One yard.

In the end, it was just those three feet that separated the Gardner Edgerton High School football team from a Kansas 6A State Championship trophy on Saturday at the 6A State Championship Football Game at Welch Stadium in Emporia, KS. In a battle of two equally talented teams, the Traiblazers fell to Manhattan High School, 21-20, in double overtime.

In a dramatic ending, the Blazers decided to go for a 2-point conversion and the win, after scoring a touchdown in the 2nd overtime. A run by junior tailback Dylan Butash was snuffed out 1 yard from the goalline, giving the Indians the slimmest of victories and the State Title.

After the game, GEHS head coach Jesse Owen spoke with reporters about the game and the postgame message to his team in the midst of their heartbreak.

“That’s a tough one,” said Owen, “but hats off to a very good Manhattan team. That’s a special season for them to go undefeated (13-0). I’m extremely proud of our guys and what they’ve done for our program and our community. They don’t realize how many people they’ve impacted, but they will – as time passes, and everybody gains some perspective. I’m just extremely proud of their grit, their unselfishness. It’s a tough one. I told them, ‘Sometimes you lose – that’s a part of life, is losing – but that doesn’t mean you’re a loser. Losers make excuses and aren’t accountable.’ Our guys are far from that.”

The contest was a titanic battle of stalwart defenses, with each side’s defensive unit coming up with clutch stop after clutch stop, and each team earning their touchdowns in a physical struggle.

Manhattan won the opening kickoff and chose to open the 1st quarter on offense. However, after earning just one 1st down, MHS were forced to punt the ball from their own 37. Gardner Edgerton took over on offense for the first time with 9:38 remaining in the opening quarter and marched the ball 40 yards in 9 plays to earn a 1st-and-10 from the Indians’ 20. However, in what would become a recurring theme for both teams the rest of the game, ball security became an issue. A fumbled Trailblazer pitch ended up in the arms of the Manhattan defense, and MHS took over on a 1st-and-10 from their own 20 with 5:33 remaining in the 1st quarter.

Neither team scored the rest of the quarter, but the Blazers had the first meaningful possession of the 2nd quarter. MHS was forced to punt on a 4thand- 7 from their own 39 just two plays into the 2nd period, and the Manhattan punter shanked the kick for only 7 net yards. That gave GEHS 1st-and-10 from the Indians’ 46. Four plays later, however, on 1st-and-10 from the Manhattan 33, a muffed exchange from quarterback to fullback ended up on the turf and was recovered by MHS senior defensive lineman Ke’lonnie Patterson, giving the Indians back the ball at their own 31.

It was then that the Gardner Edgerton defense decided to get in on the turnover action. On Manhattan’s second play of their next possession, MHS senior quarterback Keenan Schartz was popped by Trailblazer senior linebacker Kaleb Green, who forced a fumble that was pounced upon by Blazer senior safety Eli Blazic, and Gardner Edgerton had the ball back at the Manhattan 43.

On the next GEHS offensive play, Trailblazer sophomore quarterback Bravin Powell took a carry around the right end of his offense for 21 yards, down to the Indians’ 22yard line. Seven plays later, the Blazers faced 4thand- goal from the MHS 1. After a GEHS timeout, Gardner-Edgerton junior fullback Dawson Kindler plowed in from 1 yard out to score the game’s opening touchdown. After Trailblazer junior kicker Owen Dye’s successful conversion kick, the Blazers held a 7-0 lead with 5:55 remaining in the 1st half.

Schartz and MHS responded with a scoring drive of their own. Manhattan engaged on an8play 80-yard drive, with 76 yards of that coming via Schartz’s passing. The Indians punctuated their drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Schartz to senior wide receiver Jaxon Bowles. After MHS senior kicker Braxton Frey notched the PAT, the score was tied at 7-7 with 2:43 left in the 1st half. That was where the score remained as the two teams headed into halftime.

GEHS opened the 2nd half with the ball at their own 44, after an impressive kickoff return from senior tailback Zaine Mayfield. On the 1st play from scrimmage, Butash took a pitch to the left side and dashed 11 yards to the Indians’ 45. Three plays later, a 13-yard rumble by Kindler moved the ball to the Manhattan 29-yard line. Six plays after that, on 3rd-and-3 from the MHS 5, Powell faked a pitch to Butash, then handed off up the middle to Kindler, who barrelled into the end zone for his 2nd TD of the night. Dye’s 2nd PAT of the night gave the Blazers a 14-7 lead with 8:34 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

GEHS forced a 3-andout from the Indians on their next possession and appeared poised to put some distance between themselves and the Number 1 seed from the western half of the state. Taking over from their own 20 with 7:23 left in the 3rd, the Blazers marched 49 yards in a time-consuming 12-play drive. However, on 4th-and-1 from the MHS 31, the Blazer offense was stifled on a dive play, and Manhattan took over on their own 30.

Going back to the air, Schartz moved his offense 57 yards in 6 plays, giving them a 2nd-and-6 from the GEHS 13. However, Schartz was forced out of the pocket by the Gardner- Edgerton defense and threw into the end zone while rolling out to his right. But Green was there in coverage, and he snagged Schartz’s throw for an interception in the end zone. The touchback gave the ball back to the Trailblazers at their own 20 with 10:48 remaining in the contest.

Yet, on the next play, another fumbled exchange between Blazer QB and running back ended up in the hands of MHS senior linebacker Benjamin Irvine, and the Indians appeared poised to score again.

The Manhattan offense, sticking to the ground this time. Moved the ball down to the GEHS 1-yard line in six plays. However, n 4th-and-goal from the Gardner Edgerton 1, the Trailblazer defense bowed their necks and forced a stop, with junior cornerback Elijah Porter and senior defensive end Ozzy Poage piling up Schartz for no gain, as he tried to take the ball in from over the left side of his offensive line. The Blazers took over at their own 1-yard line on loss of downs with 7:20 remaining in the contest.

Still, the GEHS offense could make little headway, moving the ball just 1 yard in 3 plays and having to punt on 4th-and-9 from their own 2. A 15-yard Manhattan punt return gave the Indians excellent field position, with a 1stand- 10 from the Gardner Edgerton 23. Three plays later, MHS senior halfback Jason Sanchez took a pitch to the right side of his offense and zipped in from 9 yards out for Manhattan’s 2nd touchdown of the game. After Frey notched the conversion, the game was tied at 14-14 with 4:51 remaining.

The Trailblazers were forced into a 3-and-out on their next possession, and after the punt, Manhattan took over on their own 47 with 3:35 left to play. In just two plays, the Indians’ offense had moved the ball to Blazers’ 30, but 25 yards in penalties and a stout GHS defense forced Manhattan to punt, and the two teams went into overtime.

Manhattan won the coin toss in overtime and elected to play defense first. Their appeared to be a sound one, as they denied the Trailblazers on a 4thand- goal touchdown attempt from the 2-yard line. Yet the Blazers weren’t going to lay down for the Manhattan offense. On the Indians’ first play of the overtime, Blazic sliced into the MHS backfield and tackled Schartz for a 5-yard loss. From there, Manhattan was able to generate just 4 more yards on offense, and confusion on the Indians’ special teams led to a rushed, low snap on a game-winning field goal opportunity that sailed wide left. The two teams headed into a 2nd overtime.

MHS took the ball on offense first in the 2nd OT and faced a 4th-and-goal from the GEHS 2. That is when Sanchez scored his 2nd touchdown of the night – again on a pitch from Schartz to the right side. Frey’s third point-after- touchdown put the Indians up 21-14, with Gardner-Edgerton taking the next offensive opportunity.

A 4-yard carry by Powell was followed by a 4-yard carry by Butash, and the Blazers faced a 3rd-andgoal from the 2. Kindler was then given the ball on a counter carry to the left and smashed his way into the end zone for his 3rd TD of the night. The Blazers then set up for a 2-point conversion and appeared to try and draw the Manhattan defense offside before calling a timeout. When GEHS came back out on the field, they again lined up for the 2-point conversion. On the snap, Powell pitched the ball to Butash who had a Gardner Edgerton lead blocker in front of him. However, the Indians’ linebackers covered ground quickly and forced Butash out of bounds just one yard short of the goal line, giving MHS a 21-20 victory.

After his team was presented with the State Runners- Up trophy and he had an opportunity to address his players, Owen reflected on the incredible progress his team and program had been able to make in the two years Owen has been at the GEHS helm.

“It’s been a long road,” Owen said. “We have a tight circle with our players and our staff, and we just try to stay focused and work hard, tune all the distractions out. We just had a good, cohesive group this year that kind of piggybacked on a strong finish last year. About midway through the season, we started being able to do things I thought we were capable of doing schematically, but it’s tough to get here – even when you feel you’re playing well in November. It’s a tough path. That’s how you play the game – you play it physical and tough. That’s what we preach. We have tough kids. I just want to give a lot of credit to our kids and our coaching staff. I think if you want to improve yourself in any endeavor, you surround yourself with good, tough people. And you win with people. We had a really good coaching staff and really good players, and so they deserve all the credit. I’m just extremely proud of them.”

Offensively, Kindler led the way for the Trailblazers, carrying the ball an astounding 39 times for 124 yards and 3 touchdowns. Butash carried the ball 11 times for 52 yards, while Powell had 12 carries for 39 yards.

Defensively, GEHS was paced by senior linebacker Andrew Kamtio who recorded 11 tackles (9 solo, 2 assists) with 1 tacklefor- loss (-3 yards), fellow senior linebacker Therron Meade, who had 10 tackles (8 solo, 2 assists), junior cornerback Randy Singleton, who racked up 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 assist) and 1 tackle-for-loss, Green – who notched a forced fumble, an interception return, and a pass breakup, and Blazic – who recorded a fumble recovery and a tackle-for-loss (-5 yards).

The Traiblazers finished the season with a 9-4 record.