EMPORIA – Kapaun Mount Carmel was once a dominant football program in Kansas, with nine titles in 13 appearances over a span of 18 seasons. But the Crusaders’ last title came in 1987. Their opponent, the Bishop Miege Stags, have been known for more recent success, with 11 state titles, including seven from 2014-2022.
The Crusaders’ drought came to an end Saturday night at Emporia State University’s Welch Stadium with a decisive 56-21 victory. Kapaun (12-1) established a dominant ground game, running for 540 yards on 60 carries, an average of 9 yards per carry. That ground game was a led by the three-headed monster of junior Kenneth Huff (22 carries for 250 yards), senior Wyatt Sullenger (16 carries for 123 yards), and senior Cal Purvis (11 carries for 95 yards).
“It’s amazing; a real surreal feeling,” Purvis said after the victory. All the hard work we put in, it feels good to get the win.”
Miege (7-6), which came in with a more balanced attack, never got their passing attack established, as junior Landon Cole completed only 13 of 37 passes for 159 yards, struggling on a bitter cold night with a stiff northwest wind. The Stags ground game didn’t fare much better, being held to 146 yards on 26 carries (3.2ypc).
After Miege turned it over on downs on their first drive, Kapaun junior quarterback Cole Rapp handed off to Huff, who immediately broke free for a 39-yard TD run.
Miege turned it over on downs on their second possession as well, and Kapaun quickly found the end zone again, this time on a Cal Purvis 35-yard run for a 14-0 lead at the 6:39 mark of the first quarter.
Cole did lead the Stags to the end zone on their next drive, connecting with Michael Blount for an 18-yard TD pass with 3:11 remaining to cut the deficit to 14-7 at the end of the first quarter,
But it was all Kapaun after that, as they scored twice more in the second quarter, and three more times in the first 3:31 of the second half to push their lead to 49-7, ending any Miege hopes of a comeback.
Cole was able to connect with his receivers twice more later in the game, but any chance at a title was well out of reach by that point.
And while Kapaun was likely the prohibitive favorite, both teams were incredibly hot coming in.
Kapaun’s lone loss came in its seventh game, a narrow defeat at the hands of St. James Academy. Miege was on a five-game winning streak of its own, after a 2-5 start that included losses to several larger Kansas City area schools from each side of the state line.
But in the end, Kapaun’s offense was just too much, as they finished a dominant season outscoring opponents 661-162.
“A lot of work really pushed us,” Huff said of the desire to capture the school’s first title in 38 years. “It gave us something to really work toward, and each of us really wanted it for our fellow teammates.”
Huff also stated that the Crusaders really wanted this title for Coach Weston Schartz, who has coached for 43 seasons with several schools in Kansas, primarily in Wichita.
“He really deserves it,” Huff added. “Forty-three years of staying strong. Nobody deserves it more than him.”
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 56, Bishop Miege 21
KMC (12-1): 14 – 14 – 28 – 0 | 56
Miege (7-6): 7 – 0 – 7 – 7 | 21
Scoring Summary
First quarter:
10:12 | Kapaun – Ken Huff 39-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 7-0
6:39 | Kapaun – Cal Purvis 35-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 14-0
3:23 | Miege – Michael Blount 18-yard pass from Landon Cole (Jaska kick), KMC 14-7
Second quarter:
10:44 | Kapaun – Purvis 35-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 21-7
:15 | Kapaun – Purvis 12-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 28-7
Third quarter:
11:41 | Kapaun – Huff 70-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 35-7
10:23 | Kapaun – Cole Rapp 1-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 42-7
8:29 | Kapaun – Wyatt Sullenger 12-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 49-7
4:46 | Miege – Wesley Walsh 20-yard pass from Cole (Jaska kick), KMC 49-14
:17 | Kapaun – Sullenger 16-yard run (Dupont kick), KMC 56-14
Fourth quarter:
6:23 | Miege – Blount 7-yard pass from Cole (Jaska kick), KMC 56-21
KMC MIEGE
First Downs 27 25
Rushes-Yards 60-540 46-146
Passing Yards 0 159
Comp-Att-Int 0-3-0 13-37-1
Total Offense Plays-Yards 63-540 83-305
Fumbles returns-yards 2-0 1-0
Punt returns-yds 1-17 0-0
KO returns-yds 3-32 5-58
INT returns-yds 1-0 0-0
Punts (No-Avg) 1-32 3-20.7
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1
Penalties-Yds 7-87 7-60
Poss Time 22:20 25:40
3rd down conversions 4 of 8 9 of 19
4th down conversions 2 of 3 1 of 5
Red Zone (Scores-Chances) 5-6 3-3
Rushing:
KMC – Huff 22-250, 2 TDs; Sullenger 16-123, 2 TDs; Purvis 11-95, 3 TDs; Rapp 7-69, 1 TD; Guyer 3-4; TEAM 1 (-1).
Miege – George 30-121; Watskey 11-35; Cole 5 – (-10)
Passing:
KMC – Rapp 0-3-0, 0 yds
Miege – Cole 13-37-1, 159 yds, 3 TDs
Receiving:
KMC – None
Miege – Blount 5-61, 2 TDs; McDaniel 4-42, Walsh 2-30, 1 TD; Johnson 1-18; George 1-9.
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