With three and a half minutes to go on Thursday morning at AT&T Stadium, it looked like the 2A Division II State Title Game was going to go down to the wire with Stratford up 33-27 and Falls City in possession of the football.
Stratford had other ideas.
After Stratford freshman linebacker Bryce Braden recovered a Falls City fumble on a botched handoff, Elk quarterback Cody Rinne connected with Dru Jones down the seam for a 32-yard touchdown on fourth-and-ten to put the Elks up by 12 with 90 seconds left.
However, when he threw it, Rinne wasn’t so sure he’d struck gold.
“I thought it was picked at first, honestly,” Rinne said. “I saw Dru kind of had a step, so I just threw it up and he did the rest. I thought it was picked but then I saw him get it, so I was excited.”
Jones then came up with an interception as Falls City looked for a miracle on its final drive, securing a 39-27 victory for the Elks (15-1) and their first state title since 2008.
Jones and Rinne combined to give Falls City’s defense fits all game long. Jones finished with nine catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns along with 87 rushing yards on 14 carries. Rinne, meanwhile, took home Offensive MVP honors after throwing for 282 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 70 yards and another score.
For Rinne, the connection was simple.
“He was just running good routes,” Rinne said. “[I] was throwing on time. Just playing catch with each other.”
Falls City had attempted just 94 passes all year long, but the Beavers increasingly had to turn to the passing game to move the ball against a stout Stratford defensive front. Beaver quarterback Luke Shaffer threw for a season-high 201 yards on 13 attempts, and Falls City head coach Mark Kirchhoff believed that performance kept his team in the game.
“[Stratford] just did a great job of playing and keeping us off balance on their d-line and forced us into some negative plays,” Kirchhoff said. “But we threw the ball well enough to stay in the game. That gave us a chance and gave us a lead at half and then brought us back to pretty much an even ball game heading into the fourth quarter.”
The Falls City passing attack shined from the very first drive of the game as Shaffer connected with Jaxson Pipes for the opening score on a 27-yard touchdown on a jump ball.
Stratford answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive finished off by a three-yard touchdown run by Zane Burr. Pipes found himself back in the spotlight on the ensuing kickoff as he faked a reverse before returning it 85 yards to the house to put Falls City back up by seven.
Falls City got big plays from all three phases in the first half. After the return touchdown, its defense rose to the occasion, stuffing Stratford quarterback Cody Rinne at the one-yard line on a fourth-and-goal play.
Stratford got a second chance to open its fourth-and-goal playbook on its next drive and had better success as Burr scored another three-yard touchdown with two minutes left in the half. However, a touchdown by Shaffer on a quarterback sneak with just six seconds left in the half gave Falls City a 21-13 halftime lead.
Up by eight, Falls City expected to receive the second half kickoff, but Stratford had other ideas. The Elks decided to go with an onside kick and recovered it, a call that Stratford head coach Matt Lovorn confirmed afterwards was pre-planned.
“That’s exactly what we needed,” Lovorn said. “We got the momentum coming out of halftime. And what a change. Special teams ended up being a big factor in this game and that was a big part of it.”
After Stratford recovered the onside kick, Anastacio Ibarra, a senior tight end and defensive lineman for the Elks, said he had full confidence his team was going to go on to win.
“Honestly, I just believe it was a God thing,” Ibarra said of his team recovering the onside kick. “After that, I just knew we had it in the bag.”
That bold decision paid off handsomely as Mauricio Duran scored on a five-yard reverse nine plays later to cut Falls City’s lead to 21-19.
And Stratford led soon after as Rinne finished the next drive off on a one-yard quarterback keeper. He showed off his repertoire with Jones on that 94-yard drive, connecting with him for gains of 39 and 36 yards and the two-point conversion.
In response, the Beavers turned to the air yet again as Shaffer slung a pass to Grant Jendrusch for a 52-yard touchdown, but the extra point was blocked to keep the game even at 27.
Stratford responded by driving 75 yards on 10 plays as Rinne connected with Jones for a 14-yard touchdown that put Stratford up by six and set up the thrilling ending and their late-game heroics.
Even though his team fell short on Thursday, Kirchhoff believed this year’s 14-2 team in his second year back at Falls City set the foundation for his program moving forward. And although the Beavers will need to replace 17 seniors, Kirchhoff believes his younger players were given a great example by their leadership all year long.
“We feel like we’ve got our program established,” Kirchhoff said. I’m getting old, but I’m not done yet. These 17 seniors set such a great example for our young kids on work ethic, character, and what it takes to get here and that will be a springboard for us in the future.”
Lovorn, meanwhile, was ecstatic to be able to bring home a state title back home to the people of Stratford for the first time in 13 years.
“Besides these boys, I’m most happy for our town,” Lovorn said. “We have a special place up there in Stratford and our people deserve this.”
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