Holton 32, Frontenac 28

It took a minor miracle, but in one of the biggest comebacks in Holton football history, the Wildcats rallied from a 21-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off #1 ranked and undefeated Frontenac to win their 13th consecutive home playoff game and advance to Sub-State.  Not only did only did Holton trailed 21-0, but they had a mere 67 yards of total offense in the first half, and was stopped inside the 10-yard-line to deflate their first possession of the second half. Yet, the Wildcat defense stepped up and forced a pair of Frontenac punts near midfield, and Holton created a couple breaks to ignite a fire and unbeleivable momentum swing with 32 points (four touchdowns and all four two-point-conversions) that carried them to the Sectional playoff victory.

It started when Spencer Baum broke a 44-yard touchdown run to make it 21-8 early in the fourth quarter.  Holton then recovered on onside kick and Tyler Price scored three plays later on a four-yard-run.  The Raiders fumbled their next offensive play and Holton went 32 yards for another TD run by Baum, which capped a 23-0 run in a span of 2:26 of the fourth quarter.  Frontenac responded with a seven-play, 67-yard-drive to retake a 28-24 advantage with 6:16 left in the game; however in typical Holton fashion, the Wildcats marched the ball for the game winning score.  A drive that will not be forgotten for Holton lasted 21 plays and went 84 yards while taking 5:57 off the clock and resulted in a Price one-yard touchdown with only :13 remaining.  The Wildcats used both their timeouts and converted four times on third down and once on fourth in that final drive to seal the upset win. 

Frontenac ripped the ball away from Baum after a long Holton pass play on their opening drive and Isaac Bicknell returned it 85 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring.  The Raiders added a pair of second quarter scores as Austin Madl scored on a five-yard run and Brandon Mlekus found Dylan Flora on a seven-yard TD pass with :26 left before halftime to make it 21-0.  The takeaway was the 23rd of the year for the Frontenac defense, and their third quarter fumble by Mlekus was just their sixth turnover all season.  Mlekus ran for 124 yards on 20 carries and completed 8 of 12 passes for 146 yards, while Madl added 55 yards rushing and two scores before the Raiders closed their fifth straight playoff season 10-1 with another loss in the Sectional round. 

After just 9 carries for 17 yards in the first half, Baum exploded in the second half behind a powerful offensive line that moved Parker Zeller back to center and brought in sophomore Rafe Folk at tacke.  "It was a great team win, "Zeller said.  "I'm really proud of everyone on this team."  Baum finished with 184 yards of 26 carries with two scores and a conversion to earn Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha "Player to Bank On" honors.  Miles McClintock-Stozier added 69 yards on 19 carries and a pair of conversions, while Price had 63 yards on 17 totes and scores twice in the final period while adding a conversion.  Holton only had one penalty on the night and finished with 346 yards rushing, while Frontenac totaled 343 yards of total offense.  Senior stallwarts, Brandon Lehnherr and Tel Wittmer helped lead the second half turnover with their play and leadership in the trenches to earn Co-"Lineman of the Game" honors from the Denison State Banks.  Dylan Aeschliman again paced the Wildcats in tackles as the Cats had the play the second half without their second-leading stopper when AJ Haussler went out with a head injury.  "It was really crazy, we all had decided at halftime we werent going to be done yet, we still have more left in us," Aeschliman said.  "We have always trusted Barta and he is just always right, even when we were down he kept us focused and up and we knew we could get execute and get the win."      

Not sure how many folks gave Holton much of a chance going into the fourth quarter, but Coach Brooks Barta certainly believed and improved his playoff record to 48-15 at Holton, without a home playoff loss since 2007.  "Once the momentum got going, I think we wore them down a little bit," Barta said.  "This team has come so far and I think this week in practice, we had the most fun we've had all year because they found out how good it feels to work at something and get better and it showed up.  I'm so happy for them because these guys showed grit and deserve this win.  When you prepare and do things right, sooner or later, good things are going to happen."   The Wildcats (7-4) now get a home rematch against Hayden in Sub-State on Friday, as Hayden smoked Girard 40-12 and took advantage of four Holton turnovers to beat the Wildcats 47-32 in week eight earlier this season.