The Ark City High School football team poses with the Kansas Class 4A runner-up trophy. (Photo courtesy Ark City Athletics)
HUTCHINSON — By and large, the Ark City High School football team held its own against St. James Academy in the Kansas Class 4A State Championship Friday afternoon in Hutchinson.
It was LaJames White — the Thunder’s senior running back who transferred to St. James Academy this year from KC Piper, a public school — who was too much for the Bulldogs in the 56-34 loss.
White ran for 264 yards and five touchdowns on just 22 carries. He also nabbed an interception.
The Bulldogs, who made history being the first team to make the state championship game with a 2-6 regular season record, ended it’s magical postseason run as the runner-up in 4A.
There was no shortage of offense in the contest.
Both teams combined for 903 total yards. St. James totaled 486 and Ark City amassed 417.
Ark City sophomore quarterback Gabe Welch threw for a game-high 285 yards and started the day 13-of-13 passing. Overall, Welch was 30-of-39 and threw two touchdown passes, had one interception and also ran for two scores.
Running back Wyatt Bahm, another sophomore for the Bulldogs, rushed for 65 yards on 14 carries and ran for a touchdown.
Junior Lucas Barnes caught five passes for 107 yards and touchdown — including a 43 yard pass from Clark in the Bulldogs’ first position that set up Bahm’s touchdown run.
Senior Haden O’Toole caught the game’s final touchdown — a deep pass from Welch of 49 yards.
Ark City sophomore receiver and kicker Cadon Clark hauled in 11 passes and totaled 64 yards.
Ark City took two leads in the first half.
The Bulldogs led 7-6 after Clark’s PAT following Bahm’s 2-yard touchdown run with 8:39 left in the first and took the lead again 14-13 after Welch’s 3-yard touchdown run and Clark’s PAT to start the second quarter.
The Bulldogs seemed to be well in control of the contest after Thunder senior quarterback Dakota Burritt was intercepted by Ark City junior linebacker Rhett Lathers on 2nd-and-10 at the Bulldogs 28-yard line.
Lathers returned the interception 17 yards to midfield and the Bulldogs were driving and made it all the way to the St. James 33-yard line.
Facing a 4th-and-2, Ark City went for it and it appeared Bahm was close for the first down, but was determined short by officials, even though no measurement was taken and there was a brief moment of confusion between officials on the spot.
Regardless, on the next play White took the ball to the right and seemed to be stopped for a loss with nowhere to go before he abruptly changed direction, turned the corner and ran 67 yards for a touchdown.
The Thunder defense forced a fumble when it pressured Welch on the next offensive series for the Bulldogs on 3rd-and-19 and the loose ball was recovered at the Ark City 14-yard line.
St. James took advantage of the short distance and scored four plays later with a 1-yard touchdown run by Burritt.
On the first play of the next possession for the Bulldogs, the Thunder defense forced another fumble on a 2-yard completion to senior Haden O’Toole near the sideline at the Ark City 22.
White scored on the next play with a 22-yard run and just like that, St. James had a 35-14 lead with 3:06 left before halftime.
The Bulldogs answered before the break with another touchdown run by Welch over the goal line with exactly one minute left before halftime to go into intermission behind 35-21, but Ark City, who received to start the third quarter, couldn’t score again to make it a one-score game out of the locker room.
Facing 4th-and-7 on the opening possession of the second half at the Thunder 41, Welch was intercepted by White at the St. James 26.
The Thunder and Bulldogs traded punts and the score remained 35-21 until White again dazzled with an 83-yard run on first down to extend St. James’ lead 42-21 with 1:54 left in the third quarter.
Ark City added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth, but so did St. James.
The Bulldogs were kept in the rearview mirror and the Thunder won their first state championship title in their first state championship game appearance in school history.
