ANOTHER PERFECT SEASON: Andale throttles Hayden for 3A crown

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - Andale quarterback Samuel Harp put on a show in his final game donning the gold and yellow in the Class 3A state title game.

The senior carried the ball 17 times and finished with 144 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, he earned a third quarter interception that helped clinch Andale’s second straight state title and an undefeated season with a 38-6 win over Topeka Hayden on Friday at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson.

“He’s just unbelievable,” Andale Dylan Schmidt said. “He does everything. He returns punts, he plays on offense and defense.”

After the two teams combined for only three drives and zero points in the first quarter, Andale exploded in the second, scoring 16 unanswered points. Harp put the Indians on the board with a 1-yard run. The Indians got a bounce on their next drive, when a pass from Harp was fumbled on the 1-yard line and recovered by Hayden Grimes in the end zone.

“They kept it close,” Schmidt said. “We just kept fighting. We had a few backbreaking plays. We knew they would get tired.”

“Coach (Tim) Fairchild gave us some inspiring words,” Harp said. “He told us to keep pushing.”

Hayden got within eight points in the third quarter, when Kade Mitchell scored from seven yards. The Wildcats had all the momentum after Mason Becker intercepted a Harp pass. But on the ensuing drive, a fumble on a reverse was picked up by Andale’s Ethan Eck. The Indians scored 22 unanswered points after the fumble recovery. Harp hurdled a defender and broke off a 46-yard run for a touchdown and Jack Horsch scored from five yards to put the Indians up 30-6. Harp put the game away himself, earning his interception and following with a 22-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, his third of the night.

“I knew I had to make up for throwing an interception.” Harp said.

The Indians clinched their ninth state title and fifth in six years, finishing a 13-0 season, their second consecutive unbeaten season.

“We take it one game at a time,” Schmidt said. “But we know we can win every game we play in.”

“I hate losing,” Harp said. “We lost at state (in 2023), I knew I never wanted to lose a football game again.”