Worth County wins the District Championship in another thriller

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by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com

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Worth County had two losses in the regular season.  Last week, they avenged one of them by beating Platte Valley.  This week, they were trying to avenge their second loss of the season against Albany.

For the second straight week, the Tigers were behind with 1:00 left in the game.  And for the second straight week, the Tigers would score and hold on for a win.  This time, a 48-yard catch from Lucas Frisch set up a Landon Wilmes 3-yard run to put the Tigers up 40-34 with 53 seconds left in the game. Frisch made a spectacular one-handed catch and drug an Albany defender to set up the score.

Albany had one last chance to win or tie. They marched down the field and had the ball at the Worth County 20-yard line with 4 seconds left. Chase Cline was sacked, but a Worth County face mask gave the Warriors one more shot. However, an attempted pass to Kyle Emerson fell short, securing a 40-34 victory and a district championship for Worth County.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair.  Albany started with a score in the first minute when Elliot Mercer outran defenders with a 44-yard run to get the ball to the 1-yard line.  He scored on the next play to put the Warriors up 6-0.  The Tigers answered with a 3-yard run by Landon Wilmes.  After an Albany punt, Hayden Sanders found Jude Archer, and he outran the Albany defenders to earn a 20-yard touchdown reception.  Worth County would lead 12-6 after one quarter.

The second quarter started with an Albany score on the first play. Trevor Akins took an option pitch from Cline and had nothing but open field to score on a 37-yard run.  Albany was able to convert two points to go up 14-12.  Worth County responded with 8:39 left in the half when Wilmes scored his second touchdown, this time from five years.  With just over five minutes left in the game, Cline found Emerson from 12 yards out to put the Warriors back up 20-18.  But just like the second half, Worth County scored with under a minute left.  Landon Wilmes would get his 3rd touchdown of the game with 21 seconds left to give Worth County a 26-20 lead they would take into halftime.

But it was not easy for the Tigers.  On the last play of the half, Cline connected with Zane Rippey, who nearly scored, but Lucas Frisch caught him from behind with a touchdown-saving tackle.  Albany would end the half at the 2-yard line.
Worth County opened up the second half with the ball.  Landon Wilmes would rush for a 35-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 32-20.  The touchdown was Wilmes' 4th of the game.  On the next possession, Albany was driving, but a fumble at the 6-yard line game Worth County the ball.  The Tigers did not take advantage, however.  A bad snap led to a safety, cutting the deficit to 32-22.  That would be the score as both teams entered the 4th quarter.

Like they did in the 2nd quarter, Albany scored on the first play.  A reverse to Kyle Emerson from the 14-yard line to cut the Worth County deficit to 32-28.  The Warriors would then grab the lead on a quarterback sneak from Cline with 3:05 left.  Worth County then took the lead on Wilmes' 5th touchdown to go up 40-34.  The Tigers held on to win as the final pass fell incomplete.

With the win, Worth County will face North Shelby on Saturday, October 23, at 1pm.  

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