Salina Central star running back Cooper Reves scored four touchdowns in the second half and rushed for 250 yards to lead the Mustangs past Basehor-Linwood 51-34 in the Kansas Class 5A State Football Championship Friday afternoon at Welch Stadium in Emporia.
Salina Central and Basehor-Linwood both finished the season with 12-1 records.
The Mustangs scored seven TDs and forced five Bobcat turnovers. Salina Central scored 41 points in the second half, led by arguably the best offensive line in Kansas.
Salina Central struck first on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Griffin Hall to Bodie Rodriguez to take a 7-0 lead with 9:53 left in the first quarter.
Hall passed for 137 yards and two TDs and rushed for 69 yards and one TD. Rodriguez caught 4 passes for 52 yards and Reves had 3 catches for 63 yards.
The Bobcats tied the score at 7-7 on a 1-yard TD run by Gavin Mitchell with 1:53 left in the first quarter. That was the score at the end of the opening frame.
Basehor-Linwood took a 14-7 lead with 7:19 left in the second quarter on a TD pass from Carson Dixon to Roman Miller.
Salina Central kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to make the score 14-10 at halftime in favor of the Bobcats.
Salina Central recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half and Hall scored on a 4-yard TD run to give the Mustangs a 17-14 lead with 9:03 left in the period.
On the first play of the next series, Basehor-Linwood quarterback Carson Dixon’s pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Salina Central’s Eli Kreighbaum.
The Mustangs cashed in the Bobcats’ turnover as Hall connected with Elijah Duxler on a 14-yard TD pass with 6:23 left in the third quarter to make the score 24-14 Salina Central.
Salina Central recovered another fumble. A few plays later, Reves broke loose on a 58-yard TD run with 1:30 left in the third quarter to make the score 31-14.
Reves’ next TD run with 10:44 left in the game made the score 37-14 in favor of Salina Central.
The Bobcats cut the Mustangs’ lead to 37-27 on TD passes of 54 and 25 yards Mustangs’ lead to 37-27 with 5:58 left in the game.
Reves put the Mustangs ahead 44-27 with an 11-yard run, but Dixon connected with Deagen Trowbridge on a 66-yard TD with 4:51 left to cut the Bobcats’ deficit to 44-34.
Dixon connected on 14-of-27 passes for 319 yards with four TDs and three interceptions. Morrison caught 6 passes for 125 yards with two TDs.
Reves scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run with 3 minutes left in the game to push the final score to 51-34.
Jesus Delgado led the Mustang defense with 10 tackles, including a quarterback sack. McCoy Martin led the Bobcats with 10 tackles.
In the state playoffs, Salina Central defeated Topeka West 62-32, Goddard 49-24 and Great Bend 30-28 en route to the state championship.
Basehor-Linwood defeated Overland Park-Blue Valley Southwest 28-10, De Soto 35-28 and Lenexa-St. James Academy 28-20 in the state playoffs.
Salina Central won its first state title since 2005 and now has won seven Class 5A state titles.
Salina Central head coach Mark Sandbo won his first state title. The Mustangs went 4-5 in 2024.
The first six state titles came in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005 with legendary Kansas Hall of Famer Marvin Diener as head coach.
Salina Central is the first Kansas Class 5A West bracket team to win a first state championship since 2017 (Wichita Bishop Carroll).
Salina Central (12-1) 7 3 21 20 — 51
Basehor-Linwood (12-) 7 7 0 20 — 34
SC —Rodriguez 26 pass from Hall (Duxler kick) 9:53 1Q
BL — Mitchell 1 run (Zimbleman kick) 1:53 1Q
BL — Miller 23 pass from Dixon (Zimbleman kick) 7:19 2Q
SC — Duxler 27 FG 0:00 2Q
SC — Hall 4 run (Duxler kick) 9:03 3Q
SC — Duxler 14 pass from Hall (Duxler kick) 6:30 3Q
SC — Reves 58 run (Duxler kick) 1:30 3Q
SC — Reves 26 run (Duxler kick failed) 10:44 $Q
BL — Morrison 54 pass from Dixon (Ziimbleman kick) 8:01 4Q
BL — Morrison 25 pass from Dixon (run failed) 5:58 4Q
SC — Reves 11 run (Duxler kick) 5:07 4Q
BL — Trowbridge 66 pass from Dixon (Zimbleman kick) 4:51 4Q
SC — Reves 4 run (Duxler kick) 3:00 4Q
RUSHING
SC: Reves 30-250 4 TDs, Hall 17-69 1 TD, Peck 1-6. Cole 1-0.
BL: Mitchell 13-60 1 TD, Dixon 8-39, Rodriguez 4-14.
PASSING
SC: Hall 10-19-0-137 2 TDs.
BL: Diixon 14-27-3-319 3 TDs.
RECEIVING
SC: Rodriguez 4-52 1 TD, Reves 3-63, Cole 2-8, Duxler 1-14 1TD, Smith 2-0.
BL: Morrison 6-125 2TDs, Rodriguez 2-34, Bradley 2-32, Trowbridge 1-66 1TD, Mitchell 1-28, Miller 1-23 1TD, Unruh 1-11, Parr 1-0.
