 29. But Amthor dumped it off to Sebek-Holmes, who serves as his safety valve if Meyerkorth is not open, and he took off and found nothing but green grass ahead of him for an apparent 51-yard score. But the play was called back to the Rock Port 39 due to a block in the back. It didn't matter as Amthor ran a surprise keeper for the first down to the Tiger 36. They had Rock Port backed up third and 13 at the 28, only for Holmes to crash through for 17 to the 11. They put in Meyerkorth at quarterback for a change of pace, and on third and eight at the 9, he broke free and scored with 5:19 left in the half to put Rock Port in front 12-8.
With Rock Port getting the ball to start the second half, Worth County tried to take as much time off the clock as possible to leave them with as little time as possible to score on two straight possessions. Jude Archer converted a fourth and two at the Tiger 33 to give Worth County a fresh set of downs. On the next play, Hayden Sanders picked up a five-yard carry to the 40. With that carry, Hayden Sanders went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. They got Ryder Herron blocked on the next play and Cole Ruby picked up nine more to the 31. Cole Ruby converted a third and three to the 20. Finally, with 19 seconds left, Hayden Sanders aired it out to Caleb New in the back of the end zone for a strike to put Worth County back up 14-12.
But it turned out to be enough time for Rock Port to strike back at the end of the half and get the ball back to start the second half. The tackling, which had been an issue for Worth County in its first game against Rock Port, came back to bite them at the worst possible time after Rock Port got the ball at its own 32 with 11 seconds left in the half. Amthor threw a short pass to Meyerkorth, and he broke two tackles and took it to the house as time expired in the first half to put Rock Port up 18-14.
That meant that Rock Port could score again to start the second half without Worth County touching the ball. Worth County shanked the kickoff and Rock Port had a golden opportunity at the Tiger 31. Sebek-Holmes picked up two to the 29 and then Amthor aired it out to Meyerkorth in the left corner of the end zone. Brayden Stevens was draped all over him, but Meyerkorth came up with it anyway for a score, and Sebek-Holmes added the extra points to make it 26-14.
But just as it looked like all hope was lost for the Tigers, they switched to the Wildkat look with Jude Archer behind center, and he took it straight down Broadway and to the house from 59 yards out to make it a game again with 10:54 left in the third. Caleb New caught the extra point pass to make it 26-22.
Rock Port started at its own 30, and Sebek-Holmes ripped off eight more before an apparent fumble forced by Ethan Lininger and recovered by Bo Collins would have given Worth County a golden opportunity. The PA announcer said that Worth County had recovered. But then the line judge from the Rock Port side of the field came racing in to rule that Rock Port had recovered it, and the Blue Jays kept the ball. Seemingly demoralized by that turn of events, the Tigers gave up a long run to Sebek-Holmes for 42 yards and a Rock Port touchdown that made it 32-22 again. But once again, Jude Archer came through when all hope seemed to be lost for the Tigers. This time, as Rock Port was playing him to crash through the middle, he bounced outside, got a block from Hayden Sanders, and was off to the races again, this time from 53 yards out to make it 32-28.
But once again, Worth County knew what the plays were going to be, either a run to Sebek-Holmes or a pass to Meyerkorth, and once again, they couldn't stop it. Sebek-Holmes got several tough runs, while Meyerkorth caught passes of 6 and 14 yards from Amthor. Finally, Sebek-Holmes took it in from three yards out to put Rock Port up 38-28. At that point, it seemed like one of Pattonsburg's games from last year, where the Panthers would play everyone tough, but could not buy a stop when they needed to.
There was a heartstopping moment for the Tigers when Brayden Stevens fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but he recovered it and took it to the 31. Jude Archer ran the Wildkat for seven more yards to the 38, but Rock Port was starting to catch on to it. At that point, Worth County went back almost 100 years in time to run a version of the Notre Dame Shift. The Notre Dame Shift was an offense popularized by Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, who would have all four of his backs shift positions, which confused and befuddled defenses and led to the rule prohibiting the illegal shift. But there is no rule against players in the backfield shifting, or any number of players for that matter, as long as they get set for one second prior to the snap and as long as it is a legal formation.
The success of such tactics varies with the personnel. Knute Rockne was one of the most respected coaches of his time, and he had four of the best backs in the country at one point. One of his assistants, Frank Carideo, tried to replicate it at Missouri from 1932 to 1934, but didn't have the personnel to do it with and went 2-23-2 before he was replaced by Don Faurot, who built up the program to new heights for the next 20 years.
But, returning to the high school level, Worth County had the personnel to do it with. Bo Collins, whose dad coached Stanberry successfully for many years, would line up at his end position, read the defense, and direct traffic so that sometimes, Worth County was in the Wildkat formation with Jude Archer, Hayden Sanders or Brayden Stevens, and sometimes, they were in a normal formation with Sanders as the quarterback. For not having done it all year, they worked well together and only had one mixup which resulted in a penalty.
Sanders picked up four to the Rock Port 38, and then, there was a heartstopping moment when Jude Archer at the end of a 15-yard run, apparently fumbled it away. But the officials ruled that the ground caused the fumble, giving the Tigers the ball at the 23. MSHSAA now uses instant replay in the state championship games, and the play went to replay review. But the call was confirmed, and the Tigers dodged another bullet. With Worth County facing third and four at the 18, Hayden Sanders came under a heavy rush from Ryder Herron but got it away to Brayden Stevens for a swing pass which went down to the five. Lucas Frisch got a block from Ryder Smyser and took a quick hitter to the house to make it 38-34 with 3:57 left.
There was still the matter of trying to stop Rock Port, which Worth County had not done all night. But Jordan Dannar hit Jack Meyerkorth hard with a one-on-one tackle on the ensuing kickoff, something that is not easy to do, and pinned Rock Port at their own 12. But then the wheels started to come off Rock Port's ship. First, a false start put Rock Port behind the sticks after they had gotten a first down to the 25. Then, Worth County finally got the stop they were looking for as Rock Port fumbled it and Sawyer Thurman recovered at the Rock Port 22. Rock Port had made a living out of taking the ball away from other teams while only turning it over six times all year. But this one was costly. It only took the Tigers one play to take advantage. Brayden Stevens, celebrating his birthday that day, got the biggest run of his life when he bounced outside, got a block from Hayden Sanders, and took it to the house with 2:05 left in the third to put Worth County in front. Bo Collins caught the extra point pass to make it 42-38.
Worth County still needed another stop as Rock Port could take the lead with another drive. But Sebek-Holmes ran into Bo Collins twice, and Rock Port was faced with fourth and four at their own 21. They went for it deep in their own territory and Amthor dropped back to pass. His pass was batted in the air, only for Meyerkorth, his intended receiver, to catch the carom. But he was tackled inches short of the first down and Worth County had another short field to work with at the Rock Port 25.
Jude Archer ran into a brick wall as Ryder Herron brought him down, but Hayden Sanders scrambled to the 16. A swing pass to Brayden Stevens picked up 14 more to the two. Sanders tried to sneak but was tackled inches short of the goal line. Finally, Jude Archer leaped into the end zone and Lucas Frisch caught the extra point pass to make it a two-possession game at 50-38.
Worth County had Rock Port backed up third and 14 from its 26, but Meyerkorth caught a pass for a first down at the 40, and a late hit put it on the 25. Worth County tried to make a stand and forced a fourth and three after Brayden Stevens finally won a battle against Meyerkorth and broke up a pass. But Sebek-Holmes, who was winded in the third quarter after putting Rock Port up two scores, found his second wind and took it 17 yards to the house. Rock Port reached into its playbook and Amthor threw a strike to Camden McEnaney to make it 50-46 with 6:11 left.
The one mixup on its shifting formation resulted in a penalty which could have been costly for Worth County, as they were backed up second and 14 at their own 11. But Jude Archer picked up six yards to the 17 and then Worth County pulled out a perfectly executed screen pass to Caleb New, which covered 10 yards to the 27 and a first down. Lucas Frisch got a quick hitter to the 34, Jude Archer picked up six more to the 40, and then Brayden Stevens took a sweep down to the 25. Hayden Sanders took an option to the 20. At that point, with 2:27 left, Rock Port started using its timeouts; if they were to stop Worth County, they had already shown the ability to score from anywhere, and two minutes is an eternity in eight-man football. Hayden Sanders picked up nine to the 11 and then two more to the nine with 2:13 left. By that time, Rock Port had burned all its timeouts. On their next play, they sold out to stop the run, only for Hayden Sanders to throw a strike to Caleb New all alone in the end zone with nobody within 10 yards of him to make it 56-46. Bo Collins was just as wide open on the play.
There was still hope for Rock Port if they could strike quickly and get the onsides kick, but they never got that chance. Lucas Frisch placed a squib kick perfectly near the sideline at the Rock Port 20, and Jude Archer outran everyone to pounce on it, allowing Worth County to kneel out the clock.
The game was the last game for seniors Wyatt Hill, Brayden Combs, Brayden Stevens, Lucas Frisch, and Brayden Murphy. This was Rock Port's first run to a state title game since 1990, when they were still playing 11-man. Rock Port will lose 270-pound monster Ryder Herron along with their best tackler, Tayden Cook, but will bring back Meyerkorth, Sebek-Holmes, and Amthor for another run next year.
