PITTSBURG – Even a game with 14 touchdowns, 99 points and more than 1,000 yards in combined total offense can have a signature moment.
 
The Mill Valley Jaguars, recent experts on the subject, provided another one Saturday in the Class 5A football championship game.
 
A week after advancing to their fifth consecutive 5A final on a last-second, scrambling touchdown run by quarterback Daniel Blaine that gave them a 48-47 victory over Blue Valley Southwest, the Jaguars were on a pivotal drive against Kapaun Mt. Carmel.

 
Nine seconds remained in a wild first half. The play call, Mill Valley senior receiver Davion Harris said, was South Dakota Y Post.
 
Harris’ assignment was a flag route toward the back corner of the end zone. That’s where Blaine hit him in stride with a perfectly thrown pass and over-the-shoulder catch that helped Mill Valley take a four-point halftime lead.
 
The touchdown started an avalanche of 28 consecutive points that led to Mill Valley’s 62-37 victory over the Crusaders at Carnie Smith Stadium. The Jaguars improved to 7-0 in 5A title games under coach Joel Applebee since 2015.
 
“We all knew in our minds we were about to put it on them in the second half,” said Harris, who caught two touchdown passes from Blaine after scoring three TDs in last year’s championship victory over Maize. “We were about to put it down and make sure they could not come back.”
 
Spared from Saturday’s winter storm that hit Kansas’ other state championship game sites, Mill Valley and Kapaun unleashed their high-scoring offenses on each other. Mill Valley, which entered the game averaging 46 points, outgained the Crusaders 528-490 yards.
 
Mill Valley (11-2) stacked three third-quarter touchdowns on top of its 34-30 halftime advantage to bring another state championship into focus. Senior Jaden Scobee, who ran for 300 yards on 26 carries, scored two of his four touchdown runs during the decisive period.
 
Blaine, a senior, balanced his two touchdown passes with a pair of second-half scoring runs.
 
“I told the guys this is nothing we haven’t seen before,” Blaine said. “We did the same exact thing last week. We had to just come in and punch really hard, and we did exactly that. We kept the momentum going and it was awesome.”
 
Kapaun (11-2), making its first state title game appearance since it won the 5A crown in 1987, faced early adversity when Blaine connected with Harris for a 31-yard touchdown on Mill Valley’s opening drive. After the Crusaders went three-and-out on their first possession, Scobee dashed 51 yards up the middle on the first play for a 13-0 lead just over four minutes into the game.
 
The Crusaders soon joined the fight.
 
Senior standout running back Omari Elias got Kapaun on the board with a 67-yard run on a toss sweep. Elias finished with 280 yards on 28 carries and three touchdowns. The Air Force commit ended his final campaign with 3,100 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns.

 
“He’s a winner,” Kapaun coach Weston Schartz said. “He’s got a good offensive line. Omaris don’t come around a lot.
 
“I had his dad (Idris, an all-state player for Wichita West in the mid-1990s). I had to wait 20 years to get him. In 20 years, I’ll be 82 so I don’t know if I’ll get another one like him. He’s a great competitor, a great kid. We love him.”
 
Elias’ running ignited a flurry of 23 straight points for the Crusaders. Kapaun got a safety when the ball slipped out of Blaine’s hands as he went to throw a screen pass and caromed out of the end zone in the ensuing scramble. After receiving a free kick, Kapaun marched 56 yards in six plays, taking its first lead at 16-13 on quarterback Dylan Hamilton’s 11-yard pass to fellow senior Henry Chrisman on third-and-goal.
 
When Elias sprinted 58 yards up the middle on Kapaun’s first drive of the second quarter, the Crusaders led by 10.
 
“We knocked them for an 8-count,” Schartz said. “They got back up, though.”
 
And the Jaguars did so before halftime.
 
Scobee scored his second touchdown on a 45-yard run, then added a 50-yard run to set up Reggie Reece’s 1-yard plunge that put Mill Valley back up 27-23. The Crusaders clawed back, however, taking advantage of a holding penalty that negated a Mill Valley interception.

 
Elias powered in on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 1:06 left in the first half to put Kapaun in front again. But the Jaguars made the most of the remaining time, moving inside the Crusaders’ 20 after a 13-yard pass from Blaine to Andrew Watts and a horse-collar tackling penalty on Kapaun.
 
With time for one offensive play, Blaine and Harris connected for a touchdown that felt significant to both sides.
 
“It was big,” Schartz said. “You can’t give that up. I knew in the second half it would be tough.
 
“I mean their left tackle is 280. My left defensive tackle is 165. Those numbers will catch you eventually and that’s what happened. They just had a little too much for us.”
 
Said Applebee: “I thought that drive at the end of the first half was a huge, huge momentum swing for us. They were putting one guy in the middle and playing us man, so we went with the corner route. The kids did a great job of executing.”
 
From that point, Mill Valley showed its championship pedigree. Junior Clayton Sondgeroth intercepted a Hamilton pass on the third play of the second half and returned it to Kapaun’s 19. Scobee scored on a 12-yard run two plays later to stretch the Jaguars’ lead to 41-30.
 
Mill Valley’s defense forced Kapaun to punt, and the Jaguars used a 32-yard screen pass to Preston Fischer to set up Blaine’s 3-yard touchdown. After Kapaun turned it over on downs in its own territory, the Jaguars countered with Scobee’s 5-yard touchdown run.
 
Even after Kapaun’s Charlie Chrisman ended Mill Valley’s scoring surge with a 5-yard touchdown run early in the fourth, the Jaguars countered with their seventh touchdown in as many possessions. A 31-yard run by Scobee set up Blaine’s 2-yard plunge for Mill Valley’s final points.
 
In a season in which Mill Valley faced several questions after the graduation of standouts like Hayden Jay, Broc Worcester and Mikey Bergeron, and after taking a lopsided loss to Class 6A champion Gardner Edgerton in late September, the Jaguars were back in a familiar place.
 
“You don’t want to be the team that ends the streak, but also you’re showing up every day and grinding away to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Harris said. “This one feels a lot different than the last ones. This one was a statement.
 
“Three and four were real good. But this was a real statement today.”
 
Applebee choked back tears as he addressed his team after the victory. After the trophy presentation, he and the Jaguars were all smiles.
 
“It was a growing season,” Applebee said. “We grew and grew and grew, and it obviously culminated today.
 
“Our theme this year was, ‘Write your own story.’ We talked about it all year long. You have the opportunity to write your own story and we’re going to have some ups and downs. Just keep your head down and be consistent with what we do.”
 
 

 CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
 
MILL VALLEY 62, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL 37
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel (11-2) … 16 … 14 … 0 … 7 … – … 37
 
Mill Valley (11-2) … 13 … 21 … 21 … 7 … – … 62
 
Mill Valley – Davion Harris 31-yard pass from Daniel Blaine (Kenten Laughman kick)
 
Mill Valley – Jaden Scobee 51-yard run (kick failed)
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Omari Elias 67-yard run (Chase Dupont kick)
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Safety
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Henry Chrisman 11-yard pass from Dylan Hamilton (Dupont kick)
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Elias 58-yard run (Dupont kick)
 
Mill Valley – Scobee 45-yard run (Laughman kick)
 
Mill Valley – Reggie Reece 1-yard run (Laughman kick)
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Elias 1-yard run (Dupont kick)
 
Mill Valley – Harris 18-yard pass from Blaine (Laughman kick)
 
Mill Valley – Scobee 12-yard run (Laughman kick)
 
Mill Valley – Blaine 3-yard run (Laughman kick)
 
Mill Valley – Scobee 5-yard run (Laughman kick)
 
Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Charlie Chrisman 5-yard run (Dupont kick)
 
Mill Valley – Blaine 2-yard run (Laughman kick)
 
 
TEAM STATISTICS
 
… KMC … MV
 
First downs … 19 … 26
 
Rushes-yards … 47-333 … 55-415
 
Passing yards … 157 … 113
 
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) … 13-22-1 … 5-9-1
 
Total plays-yards … 69-490 … 64-528
 
Fumbles-lost … 3-1 … 2-0
 
Penalties-yards … 7-60 … 7-76
 
Punts-Avg … 3-32.3 … 1-48.0
 
 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
 
RUSHING – Kapaun Mt. Carmel: Elias 28-280, H. Chrisman 8-29, Hamilton 8-18, C. Chrisman 2-5, Jackson 1-1. Mill Valley: Scobee 26-300, Blaine 21-83, Reece 5-31, Watts 1-3, Team 2-(-2).
 
PASSING – Kapaun Mt. Carmel: Hamilton 12-21-1, 143 yards; Jackson 1-1-0, 14 yards. Mill Valley: Blaine 5-9-1, 113 yards.
 
RECEIVING – Kapaun Mt. Carmel: W. Thengvall 8-120, Jackson 3-28, H. Chrisman 1-11, Elias 1-(-2). Mill Valley: Harris 3-68, Fischer 1-32, Watts 1-13.