By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
With a 28-14 home victory over Basehor-Linwood Friday night, the Seaman Vikings put themselves on the doorstep of a league championship, something they haven’t accomplished in 18 years.
Senior quarterback Max Huston (7) had a hand in all four touchdowns as Seaman clinched a share of the UKC title with a 28-14 win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Bryer Finley scored on a 76-yard TD pass in Seaman's 28-14 win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman won a defensive struggle by winning the turnover battle and letting senior Max Huston grind out three touchdowns.
Technically, the Vikings locked up a share of the United Kansas Conference title Friday night. The Vikings improved to 6-0 in the conference and handed the visiting Bobcats their first loss of the season.
With a game to play, the worst that could happen is a three-way tie for the league crown, depending upon the outcome of the Vikings’ final regular season game. The Vikings finish with a home game against De Soto, the other team in the running for the title at 5-1.
“We’ve got a share (of the title), and right now we’re just proud of our kids to be able to get this one done because (Basehor-Linwood coach Rod) Stallbaumer and their group has one of the best coached teams you’re going to face,” said Seaman coach Jared Swafford. “They are one of the most aggressive and fundamentally well-coached teams. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We just needed more points than them in the end.”
The Vikings struck first in a fashion that is becoming customary. Huston fired deep to senior Bryer Finley, who hauled in the throw and raced 76 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
Basehor-Linwood’s Austin Adair answered with two scores, first on a 26-yard reception, then on a 52-yard run on a reverse.
Seaman responded with a drive that culminated in a Huston 2-yard run up the middle with 4:33 left in the half.
Seaman held on defense and got the ball back with less than a minute remaining. A 61-yard catch-and-run by Finley put the Vikings at the doorstep with just seconds remaining. Huston rushed for a 2-yard score identical to his previous touchdown, sending the Vikings to the intermission leading 21-14.
Both defenses dug in in the second half. Early in the third period, Seaman drove to the Bobcat 1-yard line, only to see Huston turned back on three straight carries and denied a fourth-down pass play.
The Vikings finally broke the stalemate in the fourth period. The Vikings’ Josh Brown intercepted a pass to give his team the ball with 6:43 remaining. On a 3rd-and-19 play, Huston was hemmed in near the sideline but started breaking tackles one by one. He spun and darted through traffic and ultimately wound up 47 yards down the field.
“I was sitting in the pocket. It started to collapse. I was just moving around, didn’t see anyone open, so I just had to take off,” Huston said. “I made some stuff happen and made a big play.”
Milking the clock for the next several plays, Huston wound up in the end zone with 1:57 remaining in the game.
“Max is a warrior and a heck of a football player,” Swafford said. “He handles the big moments well. He’s shown that his entire time here, even back when he was a sophomore thrown into the fire really quick.”
Huston stressed the job is not done yet.
“We’ve still got a game. We don’t want to tie it,” Huston said. “This feels great. We just want it all. So, we’re going to go practice hard and get what we want. Win next week and then it’s ours.”
“We will talk about league when it’s all said and done, but right now we’ll just focus on us continually getting better,” Swafford added.
SEAMAN 28, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 14
Basehor-Linwood (6-1, 5-1) 7 7 0 0 -- 14
Seaman (6-1, 6-0) 7 14 0 7 -- 28
Seaman – Finley 76 pass from Huston (Geiger kick)
Basehor-Linwood – Adair 26 pass from Dixon (Zimbelman kick)
Basehor-Linwood – Adair 52 run (Zimbelman kick)
Seaman – Huston 2 run (Geiger kick)
Seaman – Huston 2 run (Geiger kick)
Seaman – Huston 1 run (Geiger kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Basehor-Linwood: Dixon 13-63, Doering 17-61, Adair 1-52. Seaman: Huston 20-67, McKinney 10-25, Tootle 8-22.
Passing -- Basehor-Linwood: Dixon 10-25-1 86 yards. Seaman: Huston 21-29-0 294 yards.
Receiving -- Basehor-Linwood: Morrison 3-32, Adair 5-43, Doering 1-0, Reavis 1-11. Seaman: Finley 10-196, McKinney 4-21, Tootle 1-7, Kobuszewski 4-47, Becker 1-13, Evan 1-10.
Punting -- Basehor-Linwood: Howard 4-35.3. Seaman: Evan 6-28.8.
