COLUMBIA, Mo. — Lamar overcame a three-score deficit and scored the go-ahead touchdown in overtime to knock off Valle Catholic 35-28 on Saturday night in the MSHSAA Class 2 Show-Me Bowl on Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
It’s Lamar’s ninth state football championship and second under the direction of Jared Beshore.
In a clash between state powerhouses, the title game was deadlocked at 28 at the end of regulation.
In overtime, Lamar needed just one play to score, as junior Alex Wilkerson ran for a 25-yard touchdown.
The Lamar defense held the Warriors out of the end zone on the ensuing drive to secure the victory.
It was a remarkable comeback for the Tigers, as Valle Catholic scored the game’s first 21 points.
Overall, Lamar scored 35 of the game’s final 42 points, as the Warriors were limited to one touchdown in the second half.
Valle Catholic’s Rylan Fallert hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Grant Fallert at the 10:45 mark of the first period to give the Warriors an early 7-0 advantage.
After Lamar’s first drive ended with a turnover on downs, Valle Catholic extended its lead to 14-0 after a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Gegg that came with 3:01 left in the opening period.
The Tigers had a promising drive going early in the second quarter, but it resulted in a turnover on downs.
Valle Catholic went up 21-0 after Gegg’s second touchdown reception of the game, this time on a 75-yard pass from Grant Fallert.
Lamar got on the board when Wilkerson connected with Chase Querry on a 69-yard touchdown strike with 6:18 left in the first half.
After a defensive stop by the Tigers’ defense, Logan Kish finished off the ensuing drive with a 2-yard run with 2:01 left in the second quarter, trimming Lamar’s deficit to 21-14.
Valle Catholic took a 28-14 advantage with 6:30 left in the third quarter on a 37-yard touchdown pass to Colin Henderson.
Next, Lamar was stopped on fourth down, resulting in another turnover on downs.
But a botched Valle Catholic punt gave the Tigers great field position, with Lamar taking over on the 4. Two plays later, Lamar’s Wilkerson scored on a 3-yard plunge, cutting Catholic’s lead to 28-21 with 10:18 left.
After a defensive stop, Lamar tied the game at 28 with 6:11 remaining in regulation after a 91-yard touchdown pass from Wilkerson to Querry, along with the PAT kick by Jose Juarez.
Both teams had opportunities late in regulation, but neither team was able to score and the game went into overtime.
Lamar (13-1) recorded 474 yards of total offense, with 257 rushing and 217 passing.
Wilkerson ran 23 times for 135 yards and also passed for 217 yards on eight completions.
Valle Catholic (12-2) finished with 376 yards, 264 passing and 112 rushing.
The Tigers were in the championship game for the fourth straight season, finishing second in both ’22 and ’21 after winning the title in ’20.
FULL STATS: MSHSAA 11-Man Football: Valle Catholic vs. Lamar – 12/2/2023
