Seneca's second-half rally falls short in state championship loss to Park Hills Central

Dec. 1—COLUMBIA, Mo. — Seneca was slow out of the gates and it came back to bite in the Class 3 MSHSAA Show-Me Bowl on Friday at the University of Missouri's Faurot Field against Park Hills Central.

The Rebels jumped out to a 26-0 lead behind the strength of quarterback Casen Murphy's arm. Murphy threw for 168 yards in the first quarter alone and had 249 yards and three touchdowns by halftime.

The Indians (13-1) got within 8 points in the second half but couldn't get any closer as they fell 48-34.

"First off, I just want to credit Central, man. They played an extremely good football game," Seneca head coach Cody Hilburn said. "All the credit goes to them. Not a whole lot went right for us in that first half.

"My takeaway is this, and it's been like this with these guys all year, is how resilient they are."

A six-play, 58-yard drive is when things started to go right for Seneca as the first half neared its end. The drive was capped off by a Jackson Marrs 5-yard touchdown run to make the score 26-6. Seneca's 2-point conversion try failed.

The third quarter turned into a fireworks show for both offenses as they tallied 38 points together — 6 more than the 32 scored in the entire first half. The Indians were behind by 14 entering the fourth quarter.

The final period began with a 40-yard run by Ethan Altic on a wide receiver sweep, but he fumbled just before falling to the ground and the ball was recovered by Central at the 32-yard line.

Seneca's defense later forced a fumble to put the offense back on the field after Park Hills had driven the ball down to the 27 of Seneca.

The Indians put together a long, productive drive that ended with Marrs' fourth rushing touchdown of the game, this one from 2 yards away. The rush on the 2-point try was stuffed to make it 42-34 in favor of Central.

Seneca forced a quick three-and-out of Central's offense on the next possession to get the ball back with more than five minutes to play and two timeouts in coach Hilburn's pocket.

The Indians moved the ball into enemy territory but stalled a bit inside the Rebels' 40. On fourth and 1 from the 32, Marrs was hit at the line of scrimmage by Sam Callaway, and the ball immediately popped out and was recovered by Central's Jobe Bryant.

That ended up sealing the game as the Rebels' Bryant scampered 56 yards to the end zone on the second play of the next drive to make it 48-34.

"Seneca's a really good football team, and it took everything we had to win this one," Central head coach Kory Schweiss said.

This was Seneca's first state championship appearance since 2013. The Indians were just a few plays going differently away from clinching their first title since 1995.

"These guys (players) brought them back, I didn't do it," Hilburn said of getting Seneca back to the big game. "I'm just glad to be a part of it. These guys, my assistant coaches and the community, that's how it's supposed to look."

Altic talked about being glad to come here and "be able to play for a state championship." Marrs added sentiments about playing with all the guys he grew up playing with, and Hoover commented about enjoying his time under coach Hilburn the last three years.

That final touchdown was Bryant's seventh total touchdown of the game. The 6-foot, 185-pound wide receiver caught four touchdowns, ran for two and even tossed one to fellow wideout Kannon Harlow.

"He's pretty special," Schweiss said. "He could go play basketball, he could go play football (college). They always tell him he's too small. They tell him he isn't fast enough. Whatever they tell him, it doesn't matter. This is what he does.

"It was nice to come up here on the big stage and Jobe ball out like that. I knew he would. The bigger the stage, the bigger they play."

Bryant finished with 73 rushing yards, 123 passing on a perfect 7-of-7 passing effort and 163 receiving on 12 catches. The senior's total yardage was 359 for the game.

Harlow caught eight passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. Caden Casey had eight receptions for 138 yards.

Marrs led the Seneca offense with 139 rushing yards. Quarterback Gavyn Hoover added 71 rushing and 110 passing.

Hoover threw just one interception. The turnover came in Central territory as the Indians were trying to drive in the waning seconds of the first half. All three Seneca turnovers occurred in plus territory.

Altic completed a 53-yard bomb on a wide receiver reverse to Blake Skelton, who beat his man down the sideline to make it 42-28 with Marrs' 2-point conversion run. That was the first play of the drive after recovering an onside kick. Altic also had 49 receiving yards on two catches. Skelton had 68 yards and three grabs.

Murphy finished 29 of 43 with 363 yards and four touchdowns.

This was the first state championship in program history for Park Hills (11-3).

"I think it means a lot because of all the players before us that have tried and have failed," Murphy said. "I feel like they've been living through us and we feel like the whole city has been behind us. It means the world."

Hilburn talked earlier in the week about the athleticism of Central and how they'd be more athletic than any team Seneca had faced. The Rebels showcased that athleticism by spreading the field all game long for long passes, screen passes and some designed trick plays.

One play in particular that worked to convert on third and fourth down more than once was a play that saw the Rebels move everyone toward one side of the field and leave a receiver and one block all alone on the other side against a defensive back and a deep safety.

"We have a lot of playmakers, which makes it easy for a coach that likes to get creative," Schweiss said.

Hilburn left thoughts on what he saw behind himself in the bleachers at Faurot Field on Friday.

"There couldn't have been anybody left in the town. That's what it's all about. That's who Seneca is," he said.