By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
For the second consecutive year, the Hayden Wildcats came up short in their bid for the school’s first state football title since 2008. In their return to Gowans Stadium at Hutchinson Community College, the Wildcats fell to Andale 36-19 Saturday.
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel (9) scores the Wildcats' first touchdown on a 5-yard run in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale in the Class 3A state championship game. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
The Indians took home their fifth Class 3A trophy in the past six seasons, finishing the season 13-0. Hayden finished the season 11-2, the Wildcats' other loss coming at the hands of 4A Wamego.
The field conditions were infinitely better than the blizzard conditions that affected the outcome of last year’s championship, claimed by Cheney, 34-7. But the pain of defeat was the same.
“It sucks, point blank,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “You come in here with one goal in mind. Anything less than that, you’re not going to feel very good about it.”
The Wildcats battled back from a deficit to take a 19-12 lead into halftime. But Andale powered its way to three second-half touchdowns to put the game away.
Andale opened the game with two dominant drives to establish the tone of the first period. Although Hayden answered with a score, the first period went decidedly in the Indians’ favor at 12-6. The Indians rushed for 127 yards on just 12 carries in the quarter.
The momentum shifted early in the second period when the Wildcats stopped an Indian drive at midfield. Even a punt that rolled to the Hayden 1-yard line didn’t deter the Wildcats. Hayden mounted a 15-play drive that covered 99 yards and ended with a Jett Wahlmeier scoring pass to Treyton Tetuan.
Hayden senior Treyton Tetuan scores a touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Jett Wahlmeier in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale in the Class 3A state championship game. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Junior Kade Mitchell (25) hauls in a touchdown pass from Jett Wahlmeier in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Leading 13-12, the Wildcats pooched a kickoff which the Andale returner lost in the sun. Hayden recovered at the Andale 31-yard line. Six plays later, Hayden went up 19-12 on a Wahlmeier pass to Kade Mitchell.
Though Hayden was unable to take advantage of a second fumbled pooch kick, it used up most of the remaining period. The Wildcats went to halftime leading 19-12.
But Andale dominated the second half. After scoring to retake the lead midway through the third period, the Indians recovered a Hayden fumble and turned it into another quick score to go up 28-19.
“Obviously, we knew we weren’t going to be able to come in here and turn the ball over,” Arnold said. “That initial turnover (in the) third quarter was a killer.”
Desperate to keep pace, Hayden drove the length of the field in 17 plays but stalled at the Andale 17-yard line. Andale scored three plays later to put the game on ice.
“We were in the right spots. We just couldn’t finish plays off,” Arnold said. “Part of that’s a tribute to Andale. They’re a good team. They made some adjustments. But at the same time, we had some opportunities that we squandered in the third quarter.”
Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier (7) passed for 202 yards and two TDs in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Hayden managed 105 yards rushing but averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. The Wildcats relied heavily on Wahlmeier to advance the ball through the air. The senior completed 21 of his 40 passing attempts for 202 yards.
“We knew we could be balanced,” Wahlmeier said. “We called our plays based off the situation we were in. We knew what we were capable of (in the passing game). We repped it out in practice and it worked well. It worked even better in the game, which worked out well, but not well enough, I guess.”
All-purpose threat Jensen Schrickel accounted for much of the Hayden output. He ran for 47 yards and caught nine passes for 106 yards in his final game for Hayden.
But in the end, the rushing attack of Andale was too much for Hayden. The Indians ran for 419 yards on 40 carries. Junior quarterback Sam Harp ran for 163 yards on 16 carries, while his older brother, Landon Harp, rushed for 148 on 12 carries. The brothers accounted for four of Andale’s five touchdowns.
"(The Indians are) good. They’re a hell of a lot bigger than we are, too,” Arnold said. “But I thought our kids played extremely hard. You get in a situation, you’ve got to make the tackle. One guy’s not going to bring them down. You’ve got to get guys rallied to the ball.
“I thought our kids played hard all day long. We played the whole third quarter backed up on our (end) of the field. We made some mistakes, and they took advantage of it.”
Wahlmeier was unable to play in last year’s championship due to injury. He recalled how difficult it was to watch that title game from the sideline. This time, he was his team’s leader, and he spoke on the Wildcats’ behalf following the loss.
“It's awful. It’s worse than last year,” the senior quarterback said. “I gave it everything I had, but it just wasn’t enough.
“But I’m proud of this team. It was special. All the bonds we had and the team we had. Special teams don’t get here by accident. We knew we were special.”
Recognizing how painful it is for the players to come up short in back-to-back seasons, Arnold provided some big-picture perspective.
“I think as time goes on, in the next few weeks, next month or so, it’s a tribute to the kids,” Arnold said. “They put together a really good year. To get back to the state championship game two years in a row is hard. They fought through a lot of adversity to get here. I’m extremely proud of them. It just doesn’t feel very good right now.”
ANDALE 36, HAYDEN 19
Hayden (11-2) 6 13 0 0 – 19
Andale (13-0) 12 0 16 8 -- 36
Andale – S. Harp 1 run (pass failed)
Hayden – Schrickel 5 run (run failed)
Andale – S. Harp 8 run (run failed)
Hayden – Tetuan 2 pass from Wahlmeier (Becker kick)
Hayden – Mitchell 4 pass from Wahlmeier (kick failed)
Andale – L. Harp 13 run (Horsch run)
Andale – L. Harp 6 run (Horsch run)
Andale – Horsch 10 run (S. Harp run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Hayden: Schrickel 11-47, Desch 10-23, Mitchell 7-20, Wahlmeier 6-13, McGivern 2-2. Andale: S. Harp 16-163, L. Harp 12-148, Horsch 8-98, Eck 1-7, Marx 1-2.
Passing – Hayden: Wahlmeier 21-40 0 202 yards, Branson 1-1-0 16 yards, Schrickel 0-1-0 0 yards. Andale: S. Harp 2-6-0 55 yards.
Receiving – Hayden: Schrickel 9-106, Mitchell 7-63 Desch 3-28, Tetuan 2-12, Heinen 1-9. Andale: Marx 2-55.
Punting – Hayden: Wahlmeier 3-31.7. Andale: Marx 1-65.
