By Ernie W. Webb III
Leoti-Wichita County coach Brant Douglas wasn’t about to give Little River the ball back with his team leading 42-36 early in the fourth quarter. It didn’t matter that it was fourth-and-8 from his own 17 or fourth-and-5 from his own 30.
As Wichita County (13-0) did all season long, Douglas put the game in the hands of senior quarterback Erhik Hermosillo, who is small in stature but a giant on the football field. As he’s done throughout the year, Hermosillo delivered, scrambling 8 yards for a first down on the fourth-and-8 and zigging and zagging for 6 yards on fourth-and-5.
Moments later, Hermosillo propelled Leoti to its first state championship, racing 50 yards for a critical touchdown to give his team a two-possession lead. Wichita County coasted the rest of the way, knocking off traditional state power Little River (11-2) 54-36 on Saturday in Newton.
After a sluggish start, Wichita County controlled the matchup, racking up 373 yards on the ground, including 260 from Hermosillo. Standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 140 pounds, the lightning-fast, shifty Hermosillo was a nightmare for Little River, often avoiding tackles in the backfield before sprinting through small openings.
Trailing 16-0 in the first quarter, Wichita County settled in with a 12-play, 65-yard drive on its second series, including Hermosillo’s 18-yard run on fourth-and-4. His 5-yard toss to Colton Harbin at the 3:22 mark cut the deficit to 10.
Leoti forced a turnover on downs early in the second, then pulled within 16-12 on Hermosillo’s 45-yard jaunt with 7:55 remaining in the half. Romeo Terriquez’s reception on the conversion made it 16-14.
Playing in its third consecutive Eight-Player Division I title game, Little River countered after recovering a fumble. Facing a fourth-and-10, Braxton Lafferty connected with Grant Stephens on a 12-yard jump pass to key a scoring drive. Lafferty, who had 173 total yards, capped the series with a 1-yard touchdown as Little River pushed the advantage to 22-14 less than a minute before the break.
Wichita County answered quickly, going 65 yards in 44 seconds. Hermosillo and Terriquez hooked up for a 25-yard pass with 12 seconds left, and Leoti trailed 22-20 at halftime.
Little River capitalized on another fumble early in the second half on Lafferty’s 7-yard touchdown run, but Wichita County pulled even midway through the third on Hermosillo’s 3-yard score. Sophomore running back Khris Hermosillo, whose powerful running balanced Ehrik Hermosillo’s elusiveness, added the conversion run to knot the score at 28-28. Khris Hermosillo rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries.
Wichita County took its first lead late in the third period on Erhik Hermosillo’s 19-yard run, then Khris Hermosillo registered the defensive play of the game on Little River’s next possession. Facing a third-and-7 deep in Wichita County territory, Little River fumbled at the 15. Khris Hermosillo alertly scooped the ball up and roared 65 yards for a 40-28 edge. His conversion run made it 42-28.
Little River closed the gap to 42-36 three minutes into the fourth frame on a 6-yard pass from Lafferty to Braden Young and a conversion pass from Lafferty to Rylan Konen.
It appeared Little River was about to get the ball back on the next series, but Wichita County converted on the two fourth-down plays before Erhik Hermosillo’s back-breaking 50-yarder. Erhik Hermosillo’s 9-yard score with 1:39 left put the game away.
Erhik Hermosillo finished with 296 total yards. Wichita County had 409 yards despite throwing just four passes.
Lafferty had 137 yards rushing, Konen 104 total yards, including 86 passing, and Young 62 yards on six receptions. Little River had 305 total yards.
WICHITA COUNTY 54, LITTLE RIVER 36
Little River 16 6 6 8 — 36
Wichita County 6 14 22 12 — 54
First Quarter
LR – Braxton Lafferty 50 run (Braden Young run)
LR – Grant Stephens 1 run (Lafferty run)
WC – Colton Harbin 5 pass from Erhik Hermosillo (Run failed)
Second Quarter
WC – Hermosillo 45 run (Romeo Terriquez pass from Hermosillo)
LR – Lafferty 1 run (Pass failed)
WC – Terriquez 25 pass from Hermosillo (Run failed)
Third Quarter
LR – Lafferty 7 run (Pass failed)
WC – Hermosillo 3 run (Khris Hermosillo run)
WC – E. Hermosillo 19 run (Pass failed)
WC – K. Hermosillo 65 fumble return (K. Hermosillo run)
Fourth Quarter
LR – Young 6 pass from Lafferty (Rylan Konen pass from Lafferty)
WC – E. Hermosillo 50 run (Pass failed)
WC – E. Hermosillo 9 run (Pass failed)
GAME IN FIGURES
LR WC
First downs 16 20
Rushes-Yards 47-183 50-373
Passing 10-17-1 3-4-0
Passing yards 122 36
Total yards 305 409
Punts N/A 1-5
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-2
Penalties 4-30 6-47
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Little River: Lafferty 29-137, Stephens 10-34, Konen 8-12. Wichita County: E. Hermosillo 30-260, K. Hermosillo 15-92, Wyatt Gardner 5-21.
RECEIVING – Little River: Young 6-62, Andrew Smith 1-38, Stephens 1-12, Konen 1-6, Kayston Cox 1-4. Wichita County: Terriquez 1-25, Gardner 1-6, Harbin 1-5.
PASSING – Little River: Lafferty 6-9-0 36, Konen 4-8-1 86. Wichita County: E. Hermosillo 3-4-0 36.