On a cold and windy Friday afternoon in Hutchinson, the Class 1A State Title Game was played between Sterling and Rossville. The game was action packed and it came down to the final minute as Sterling was able to knock off Rossville 35-34.

The Black Bears (13-0) scored on their first two drives of the game and led Rossville (11-2) 14-0 in the opening quarter. Wyatt Newberry scored on a five-yard run followed by Zane Farney on a six-yard run.

The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 14-6 towards the end of the first quarter on a two-yard touchdown run from quarterback Canann Mitchell.

Both teams would score touchdowns in the second quarter as Farney busted loose for a 66-yard touchdown run which was followed by a Dawgs score on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Conner Bush.

Sterling would go into the halftime break leading Rossville 21-14.

The third quarter was dominated by Rossville as they outscored the Black Bears 14-0 in that frame to take a 28-21 lead going into the fourth quarter. Andre Johnson had a one-yard touchdown run and Mitchell added another rushing score from two yards out.

Farney scored his third rushing touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard run which tied the game at 28-28.

The ensuing drive for Rossville covered 51 yards in over four minutes with Mitchell scoring again on a four yard run to give the Dawgs the 34-28 lead as Sterling was able to block the extra point.

With 6:30 to go in the game, Sterling got the ball back down six and went 70 yards in 13 plays with quarterback Logan Isaac connecting on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Lewis with under a minute remaining which tied the game at 34-34.

The Black Bears would convert the extra point to take the 35-34 lead. Rossville had all three timeouts and roughly 50 seconds left and would get inside the Black Bears 30-yard line with a chance for a walk-off winner.

However, after an intentional grounding call, the Dawgs would face 4^th-and-33 on their final play which came up short in the final seconds. Sterling got the ball back, took one snap and took a knee and that secured the victory for the Black Bears.  

Sterling rushed for 347 yards led by Farney who finished with 27 carries for 279 yards and three touchdowns. The Black Bears went 5-for-5 on fourth down conversions including two of those being converted on the game winning touchdown drive. Wyatt Newberry added 41 rushing yards and a touchdown for Sterling.

Rossville quarterback Canann Mitchell led the way for the Dawgs as they poured in 420 yards of total offense on 73 plays. Mitchell carried the rock 28 times for 155 yards and three touchdowns while completing 14-of-20 passes for 193 yards and one more score.

Conner Bush had five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 35 yards. Andre Johnson led the Rossville defense finishing with 21 total tackles while Sterling’s defense was led by the 1A leading tackler in Jacob Lewis who finished with 18 total tackles.

It’s Sterling’s second state title in school history with the first one coming back in 1982 which was the last time they were in the title game. Rossville comes up short as they were looking for their first title since 2021 when they captured the 2A title. 

Photo Credit: Sports in Kansas