It was the big play
ability of the Cavaliers' Eric Barker that spelled
doom for the Buffs for the second straight year in
the quarterfinals. Barker had touchdown runs of 71
and 86 yards and also threw a 62-yard strike to
Casey Scherr. He accounted for 91 percent of the
Cavaliers' yardage.Down 21-0 early, the Buffs
impressed as much as any of their runaway
victories this season. Refusing to fold, they
stormed back into the game before time ran out.
"I have never been more proud of a team," said
coach Dave Tate. "We were down 21 points but we
fought back. I knew we had to shut them out in the
second half but it didn't happen."
St. Thomas More, 9-1 on the year, was held
scoreless on their first series when a 35-yard
field goal by Barker was wide left. But they took
advantage of a muffed Buff punt for a short drive
to open the scoring. Nate Hollenbeck, who shared
signal-calling duties with Barker, threaded a
12-yard pass through two Stanley County defenders
to Scherr in the end zone. After the conversion
kick, St. Thomas More led 7-0 with 1:48 left in
the first quarter.
More's second touchdown came with 9:17 left in
the first half. Barker hit Scherr breaking over
the middle at about the 50-yard line. Scherr
juggled the ball but he regained possession
without breaking stride and streaked 62 yards for
the score.
More kept the onslaught going on their very
next play on offense when Barker broke through the
left side of the line and sprinted for a 71-yard
run with 8:42 left in the first half.
The Buffs got on the board with a five-play
drive starting at their own 45-yard line. Jason
Bucholz hit Terry Larsen on a fly pattern down the
right side of the field for a 41-yard scoring
pass. It was Larsen's 25th career touchdown.
Stanley County trailed 21-7 at the break but
they had momentum in their favor. The Cavaliers
got the ball to start the second half and promptly
went backward 6 yards. On third and 16, Barker
rolled right looking for Scherr but with his
favorite target covered, he burst down the
sideline. The Buffs had a chance to corral him in
the secondary but he broke a tackle and never
stopped until he reached the end zone to complete
an 86-yard jaunt.
The Buffs picked themselves up after the
devastating play for their second scoring drive.
Starting near midfield, Stanley County went 54
yards on 15 plays that consumed most of the rest
of the third quarter. The key play in the drive
was a 15-yard pass from Bucholz to Logan Hall on
third and 14 from the 25-yard line.
Three plays later, Bucholz scored from 2 yards
out. After a conversion pass from Dusty Carroll to
Caleb Rose, the score was 28-15 with 1:24 left in
the third quarter.
The defense held More to three plays and out on
the next series. Stanley County again threatened,
driving inside the Cavalier 16. But on fourth and
6, Bucholz was dragged down for a 4-yard loss
giving the ball back to St. Thomas More with 7:25
remaining to play.
The Buffs got the ball back for a final scoring
drive with 4:10 left. Bucholz completed three
passes to Larsen in the drive. He also hit
Chandler Bartholomew for a 13-yard gain on fourth
and 13. Nate Smith caught a 6-yard touchdown pass
from Bucholz with 1:13 remaining.
Any hopes of a miracle finish ended when More
recovered the ensuing onside kick. With no time
outs, the Buffs were helpless as the Cavaliers
allowed the clock and the Stanley County season to
tick away.
"For our seniors, this is the toughest game,"
said Tate.
With the very big exception of Barker's long
run, the Buffs almost completely throttled More in
the second half, holding them to one first down
and 6 yards in total offense.
The three quick More touchdowns disrupted the
Buffs' offensive game plan. They were getting some
good yardage on the ground in the early moments
from 300-pound Brian Meyers, who usually is used
in short-yardage situations. But they had to go
more to the pass in trying to make up the big
deficit.
Another factor was turnovers, or the lack of
them. Stanley County entered the game a plus-17 in
the turnover ratio. But neither team surrendered
the ball once.
Bucholz finished a brilliant high school
football career going 13-of-23 for 152 yards, two
touchdowns and no interceptions. In his four years
as starting quarterback, the Buffs went 28-10, a
.737 winning percentage.
Larsen, another four-year starter, caught six
passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Also playing
their last football game were Bartholomew, Smith,
Hall, Rose, Carroll, John Moisan, Gerad Johnson
and Will Vogel.
"Stanley County is going to lose 10 great
athletes," said Tate. "Our underclassmen got to
see what kind of try these guys have."
Tate hopes a second consecutive playoff loss to
St. Thomas More is a motivating factor for next
year.
"St. Thomas More has gotten us twice," said
Tate. "And as long as (the Cavaliers) keep playing
mostly 11A schools, we're probably going to have
to come here. We have a lot of work to do to get
further through the playoffs."
Stanley County 0
7 8 7 -- 22
St. Thomas More 7 14 7 0 -- 28
STM--Casey Scherr 12 pass from Nate Hollenbeck
(Eric Barker kick)
STM--Scherr 62 pass from Barker (kick failed)
STM--Barker 71 run (Barker run)
SC--Terry Larsen 41 pass from Jason Bucholz
(Larsen kick)
STM--Barker 86 run (Dustin Nowotny kick)
SC--Bucholz 2 run (Caleb Rose pass from Dusty
Carroll)
SC--Nate Smith 6 pass from Bucholz (Larsen kick)
Stanley County team statistics: first
downs--13; rushing yards--33-72; passing
yards--13-27-0 152; fumbles/lost--1/0;
penalties--6-35; punts--4-26.5.
Stanley County individual statistics:
rushing--Jason Bucholz 15-18, Tyson Russell 9-17,
Brian Meyers 4-16, Terry Larsen 2-9, Dusty Carroll
2-8, Tyler Nold 1-4; passing--Jason Bucholz
13-25-0 152, Terry Larson 0-2-0 0;
receiving--Terry Larsen 7-98, Logan Hall 3-30,
Chandler Bartholomew 1-13, Nate Smith 1-6, Dusty
Carroll 1-5.
St. Thomas More team statistics: first
downs--6; rushing yards--26-169; passing
yards--9-13-0 147; fumbles/lost--0/0;
penalties--7-58; punts--3-111.
St. Thomas More individual statistics:
rushing--Eric Barker 19-153, Colby McGinley 3-8,
Clay Hunsaker 1-4, Nate Hollenbeck 2-2, Casey
Scherr 1-2; passing--Eric Barker 8-11-0 135, Nate
Hollenbeck 1-2-0 12; receiving--Casey Scherr
4-103, Jordan Den Hartog 1-24, Nate Hollenbeck
3-14, Brandon Osborn 1-6.
