East Buchanan blanks Adrian to repeat as Missouri Class 1 football champs

By Brock Nelson | Photos by Ron Rigdon

COLUMBIA — Bulldogs are often described as scrappy, determined, and tough. The East Buchanan Bulldogs embody all of these traits, but they do have a leg up on the rest of the crowd.

Not many Bulldogs are back-to-back state champions.

The Bulldogs trounced the Adrian Blackhawks 42-0 on Saturday, securing yet another Missouri Class 1 football championship.

“We just came out and took care of business. I was very proud,” East Buchanan coach Daniel Ritter said. “We started off a little slow, but [through] our defense, we realized quite early we were gonna have confidence, be able to do this thing.”

It was a complete game throughout, and any mistakes from the Bulldogs (14-1) were few and far between.

After junior quarterback Gage Busby threw an interception on East Buchanan’s first series, he responded with 312 yards and three touchdowns.

“We were doing the right things, we just weren’t executing,” Busby said. “I had to step up and be a leader for my team, let my guys make plays.”

When Busby’s arm wasn’t driving the Bulldogs down the field, it was Trevor Klein’s legs that did the job. The senior running back accumulated 190 total yards on offense with four touchdowns to match.

The receiving corps also had a day. Senior wideout Adam Stephen Engnes had 143 receiving yards and a touchdown, while his counterpart, junior wide receiver Aidan Hensley, had four catches for 57 yards and a score of his own.

“It was fun to see our offense get rolling in the second half,” Ritter said.

The East Buchanan defense was dominant in blanking the Blackhawks, who had yet to be shut out all season.

Senior noseguard Ethan Bailey had a sack and two tackles for loss, Hensley snagged two of the Bulldogs’ three interceptions, and the Adrian (12-3) offense was limited to just 136 total yards.

Bailey, a two-way starter, credited chemistry and tenacity for the well-rounded performance his team had.

“Ever since first grade, every game we played we took seriously,” said Bailey. “We talked about it when we were little, how awesome it’d be to go to state. But we never talked about going to state two times.”

When the horn finally sounded and the trophy ceremony was over, Ritter could see the similarities with his current state champion team and the one from last year.

“It was kind of like deja vu,” he said. “Same team, same weather, same experience. The way we were able to handle ourselves and have confidence, that’s something you really like to see as a coach.”

As a coach, Ritter was excited to get everyone on the field once the win was all but secured.

“To be able to have our foreign exchange student kick an extra point, I know that’s just a small blip of this entire game, but that was a whole lot of fun to see,” he said.

When the players were asked how they would celebrate, the answer was the same across the board.

“I think we’re going to stop at Taco Bell like last year,” Hensley said. “Let the employees hold up the trophy, celebrate with us, and bring as many people as we can.”

There were no objections from any other Bulldogs. Taco Bell would be the first destination for the newly crowned state champions.

While Adrian’s season may not have ended the way they wanted to, there was no reason for the Blackhawks to be discouraged. They were just the third team in school history to ever make it this far.

“They had a great team,” Adrian coach Matt Davis said. “Well rounded offensively and defensively, controlled the game from start to finish on us. Nothing to hang our heads about, just got beat by a better team today.”

Blackhawks senior back Jence Griffith may not have been on the winning sideline, yet nonetheless he stuck around after the handshakes to talk with some of the Bulldogs.

“I just wanted to congratulate them on the win,” he said. “(In the handshake line) you don’t really get to truly tell them good job. Number 20 (Trevor Klein) is a heck of an athlete, they had a bunch of athletes on their team. They just beat us fair and square.” 

Missouri Class 1 football championship game - East Buchanan vs. Adrian

Photos from Ron Rigdon