HAYS — Olpe's quest for the school's first state football title ended with a 48-19 loss to Smith Center in the Class 2-1A title game Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field, as the Redmen won their fifth straight 2-1A crown and state-record 67th game in a row.
First-quarter touchdown runs by Joe Osburn of 75 and 71 yards put Olpe in a 14-0 hole. An 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Bradley Argabright brought the Eagles to within 14-7, but the Redmen answered with two second-quarter touchdowns for a 28-7 lead at halftime. The game was well in hand by the time Olpe added two fourth-quarter touchdowns: one on a 13-yard tipped-pass catch by Cole Krueger with 6:38 remaining and one on a 43-yard catch by Argabright on the game's final play.
Osburn ran for 201 yards on 10 carries, and Marshall McCall added 138 yards on six carries with three fourth-quarter TDs. For Olpe, Matt Redeker completed 24 of 44 passes for 303 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
For complete coverage of Saturday's championship game, see Monday's Gazette.