Kearney, Mo., December 4, 2023: Kearney High School’s football team finished the job.
Logan Minnick came to KHS pledging to lead the Bulldogs back to a state football championship when he took the head coaching position in 2022. His team entered this season with the motto, “#FINISH.”
The Bulldogs accomplished that mission in front of a huge crowd of supporters with a beautifully balanced approach on offense and defense during the 2023 Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 4 Championship game against Hillsboro R-3 School District on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the University of Missouri’s Memorial Stadium in Columbia. KHS finished with a 68-28 win and the state crown.
KHS found the endzone 10 times on 279 rushing yards and 229 passing. Quarterback Casey Rooney was a commodore on the field, with four passing touchdowns and no sacks. His top targets were Manny Linthacum with 96 receiving yards and two TDs on five catches, Cohen Jacobs with 47 yards and one TD on one catch and Bryce Page with 45 yards and one TD on two catches.
Cameron Emmons and Casey Rooney dominated the ground game, with 96 and 91 yards apiece. Cameron Emmons got four TDs. Corbin Emmons earned 60 rushing yards on seven carries.
The Bulldogs’ defense was just as dominant throughout the midday game. They demonstrated remarkable resistance in the red zone, shutting down Hillsboro on multiple drives. The defense was led by Theo Grace, who had three solo tackles and six assists. Grant Noland got five solo tackles and three assists. Jackson Helberg earned three solo tackles and five assists.
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This marks the first state football title for KHS since 2015. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 13-2 record. Their only losses were early in the season against conference powerhouses Platte County R-3 and Smithville. KHS later defeated Smithville during a postseason rematch.
Kearney School District students and staff members will celebrate the KHS football team and coaches during a State Championship Victory Tour of Schools from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7. They will also be honored by the Board of Education this winter.
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| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score |
| Kearney | 13 | 21 | 13 | 21 | 68 |
| Hillsboro | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| Team Totals | KEARNEY | HILLSBO |
| FIRST DOWNS | 22 | 19 |
| Rushing | 13 | 6 |
| Passing | 9 | 12 |
| Penalty | 0 | 1 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 279 | 168 |
| Rushing Attempts | 41 | 29 |
| Average Per Rush | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 6 | 2 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 291 | 180 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | 12 | 12 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 229 | 320 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 11-14-0 | 13-24-2 |
| Average Per Attempt | 16.4 | 13.3 |
| Average Per Completion | 20.8 | 24.6 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 4 | 2 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | 508 | 488 |
| Total offense plays | 55 | 53 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 9.2 | 9.2 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 0-0 | 3-3 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 4-46 | 7-44 |
| PUNTS-YARDS | 0-0 | 1-36 |
| Average Yards Per Punt | 0.0 | 36.0 |
| Net Yards Per Punt | 0.0 | 36.0 |
| Inside 20 | 0 | 1 |
| 50+ Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Fair catch | 0 | 0 |
| KICKOFFS-YARDS | 11-508 | 5-164 |
| Average Yards Per Kickoff | 46.2 | 32.8 |
| Net Yards Per Kickoff | 32.6 | 20.2 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Average Per Return | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD | 5-63-0 | 11-149-0 |
| Average Per Return | 12.6 | 13.5 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD | 2-4-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Miscellaneous Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Possession Time | 24:47 | 23:13 |
| 1st Quarter | 6:55 | 5:05 |
| 2nd Quarter | 4:51 | 7:09 |
| 3rd Quarter | 6:37 | 5:23 |
| 4th Quarter | 6:24 | 5:36 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 4 of 6 | 6 of 10 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 0 of 1 | 0 of 2 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 5-5 | 2-4 |
| Touchdowns | 5-5 | 2-4 |
| Field goals | 0-5 | 0-4 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| PAT Kicks | 8-9 | 4-4 |
| Field Goals | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| RUSHING | No. | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Lg | Avg. |
| Cameron Emmons | 20 | 96 | 3 | 93 | 4 | 21 | 4.7 |
| Casey Rooney | 6 | 91 | 0 | 91 | 0 | 33 | 15.2 |
| Corbin Emmons | 7 | 60 | 4 | 56 | 0 | 26 | 8.0 |
| Cohen Jacobs | 4 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 11 | 5.5 |
| Manny Linthacum | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 |
| Kendahl Davis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Kale Tucking | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Team | 1 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 | 0 | -5.0 |
| Totals… | 41 | 291 | 12 | 279 | 6 | 33 | 6.8 |
| PASSING | Cmp-Att-Int | Yds | TD | Long | Sack |
| Casey Rooney | 11-13-0 | 229 | 4 | 47 | 0 |
| Bradley Doll | 0-1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals… | 11-14-0 | 229 | 4 | 47 | 0 |
| RECEIVING | No. | Yds | TD | Lg |
| Manny Linthacum | 5 | 96 | 2 | 36 |
| Bryce Page | 2 | 45 | 1 | 34 |
| Cohen Jacobs | 1 | 47 | 1 | 47 |
| Corbin Emmons | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Cameron Emmons | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Grant Noland | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Totals… | 11 | 229 | 4 | 47 |
| KICKOFFS | No. | Yds | TB | OB | Avg. |
| Jacob Dillon | 11 | 508 | 0 | 0 | 46.2 |
| Kearney | Solo | Ast | Total | TFL/Yds | FF | FR-Yds | Int-Yds | BrUp | Blkd | Sack/Yds | QBH | |
| 34 | Theodore Grace | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0.5/1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 19 | Grant Noland | 5 | 3 | 8 | . | . | . | 1-0 | 1 | . | . | . |
| 29 | Jackson Helberg | 3 | 5 | 8 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 66 | Tyler Jarrett | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1.5/8 | 2 | 1-0 | . | . | . | . | . |
| 2 | Daniel Stansbury | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1.0/3 | . | 1-0 | . | . | . | . | 1 |
| 13 | Brock Colhour | 3 | 2 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 7 | Cayden Harris | 1 | 4 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 48 | Clayton Cowan | 1 | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 47 | Aiden Smith-Col | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.0/1 | . | 1-0 | . | . | . | . | . |
| 12 | Carson Shear | 1 | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | 1-4 | . | . | . | . |
| 6 | Cameron Emmons | . | 2 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 55 | Tyrus Smith | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 28 | Corbin Emmons | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 5 | Cohen Jacobs | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 11 | Bryson Morrison | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 22 | Gavin Warren | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 63 | Trace Dunlap | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 75 | Dylan Byrne | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 4 | Bryce Page | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |