Reeds Spring football advances to first state championship in school history with win over Sullivan
REEDS SPRING — Right before halftime, Wolves head coach Andy McFarland was asked if he wanted to take a knee and take the game into the break. The Wolves had the ball at their own 19 with seven seconds remaining with the score tied at 14.
"Heck no," McFarland replied. "We're going to score a touchdown."
On the last play of the half, junior quarterback Blandy Burall bought some time and threw the ball as far as he could for junior wide receiver James Dowdy. Between two defenders, Dowdy jumped up and caught the ball, made a man miss and went 81 yards for the touchdown.
It was a moment that will forever go down in Reeds Spring history.
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Reeds Spring captured the momentum and brought it into the second half to come away with a 49-20 win over Sullivan at Carl Langley Field in Reeds Spring. The Wolves will play in their first state championship game in school history against Cardinal Ritter (13-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Faurot Field in Columbia.
Tears streamed down Dowdy's face, mixing with the heavy rain that began late in the fourth quarter, as he stood in victory.
"This is the first time this has ever happened, man," Dowdy said. "I prayed for this."
Dowdy finished the game with seven catches for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had one kick return for a touchdown along with an interception on the defensive side of the ball.
"He's one of the quietest, hardest-working kids I've ever coached," McFarland, soaked after a Gatorade bath, said. "He never has much to say other than 'yes, sir' and when you tell him something, he does his best to go do that. I'm so proud of James. You see a guy like that have a big game and big moment like this and he's truly earned that."
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The game was scoreless for the majority of the first half until Sullivan took advantage of a muffed punt deep in the Wolves' territory. Reeds Spring quickly responded thanks to a 38-yard run by Preston Blubaugh, who finished the game with 159 yards on the ground, to set up a one-yard sneak from Burall.
The Eagles scored right after but the Wolves struck back 20 seconds later with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Dowdy to tie it up. The 81-yard connection between the two on the last play of the half gave the Wolves a seven-point advantage and gave them three touchdowns on their final four offensive plays heading into the break.
"I'm a big risk guy," Burall said of his heaves to his top receiver. "He can jump. He's got hops and he's just a great guy and we all love him."
The rout was on from there with Burall hitting Tracen Cobb for a 10-yard score. Right after Sullivan scored on its next possession, Dowdy returned a kickoff to the house. Fifty seconds later, linebacker Adam Lewis picked up a Sullivan fumble and returned it for a touchdown.
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To put the cherry on top, Burall, on the first play of the fourth quarter, aired it out for Addison Abshire for a 36-yard touchdown and the 49-20 victory.
Burall, the first 2,000-yard passer in Reeds Spring history, finished the game 12-for-19 with 304 yards and four touchdowns.
"It's unreal," Burall said. "We've just had that championship mindset and have been together. You have to have that brotherhood and that mindset to just keep going and pushing."
When the clock hit zero, the Wolves stormed the field in celebration. Every player was in another player's arms with the likes of Caden Wiest, Eben Crain, Moses Barr and others who made history by staying together.
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Once unimaginable to the Wolves when they were 2-6 in 2020 and 4-7 a year ago, they're now a win away from a Class 3 state championship.
"I'm so proud of everything they've done this year," McFarland said. "We got to this point for a reason. Our kids were dedicated to making improvements and not being satisfied with the status quo. We wanted to be better and our kids were dedicated to that all year long.
"I told them in the huddle that it was the first time in school history that we'd ever been there. But let's not be satisfied with just making it. Let's go win the whole thing."
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Reeds Spring beats Sullivan to advance to Class 3 state championship
