All four of the six-man state semifinals went down to the wire, but May and Blum took first prize when it came to the best game of the weekend. The scoreboard operator was a busy person in this one as the game quickly turned into a basketball-type shootout. Blum already led 30-24 by the end of the first quarter thanks to four touchdowns from Koby Clinkscales, but May running back Kaden Halk responded with three touchdowns of his own in the second quarter to help May bounce back and tie the game at 52 at halftime.
The teams continued to trade scores in rapid succession in the third quarter as four rushing touchdowns by May, three by Halk and another by Isidro Salinas, gave it a 78-72 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Blum, which was looking to get to its second straight state title game, turned the game on its head midway through the fourth quarter.
First, Clinkscales scored again, this time on an eight-yard touchdown run, to give Blum an 80-78 lead with five minutes to go. On the ensuing possession, the Bobcats recovered a May fumble and quickly cashed it into points as Clinkscales found Iven Rawls for a 25-yard score to give Blum an 86-78 with four minutes remaining. May needed all of forty-five seconds of game time to answer as Halk broke off a 48-yard run before Korbin Bass finished the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run to knot the game at 86 thanks to a two-point kick by Kaysen King. After both defenses held strong in the waning moments, the game went to overtime.
Halk wasted no time in the overtime period as he promptly scored on a 25-yard scamper to put May up 92-86. The Tiger defense took over from there, stopping Blum on fourth down to seal a memorable victory in a game to remember.
Final Score: Halk 92 – Blum 86
Clinkscales rushed for 248 yards on the night, but Halk was the man of the hour with 302 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns to propel May to a state title game appearance for the first time since 2014. Its matchup will be a revenge game for the Tigers as they face off with a Sterling City team that defeated them 44-40 all the way back on September 4th.
