HAYS -- After losing in the Class 1A state semifinals last year, Conway Springs had unfinished business to attend to this season.
 
The Cardinals did so on Saturday, playing through the snow and cold to defeat Jefferson County North 35-6. It was the program’s first state title since 2011 and first in 1A. The Cardinals took care of the game on both sides of the ball, holding the Chargers to well below their season average of 45.5 points per game and out-gaining them by 327 yards.
 
“We’ve been so close,” Conway Springs head coach Matt Biehler said. “We’ve been to sectionals and then last year sub-state. We needed to get back here. That’s been our goal, and (the team) really focused in the off season to work hard to ensure that.”
 
Conway Springs scored on the very first drive of the game on a 5-yard run by Nathan Berntsen, followed by a kick from Eli Benge to go up 7-0. After making the Chargers settle for a punt on the next drive, the Cardinals only needed one play and 15 seconds to score again on an 87-yard run from Brayden Kunz. Benge missed his second kick, leaving the score at 13-0.
 

 
“We took everything seriously, we didn’t take anything for granted,” Kunz said of the game and of the season. “We took what was given to us and played our hearts out for every down.” 
 
Jefferson County North started to make its way down the field after that and reached the endzone at the beginning of the second quarter. The 10-play, 71-yard drive was capped off by a 4-yard run by Ethan Noll to make it 13-6.
 
Conway Springs had an answer in just 52 seconds. It was Kunz again, this time going for 54 yards. Isaac Winter punched in the two-point conversion to extend the Cardinal lead to 21-6.
 
That was still the score at the end of the third quarter, somewhat of a surprise after Conway Springs’ first half performance and Jefferson County North’s ability to rally from being down. The Chargers outscored Colgan 20-0 last week to win 20-13 and advance to the championship game.  
 
“We had to go out and get a good third quarter because they got the ball to start it,” Biehler said. We had to be out to stop them to start that third.” 
 
Kunz shared a similar sentiment.
 
“I knew they were going to come out fired up and we had to be able to play with them,” he said.    
 
Although the Cardinals didn’t score in the third, they did force two punts from the Chargers. They then forced two more in the fourth quarter.
 
“They had some great stats and ran the ball hard,” Biehler said of the Chargers’ Ethan Noll and Grady Noll. “That was our key, to know they were going to get off tackle and really run hard, run some of the options and the power game. We just tried to balance that and tell our D-line they had to play physical football against the good line they had.” 
 

 
Conway Springs found the endzone two more times in the fourth quarter. Kunz scored on a 4-yard run for his third and last score, and Cade Howell ran for 3 yards to score the final touchdown.
 
For the game, Conway Springs produced 454 yards of offense, all on the ground. Kunz alone had 313 yards and three touchdowns. The championship caps off a successful career for Kunz, who was featured on the KSHSAA Covered Second 11 last season and ran for over 2,800 yards and 24 touchdowns this season (5,082 yards, 51 TDs the past two seasons).
 
“It’s honestly a blessing,” he said. “God blessed me with this. I’m glad to be a Conway Springs Cardinal and be here with the tradition we have.”
 
Berntsen and Winter were two other top rushers for the Cardinals with 93 and 36 yards, respectively. Winter also had one interception, and Howell led the defense with seven tackles.
 
The Chargers totaled 127 yards of offense, led by Grady Noll who had 57 rushing. He also threw twice for 38 yards. Ethan Noll rushed for 20 yards and caught both passes. Cameron Seever led the team in total tackles with 15.
 
This marked the first time Jefferson County North played in the championship game.
 
“You don’t (get here) if you don’t have a lot of mental toughness and a lot of perseverance,” said Chargers’ head coach Jeff Schneider. “I just told the team in there, today might not have been our day but we’ve had a lot of good days this whole season.”
 
Schneider commended his group of 11 seniors, who he said played a key role in their success.
 
“They have such a competitive drive,” he said. “I would call it an iron will. Determination, perseverance, those sorts of things.”
 
The win gives Conway Springs eight total championships in program history, the previous seven in class 3A. Biehler was head coach for the win in 2011 and an assistant for the wins in 1998 and 2008.
 
“We dropped a little bit in size, but we’re still getting a good quality group of young men out for football,” he said. “We just stay the course.”
 

CONWAY SPRINGS 35, JEFFERSON COUNTY NORTH 6
 
Conway Springs (11-2) … 13 … 8 … 0 … 14 … – … 35
 
Jefferson County North (11-2) … 0 … 6 … 0 … 0 … – … 6
 
SCORING PLAYS
 
Conway Springs – Nathan Berntsen 5-yard run (Eli Benge kick)
 
Conway Springs – Brayden Kunz 87-yard run (kick failed)
 
Jefferson County North – Ethan Noll 4-yard run (run failed)
 
Conway Springs – Kunz 54-yard run (Isaac Winter run)
 
Conway Springs – Kunz 4-yard run (Benge kick)
 
Conway Springs – Cade Howell 3-yard run (Benge kick)
 
TEAM STATISTICS

 … CS … JCN

First downs … 19 … 5

Rushes-yards … 60-454 … 24-89

Passing yards … 0 … 38

Passing (Comp-Att-INT) … 0-1-0 … 2-11-1

Total plays-yards … 61-454 … 35-127

Fumbles-lost … 0-0 … 1-0

Penalties-yards … 3-30 … 4-21

Punts-Avg … 1-33.0 … 5-35.6
 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
 
Rushing – Conway Springs: Kunz 34-313, Berntsen, 13-93, Winter 7-36, Howell 2-10, Howard 2-2, Osner 1-1, Fisher 1- minus-1. Jefferson County North: G. Noll 3-57, E. Noll 6-20, Keirns 5-12.
 
Passing – Conway Springs: None. Jefferson County North: G. Noll 2-11-1, 38 yards.
 
Receiving – Conway Springs: None. Jefferson County North: E. Nolls 2-38.