COLUMBIA, Mo. — A repeat wasn’t meant to be for the Lamar Tigers.
Lutheran St. Charles scored the game-winning touchdown with six seconds left to earn a 33-27 win over Lamar in the MSHSAA Class 2 Show-Me Bowl on Friday at Faurot Field.
The back and forth thriller was deadlocked when the Cougars took over with 2:45 remaining. Lutheran St. Charles marched 64 yards on nine plays. The drive was capped by a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Arlen Harris Jr.
Lamar coach Jared Beshore noted he was extremely proud of his team’s effort after a loss that could be described as heartbreaking.
“Our guys like to call ourselves The Brotherhood,” Beshore said. “We played in full belief of our brotherhood tonight. We gave everything we had. There were good things that happened in the game and bad things that happened in the game. But they never quit. I love this team and I love coaching these guys. They showed today why they’ve been successful.”
Lamar got on the board with five minutes remaining in the first quarter on Joel Beshore’s 1-yard run. Jose Juarez’s kick made it 7-0.
The Tigers went up 13-0 on the first play from scrimmage to start the second period when Joel Beshore connected with Trace Willhite for a 62-yard touchdown strike.
The Cougars swung the momentum in a hurry by making the most of two Lamar turnovers.
One play after recovering a Lamar fumble, Lutheran St. Charles QB Aaron Coffey completed a 62-yard TD pass to Kaleb Mays.
The Cougars took a 14-13 lead with 4:23 remaining in the second quarter after CJ Holloway scooped up a Tiger fumble and sprinted 50 yards to the end zone.
Lutheran St. Charles scored on the opening drive of the third period, as Arlen Harris Jr. scampered 6 yards, to pull his team ahead, 21-13.
Logan Crockett’s 13-yard touchdown run pulled the Tigers within two with 1:51 left in the third period. The two-point conversion failed, however.
The Tigers re-took the lead with 8:47 left on Crockett’s 1-yard plunge and the two-point conversion, a pass to Willhite.
That gave Lamar a 27-21 cushion.
The lead didn’t last long, as Charles Young returned the kick 88 yards to the end zone. The PAT was blocked, keeping the score tied with 8:33 left on the clock.
“That was huge, it was such a game-changer,” Cougars coach Arlen Harris Sr. said of the special teams play.
“They have some big-time playmakers,” Coach Beshore said of the Cougars. “They got us a couple of times, but I thought we did a nice job for the most part.”
After Lamar was forced to punt with just over three minutes to play, the Cougars put together the game-winning drive.
Lamar had 401 yards of offense, with 271 rushing and 130 passing. Joel Beshore ran 20 times for 99 yards, Crockett had 63 yards on nine carries. Willhite ran seven times for 58 yards and Austin Wilkerson had 56 rushing yards on nine attempts.
Joel Beshore completed 14 of 22 passes. Willhite caught two passes for 64 yards.
Lutheran St. Charles (12-2) had 267 yards, with 197 passing and 70 rushing. Coffey completed 13 of 19 passes. Mays had four catches for 118 yards. The Cougars captured their first state championship.
Coach Beshore noted he was proud of his team for overcoming adversity throughout the season, including a couple of injuries in the title game.
Of course, Lamar beat St. Pius X in last year’s title game in what was Coach Beshore’s first year at the helm. That was Lamar’s eighth championship.
Lamar saw its winning streak halted at 23. This year’s squad finishes with a 13-1 record and a state runner-up plaque.
“It meant quite a bit to come back to the state championship game and represent our town,” Lamar senior lineman Jake Polodna said. “We’re brothers. We’ve been playing together since we were in second or third grade. We made a lot of memories together. We represented everything Lamar stands for.”
FULL STATS: MSHSAA 2021-2022 Class 2 11-Man Football State Tournament Matchup: Lutheran St. Charles vs. Lamar
