By Ernie W. Webb III
LITTLE RIVER – Little River went into the fourth quarter of its sub-state game against arch-rival Canton-Galva trailing by two touchdowns and without its starting quarterback. Somehow, some way, the defending state champion put together a fourth quarter for the ages, knocking off the Eagles 76-68 in an all-time classic.
Little River (12-0) scored 42 points after starting quarter Rylen Konen left the game with a leg injury, rallying from a 46-34 deficit and several two-possession deficits.
In a game featuring 1,200 yards of offense, 144 points, 44 first downs and zero punts, a couple of big defensive plays sent Little River to the Eight-Man Division I title game next Saturday against Meade (12-0). First, Grant Stephens scooped up an errant pitch and scored on a 32-yard return late in the fourth quarter to give Little River a 70-60 lead, then the defensive line pressured Canton-Galva’s Garrett Maltbie into an incompletion on fourth down with a little more than a minute left to end the Eagles’ season.
That was just about the only time Little River stopped Canton-Galva’s quarterback. Maltbie, a junior, had 544 total yards, including 426 through the air. Kansas State signee Tyson Struber was on the receiving end of 269 of those yards on 13 receptions.
But Little River, which rallied to beat Burlingame and Madison in the previous two rounds, found a way again behind a huge fourth quarter from Braxton Lafferty, who is accustomed to playing quarterback in a system utilizing two signal-callers.
When Lafferty slid under center full-time at the start of the fourth quarter, Little River’s offense exploded for five touchdowns in the final 12 minutes. Lafferty, who had 217 yards rushing and 180 passing, connected with Andrew Smith on a 16-yard pass and Braden Young on a 55-yard shovel pass, and scored on runs of 5, 54 and 40 yards.
Despite reeling after Little River’s onslaught, Canton-Galva had one last chance after Lafferty’s 40-yard jaunt when they stopped the conversion attempt with 2:02 remaining in the game. The Eagles, however, did not pick up a first down after a short pass to Struber and three incompletions.
Until the fourth quarter, which featured 64 points and nearly 350 yards of offense, the game was a battle of contrasting styles, with Canton-Galva striking fast and Little River punishing the Eagles’ defense with a bruising ground game.
Canton-Galva had the upper hand for much of the first three quarters, largely because the Eagles were successful on two-point conversions. They converted after all four of their touchdowns in the first half and five of six through three quarters to build a 46-34 lead.
In the opening two frames, Canton-Galva racked up 314 yards on 18 plays, including touchdowns of 65 yards, 44 yards, 35 yards and 29 yards. Little River stayed in the game behind Konen and Lafferty, who combined for 289 yards.
Lafferty’s 2-yard run late in the second quarter gave Little River its first lead at 26-24. The Eagles countered with a 53-yard drive in 41 seconds, capped by Struber’s 29-yard reception, to regain a 32-26 edge at the break.
Trailing by 12 entering the final period, Little River pulled within 46-40 on Smith’s 16-yard grab and capitalized on a fumble on Canton-Galva’s next possession on Young’s 55-yard reception. The teams traded the lead four more times over the next six minutes before Stephens’ fumble return and Lafferty’s conversion run gave Little River a two-score advantage.
Maltbie finished 22 of 33 for 426 yards and rushed for 118 more on 10 carries. He accounted for eight touchdowns. Struber rushed for 51 yards, pushing his total yardage to 320. Caston Mastre added 77 yards on six catches.
In addition to Lafferty’s 428 total yards (217 rushing, 180 passing, 31 receiving), Konen had 63 yards passing, 58 rushing and 19 receiving. Young caught five passes for 98 yards and Stephens two for 80.
LITTLE RIVER 76, CANTON-GALVA 68
Canton-Galva 16 16 14 22 — 68
Little River 6 20 8 42 — 76
CG – Garrett Maltbie 65 run (Cason Mastre pass from Maltbie)
LR – Rylen Konen 21 run (Run failed)
CG – Tyson Struber 44 pass from Maltbie (Struber run)
LR – Konen 19 pass from Braxton Lafferty (Run failed)
CG – Mastre 35 pass from Maltbie (Maltbie run)
LR – Lafferty 31 pass from Konen (Pass failed)
LR – Lafferty 2 run (Braden Young run)
CG – Struber 29 pass from Maltbie (Mastre pass from Maltbie)
CG – Struber 63 pass from Maltbie (Run failed)
LR – Lafferty 8 run (Young run)
CG – Struber 12 run (Struber run)
LR – Andrew Smith 16 pass from Lafferty (Pass failed)
LR – Young 55 pass from Lafferty (Lafferty run)
CG – T.J. Koehn 49 pass from Maltbie (Maltbie run)
LR – Lafferty 5 run (Run failed)
CG – Maltbie 2 run (Pass failed)
LR – Lafferty 54 run (Lafferty run)
LR – Grant Stephens 32 fumble return (Lafferty run)
CG – Koehn 16 pass from Maltbie (Struber pass from Maltbie)
LR – Lafferty 40 run (Run failed)
CG LR
First Downs 20 24
Rushes-Yards 22-197 48-334
Passing Yards 426 243
Passing 22-33-0 10-13-0
Total yards 623 577
Fumbles-Lost 4-3 3-2
Penalties 4-32 4-25
Punting N/A N/A
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Canton-Galva: Maltbie 10-118, Struber 6-51, Ryder Norstrom 6-28. Little River: Lafferty 27-217, Konen 10-58, Stephens 9-50, Young 2-9.
Receiving: Canton-Galva: Struber 13-269, Mastre 6-77, Koehn 2-65, Norstrom 1-15. Little River: Young 5-98, Stephens 2-80, Lafferty 1-31, Konen 1-19, Smith 1-16.
Passing: Canton-Galva: Maltbie 22-33-0 426. Little River: Lafferty 6-6-0 180, Konen 4-7-0 63.