SENECA, Mo. — Seneca will be playing in the state title game for the first time since 2013 after blowing out St. Pius X 41-17 in the Class 3 semifinal round on Saturday.
The Indians (13-0) took the lead on the second possession of the game and never looked back. The Warriors (11-3) kicked a field goal on the opening possession and were held off the scoreboard until the final 5:10 minutes of the game, with Seneca scoring 41 unanswered at one point to build a lead too big to come back from while clinching an invitation to the Class 3 state championship game in the process.
Seneca will take on Central (Park Hills) at 11 a.m. in the Class 3 state title game at Faurot Field on the campus of the University of Missouri on Friday.
The last time the Indians played for a state title was in 2013-14 when Seneca fell to Maryville 50-28.
St. Pius X got on the scoreboard first with a 35-yard field connection from Julian Abella with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
Fresh off a fourth-down conversion on its ensuing drive, Seneca struck for the big play when QB Gavyn Hoover hit a wide-open TE Hagen Ginger over the middle, who sprinted his way to the end zone and fought off a tackle at the goal line for a 53-yard touchdown reception and a 6-3 lead with 5:40 to play in the first quarter.
Hoover completed 3-of-5 passes for 91 yards through the air and added 17 carries for 96 rushing yards in the win.
Seneca OLB Nolan Napier picked up a loose ball on a bad snap by the Warriors for a turnover to give the offense an extra possession in plus territory at the St. Pius 39-yard line.
The Indians’ offense made the most of the turnover when Hoover capped the ensuing drive after breaking free for a 19-yard touchdown on fourth and 1 with 47 seconds left in the first quarter to push the lead to 12-3.
Seneca RB Jackson Marrs picked up gains of 21 yards and 32 yards to set up a 1-yard rushing score from Hoover to give the Indians a 20-3 lead following a 2-point conversion on a run by WR Ethan Altic with 8:06 to play in the first half.
Marrs finished the game with 17 carries for a game-high 185 rushing yards in the win.
Seneca used the big play again to find paydirt, this time on the ground when Marrs ripped off a huge gain on a third-and-17 run after he took the last-second option pitch and made several would-be tacklers miss before sprinting his way to an 87-yard touchdown with 49 seconds left in the first half to push the lead to 28-3 after Hoover ran in the 2-point try.
The Indians closed the first half with an interception by SS Kaden Clouse with 28 seconds left.
Seneca took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched down the field with a 23-yard run on a reverse by Altic and a 24-yard rush from Marrs to set up a 9-yard touchdown run up the middle from Hoover to extend the lead to 34-3 with 6:39 to play in the third period.
After another empty Warriors’ possession, Hoover hooked up with Altic for a 43-yard connection to get down to the St. Pius X 12-yard line, ultimately setting up a 1-yard touchdown on the ground by Marrs at the 3:13 mark of the third quarter to start the running clock with a 41-3 lead.
St. Pius scored with 5:10 to play in the game when RB Jacob Manis broke free for a 29-yard touchdown to make the score 41-11.
The Warriors got a late receiving score from Luke Tomc as time expired.
