By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
GOWER - The East Buchanan football team is state championship bound for the first time in 17 years.
The Bulldogs (13-1) routed Thayer 34-6 Saturday in a Class 1 state semifinal game played in Gower. The win gives East Buchanan just its second appearance in a state championship and its first since 2004.
"We were expecting a grudge match to go down to the last minute," Bulldogs head coach Dan Ritter said. "To be able to win a game 34-6 and to see our defensive performance and to see our offense come together, I was proud all around of these young men."
East Buchanan's defense was stout right from the very beginning. Thayer (10-4) had six possessions in the first half, and failed to score on any. Three of those six possessions ended in punt, one ended with an interception in the end zone by Cru Conaway, another ended in turnover on downs and the last one ended as time expired in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs put up the game's first points midway through the first quarter. On a drive that started at their own seven, sophomore running back Trevor Klein caught a 43-yard pass to spark momentum, and senior Cru Conaway finished it off with a two-yard touchdown run.
The point-after missed, but East Buchanan led 6-0 at the end of the first.
After a short Thayer punt, the Bulldogs started a drive at the Bobcat 35-yard line with less than three minutes left until halftime. With time ticking down, Klein eventually scored on a seven-yard touchdown run, and then ran it again for a two-point conversion to put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 at halftime.
East Buchanan got the ball to start the second half and took immediate advantage. On the second play from scrimmage, Klein took a hand-off around the right side and took off down the sideline on a 62-yard touchdown run. The Alec Hesson point-after made it 21-0 Bulldogs with 11:17 left in the third.
Thayer (10-4) would finally mount a charge on their first possession of the second half. The Bobcats drove 72 yards on 10 plays, ending with a three-yard touchdown run from senior Kyrin Magnuson. The point-after was blocked, but the Bobcats were within two possessions, 21-6, with 6:04 remaining in the third.
The fourth quarter belonged to East Buchanan. The Bulldogs started a drive at the Bobcat 40, and scored four plays later on a nine-yard touchdown run from Klein - the first play of the final quarter.
Now trailing 28-6, Thayer needed points. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, their first play of the fourth quarter was a pick-six. Klein picked off quarterback Landry Pitts, and took it the other way 38 yards, putting East Buchanan ahead 34-6 with 11:38 remaining.
The Bulldogs scored two touchdowns within the first 22 seconds of the fourth quarter, and the two scores were only 12 seconds apart.
Klein was once again the star, toting the ball 12 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 72 yards - not including his 38-yard pick-six.
"The other cool thing is Trevor's cousin, Nick Klein, he's running around and getting all kinds of tackles," Ritter said. "He's 15, too. We have a 14-year-old starting on the offensive line with two other sophomores. So, we have a great group of young guys who are mixing really well with this senior leadership."
Conaway had 14 carries for 58 yards and a score. Senior quarterback Conner Musser completed 14-of-23 passes for 147 yards with six different receivers catching at least one pass.
East Buchanan now heads to Columbia to face Marceline (12-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
The game will be broadcast live on KY-102.5 FM in St. Joseph with coverage starting at 2:30. The game can also be heard online at KY102.net and the KY-102 mobile app.
The Tigers defeated Hayti in the other semifinal Saturday, 31-30, on a go-ahead field goal as time expired.
It's Marceline's first trip to the state final since 2013, as they seek their first title since 1986.
The Bulldogs meanwhile are back in the title for the first time since 2004, when St. Vincent handed East Buchanan a 21-0 loss.
Ron Musser was the head coach of that 2004 team, and is now an assistant on Ritter's staff.
With Musser being the one who gave Ritter his first coaching opportunity at Mid-Buchanan, Ritter is hopeful that this team can be the one to earn sweet redemption for the former head man.
"They didn't quite get it done," Ritter said, "and just getting the chance to redeem him through all of this, I think that could be a pretty special moment for him and for all of us. He's a special guy and he gets stuff done."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.