HUTCHINSON -- Shelby Wehrman looked around in awe, amidst the snow that had been falling at Gowans Stadium for seven hours. Hundreds upon hundreds of Cheney football fans had taken the field Saturday afternoon, on a day some may have preferred to stay at home and watch the Class 3A state championship game on the stream or listen to the radio.
 
When Wehrman took over as Cheney football coach seven years ago, he was told it was a basketball community. Undaunted, Wehrman helped build a consistent winner that soon became a state power.
 
Saturday, Cheney became a state football champion for the first time ever, capping an undefeated season by beating Hayden 34-7 on a frigid field frosted with several inches of snow.
 
“It makes me really happy for the community,” Wehrman said. “Cheney supports their kids well. Football hasn’t been traditionally big in Cheney. I always heard it was a basketball school and rightly so because all the success has been there, but we worked hard, the kids bought in, we slowly built it, and the community has rallied even more than I hoped around the kids. They made it a big deal for the kids.”
 
The Cardinals secured their title by staying true to who they were. Cheney is a team that likes to fling the ball on offense, but the snow, frigid temperatures that didn’t touch 30 degrees, and slight northerly breeze could have made throwing the ball difficult.
 
Cheney quarterback Josh Burdick still completed 19 of 30 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Drew Tolar and Colter McDaniel.
 
“We were just going to go out and play our game, no matter what the weather was,” Burdick said. “(The snow) changed some things. We ran a little more than we wanted to, but we were able to adapt and fight through all the adversity with the snow.”
 
Cheney showed immediately it was going to continue to throw. After forcing a Hayden punt on the game’s first possession, Burdick connected on a screen pass to Jackson Voth that went for 46 yards. Then, Burdick found Drew Tolar for a 16-yard touchdown.
 

 
“I don’t think our game plan changed much,” Tolar said. “We believed we could throw it, and our preparation paid off.”
 
Hayden, which featured a dominant ground game but also can pass the ball, answered early in the second quarter with a wonderful 39-yard touchdown pass from Connor Hanika to Kade Mitchell on a wheel route, tying the game 7-7
 
The tie lasted 13 seconds. On the ensuing kickoff, Tolar picked the ball out of the snow at the Cheney 12-yard line, cut to his left and then to his right, motoring 88 yards to the end zone with 9:28 left in the second quarter.
 
“I believe our kickoff return team can return the ball any time, against any team, in any conditions,” Wehrman said. “We’ve got Jack (Voth) and Drew back there, both are fast, and the blocking up front, we work and work on that. We had a big block, Drew made an excellent play on another defender, and he’s off to the races.”
 
Despite a dominant first half, in which Cheney gave up just 78 yards, the lead was 13-7.
Hayden then stuffed Cheney on fourth down at the Cardinals’ 29-yard line early in the third quarter but couldn’t score. The Wildcats then forced a punt and had good field position, but came up empty again.
 
“We felt we could pin them down there, get a short field, go down and score and get the lead, but we weren’t able to capitalize on either drive, and that cost us,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “By the time we got some momentum going, we’d make a mistake, get a costly penalty, or someone missed a blocking assignment. They’re a good team but I don’t think they’re 20 points or whatever better than us.”
 
Cheney sealed the title with a dominant fourth quarter. In the first minute, Burdick overthrew a wide-open McDaniel. On the Cardinals’ next possession, Burdick tossed a perfect deep pass to Tolar for a 55-yard touchdown.
 
While the Cardinals’ offense has gotten much-deserved attention this season, the defense has quietly been stellar as well. Cheney finished by holding one of the state’s most dynamic offenses to 120 yards on 57 plays.
 
“It’s probably the best defense in the state,” Tolar said. “I don’t know how to explain it. We rally to the ball and we just love to play.”
 

 
The offense took over late, as Burdick added a 15-yard and a 7-yard touchdown pass to McDaniel later in the quarter.
 
As the Cardinals hoisted their first state championship trophy, they were quickly joined by throngs of cold and damp, but jubilant, fans.
 
Burdick smiled while taking pictures, and then while standing alone, gave the celebrating fans and teammates a long look before answering a question about being a part of a championship team.
 
“It was a great team effort all the way around,” Burdick said. “The work all summer and all season was unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s the best team I’ve been a part of. It’s bittersweet now that it’s over. I want to keep playing football, but I guess it’s got to end at some point.”
 

 
CHENEY 34, TOPEKA HAYDEN 7
 
Cheney (13-0) … 7 … 6 … 0 … 21 … -- … 34
 
Hayden (12-1) … 0 … 7 … 0 … 0 … -- … 7
 
Cheney - Drew Tolar 16 pass from Josh Burdick (Grady Kuehn kick)
 
Hayden - Kade Mitchell 39 pass from Connor Hanika (Mason Becker kick)
 
Cheney - Tolar 88 kickoff return (kick failed)
 
Cheney - Tolar 55 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
 
Cheney - Colter McDaniel 15 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
 
Cheney - McDaniel 7 pass from Burdick (Kuehn kick)
 
TEAM STATISTICS
 
 … C … TH
 
First downs … 10 … 8
 
Rushes-yards … 16-33 … 35-46
 
Passing yards … 227 … 74
 
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) … 19-30-1 … 12-22-2
 
Total plays-yards … 46-260 … 57-120
 
Fumbles-lost … 2-0 … 3-1
 
Penalties-yards … 4-50 … 2-20
 
Punts-Avg … 5-33.2 … 5-26.4
 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
 
RUSHING - Cheney, Black 4-17, Voth 7-15, Burdick 2-6, Self 1-2, Maass, 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 6). Topeka Hayden, Dunshee 11-32, Desch 11-29, Schrickel 3-9, Ridley 2-7, Mitchell 2-(minus 10), Hanika 2-(minus 21).
 
PASSING - Cheney, Burdick 19-30-1 227 yards. Topeka Hayden, Hanika 12-21-2 74 yards, Dunshee 0-1-0 0 yards.
 
RECEIVING - Cheney, Voth 9-76, Tolar 5-115, McDaniel 3-22, Maass 2-14. Topeka Hayden, Dunshee 6-23, Schrickel 4-18, Mitchell 1-39, Tetuan 1-(minus 6).