By Ernie W. Webb III
The blueprint wasn’t as easy as it looked, but Little River executed it almost perfectly during a dazzling run from district runner-up to state champion in Eight-Man Division I. The formula included plenty of star power in quarterback Jayden Garrison and fullback/sometimes quarterback Graham Stephens, a bruising offensive line and an opportunistic defense.
Leoti-Wichita County (12-1) got a taste of all the above, as Little River built a big early lead and rolled to a 70-58 win during the title game Saturday in Newton.
Much like its previous games in the postseason, Little River (11-2) surged ahead in the first quarter on the legs of Garrison and Stephens. Garrison provided the thunder with tough runs, and Garrison the lightning with scoring runs of 43 yards and 1 yard.
And much like the other playoff games, a timely turnover proved pivotal, as Garrison picked off a pass midway through the first quarter, setting up a 9-yard touchdown run from Stephens for a 20-6 edge.
Try as it might, Wichita County couldn’t get over the hump. Every time Leoti pulled within one possession, first at 20-14, second at 28-22 and third at 34-30, Little River had an answer.
The third and final time, Wichita County appeared to have the momentum after Manny Chavez hauled in a 22-yard scoring strike from Kayde Rietzke early in the second quarter. Rietzke added the conversion on a run, pulling his squad within four.
But Little River answered immediately after recovering one of several Wichita County onside kicks, driving 43 yards on seven plays, capped by Stephens’ 15-yard run, to push the lead back to double digits. Little River then recovered an onside kick of its own, converted a back-breaking fourth-and-22 from its own 37, and led 46-30 on another Stephens’ score.
Wichita County went three-and-out on the next series, and the only punt of the game by either team was critical, as Little River marched 37 yards in 18 seconds, scoring on an 8-yard pass from Stephens to Braden Young with one second left in the second quarter. Stephens connected with Ty Herzog for two more points, giving Little River a 54-30 lead after a wild first half.
Wichita County opened the second half with a quick 65-yard drive, including a 43-yard touchdown run by Rietzke. Leoti then capitalized on Little River’s only mistake of the game, a fumble, to pull within 54-44 on another Rieztke run less than three minutes into the third period.
Little River answered almost immediately, needing just three plays to find paydirt, this time on a 43-yard pass from Garrison to Braxton Lafferty. The same duo hooked up on the two-point conversion, pushing the lead to 62-44 four minutes into the quarter.
Rietzke found Sheldon Whalen on a 7-yard toss in the end zone to close the gap to 62-50 late in the third quarter, but Little River did as it had in wins against Madison in sub-state and Clifton-Clyde in a regional final, relying on its powerful offensive line to put the game away.
Taking over with three minutes left in the third, Little River drove 53 yards in 11 plays, chewing up more than six minutes. By the time Garrison coasted into the end zone on a 4-yard run, Little River had an insurmountable 70-50 lead.
Wichita County needed more than five minutes to counter, and it was too late by the time Teagan Bishop scored on a 1-yard run with 5:04 remaining. Little River recovered another onside kick at its own 36 with 5:03 left and ran out the clock with three first downs.
Little River lost on Sept. 11 to Clifton-Clyde and Oct. 2 to defending state champion Canton-Galva, but dominated the rest of the season, winning each of its five playoff games by at least two touchdowns. Little River’s average margin of victory in the postseason was 31.2 points.
Garrison wrapped up a stellar career with 308 total yards, including 196 rushing on 31 carries, 56 passing on 3-of-3 accuracy and 56 receiving on two receptions. Stephens had 210 yards, including 132 rushing on 25 carries and 78 passing four completions. Lafferty added four catches for 70 yards.
Rietzke finished his career with 417 total yards, including 209 passing (17 of 20) and 208 rushing on 24 attempts. Whalen had 107 yards receiving on seven grabs, Chavez added 64 yards on four catches, and Jesse Gardner rushed for 42 yards on seven carries.
LITTLE RIVER 70, WICHITA COUNTY 58
Little River 28 26 8 8 — 70
Wichita County 22 8 20 8 — 58
First Quarter
Little River – Jayden Garrison 43 run (Run failed)
Wichita County – Tristen Porter 79 kickoff return (Run failed)
Little River – Garrison 1 run (Run failed)
Little River – Graham Stephens 9 run (Garrison run)
Wichita County – Kayde Rietzke 62 run (Rietzke run)
Little River – Garrison 49 run (Garrison run)
Wichita County – Sheldon Whalen 68 pass from Rietzke (Manny Chavez pass from Rietzke)
Second Quarter
Little River – Garrison 27 pass from Stephens (Run failed)
Wichita County – Chavez 22 pass from Rietzke (Rietzke run)
Little River – Stephens 14 run (Pass failed)
Little River – Stephens 6 run (Run failed)
Little River – Braden Young 8 pass from Stephens (Ty Herzog pass from Stephens)
Third Quarter
Wichita County – Rietzke 43 run (Rietzke run)
Wichita County – Rietzke 1 run (Pass failed)
Little River – Lafferty 43 pass from Garrison (Lafferty pass from Garrison)
Wichita County – Whalen 7 pass from Rietzke (Run failed)
Fourth Quarter
Little River – Garrison 4 run (Stephens run)
Wichita County – Bishop 1 run (Chavez pass from Rietzke)
Game in Figures
LR WC
First Downs 23 20
Rushes-Yds 56-328 31-250
Passing Yds 134 221
Passing 7-7-0 18-21-1
Total Yds 462 471
Fumbles 2-1 1-0
Penalties 0-0 4-26
Punts 0-0 1-36
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – Little River: Garrison 31-196, Stephens 25-132. Wichita County: Rietzke 24-208, Jesse Gardner 7-42.
RECEIVING – Little River: Lafferty 4-70, Garrison 2-56, Braden Young 1-8. Wichita County: Whalen 7-107, Chavez 4-64, Bishop 3-25, Wyatt Gardner 2-8, Rietzke 1-12, J. Gardner 1-6.
PASSING – Little River: Stephens 4-4-0 78, Garrison 3-3-0 56. Wichita County: Rietzke 17-20-1 209, Whalen 1-1-0 12.
