HUTCHINSON – Conway Springs seniors Cory Misak and Brian Doffing saved their best for last, going out with a bang and powering the Cardinals to an easy 49-7 victory over Silver Lake, the defending Class 3A champions.
Conway Springs won its seventh 3A championship to go with titles from 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008.
"We just run the ball; that’s how we do it in Conway," Doffing said.
Misak rebounded from a dislocated shoulder suffered in last week’s semifinal against Garden Plain, rushing for 210 yards on 17 carries – an 11.8 yards per carry average. He scored on the first play from scrimmage from 57 yards, giving Conway Springs (13-1) a 6-0 lead with the game just 20 seconds old.
He said the injury wasn't bothering him – especially with a state title in hand.
"I took care of it all week and came out and was ready," Misak said.
He modestly praised his linemen for making the blocks.
"That's where all my credit goes," Misak said.
He said he was happy to bring another state title home.
"Conway has a history of coming here and that's just my dream of getting another state championship," he said.
Misak also scored on runs of 20, 11 and 71 yards. Doffing kept pace with his teammate, gaining 194 yards on 28 carries, including a 14-yard scoring run.
Doffing said the desire for a state title can be traced to the seniors’ elementary school days.
"Since we were in kindergarten in 1998, we were all dreaming about our senior years playing and winning the state championship," he said. "You're hoping you're going to run over them, but you think it's never going to be that easy and score like we did."
Misak and Doffing accounted for all but 106 yards of Conway Springs' offense.
Conway Springs' single-wing offense was clicking and running effortlessly throughout the game. Meanwhile, the defense stopped the Eagles (12-2) until just 1:06 remained. Silver Lake finally found the end zone on a 56-yard pass play from Evan Burdiek to Justin Malloy.
But by then, the Cardinals' starters had called it a day.
Silver Lake could only muster 159 yards of total offense in the game – 26 fewer yards than Conway Springs had in the first quarter.
Conway Springs, which didn't complete a pass in three tries, also scored on senior Jordan Ast's 45-yard run, and 255-pound lineman Marcus Hilger closed out the scoring on a 1-yard run.
The Cardinals' single-wing attack was effective going into or against the north wind at Gowans Stadium – which gusted to 45 mph – scoring 21 points with it and 28 against it.
Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton said he knew what to expect from the Cardinals' single wing.
"It's nothing we didn't expect, nothing magical," Hamilton said. "It's not anything that they've done differently in the last 15 years. That's a team that we played last year (in the title game), and most of them are back. They had the experience and handled the situation, and we showed inexperience and didn’t handle the situation."
About the only suspense for Conway Springs was wondering what might happen to Levi Bond's conversion kicks. Bond converted five after touchdowns, with one bad snap thwarting the first try.
"It was a windy game," Doffing said. "That kind of stopped their passing. It was just fun."
GAME STATS
Conway Springs 21 7 14 7 -- 49
Silver Lake 0 0 0 7 -- 7
Scoring Summary
CS – Misak 57 run (run failed), 11:40 1Q
CS – Misak 21 run (Hill pass from Doffing), 5:20 1Q
CS – Doffing 14 run (Bond kick), 1:46 1Q
CS – Misak 11 run (Bond kick) 11:38 2Q
CS – Misak 71 run (Bond kick) 2:43 3Q
CS – Ast 45 run (Bond kick) 27.6 3Q
CS – Hilger 1 run (Bond kick) 8:59 4Q
SL – Malloy 56 pass from Burdiek (Barnes kick) 1:06 4Q
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Conway Springs: Misak 17-210, Doffing 28-194, Ast 7-62, Bodine 4-37, Andra 2-16, Crowell 1-9, Hilger 1-1, Salsbery 2-2, Stanley 1-0, Team 2-(minus 2), Brozovich 1-(minus 4). Silver Lake: Kruger 6-20, Pfannenstiel 7-20, Haverkamp 3-5, Ray 2-(minus 4).
Passing – Conway Springs: Misak 0-2-1-0, Bodine 0-1-0-0. Silver Lake: Kruger 9-18-1-50, Burdiek 3-6-1-70, Hinson 0-1-1-0.
Receiving – Conway Springs: None. Silver Lake: Ray 5-37, Warren 3-16, Malloy 2-63, Pfannenstiel 1-4, DeShazo 1-0.
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