The seventh-seeded Firebirds shutdown No. 10 Hamilton 30-0 in a Division I, Region 4 playoff opener at Firebird Stadium — a victory that marked Lakota West coach Tom Bolden’s 200th career win.
“The playoffs — that’s the most important part of it,” Bolden said. “Hats off to Hamilton. Those kids play hard. They always play hard for (Hamilton coach) Arvie (Crouch). We just kind of grabbed momentum and didn’t give it up.
“Two hundred wins — that’s pretty wild. I don’t think much about it, but I’ll take it. A lot of great football players, great coaches, great administrators, great fans. I’ve been blessed to be with a lot of great people during this journey.”
Braydon Johnson rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries, while kicker Kofi Adubofuor connected on all three of his field goals — from 35, 46 and 35 yards — and added three extra points.
Lakota West controlled the game from the opening drive, piling up 167 rushing yards and forcing four Hamilton turnovers without committing one.
The win sends the Firebirds into next Friday’s regional quarterfinal against second-seeded Moeller at Mount St. Joseph University.
The Firebirds (7-4) took command early, scoring on their first possession when Johnson found the end zone from five yards out less than a minute into the game.
Adubofuor tacked on a 35-yard field goal midway through the quarter to give Lakota West a 10-0 lead, and the senior kicker added two more before halftime to make it 16-0.
The knockout punch came in the third quarter. Johnson ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run, and junior quarterback Jackson Smith later hit senior Tyson Davis for a 58-yard scoring strike to put the game away at 30-0.
Hamilton finished with more first downs (16-8), but couldn’t overcome four turnovers — including three interceptions thrown by quarterback Jayden McClain.
McClain completed 10 of 26 passes for 128 yards, while Hamilton senior Jordan Bryant caught seven passes for 102 yards. But West’s defensive backs — Roman Combs (two interceptions) and Chris Bradley (one interception) — made sure Hamilton never found the end zone.
“My first pick, I thought, ‘No way he’s going to throw it — but if he does, I’m getting it,’” Combs said. “On the second one, I don’t know why he threw that. I just jumped and went up for it. We were in cover three, and I saw two receivers. I sat between them and went and got the ball.
“Those turnovers were huge. Creating them was a big part of the win. We knew if we could force mistakes, we’d be in control.”
The Big Blue (4-7) managed just 16 rushing yards on 29 attempts, repeatedly stymied by a fast, physical Firebird front led by linebackers Cam Thomas and Andrew Fryer — who combined for 18 tackles.
“They out-schemed us at the beginning, and it kind of cost us,” Crouch said. “We turned it over right before half, and that really hurt us. It was still a two-score game, but they made more plays than we did. We just needed to play better — that’s all it comes down to.
“We’ve got great seniors,” Crouch added. “They’re successful human beings, and a lot of them are going to play college football. Our record doesn’t show what kind of season it was. We were in every game except the two with West. Unfortunately, we didn’t figure out how to win until the end, and we just couldn’t get the momentum back.
“I can’t imagine not coaching these dudes. I really love these guys. They’ve worked their tails off and made the best out of themselves — and they’re even better humans. You want to coach kids like that. You don’t always get that lucky. The program’s in good shape because of them, and we’ll be back to work in 30 days.”
Bolden said his team responded exactly the way he hoped after a Week 10 loss to rival Lakota East.
“We weren’t sharp offensively, but a lot of that had to do with Hamilton’s really good defense,” Bolden said. “We made the plays when we needed to make them. Defensively, our kids were tremendous — created a bunch of turnovers, played with a chip on their shoulder and bounced back the right way.”
Even on an unusual Halloween night kickoff, Bolden said the Firebirds handled the distractions in order to take care of business.
“It was a weird vibe, to be honest,” Bolden said. “I was shocked at how many high school kids still trick-or-treat, but hats off to our kids and fans who showed out. The band did a tremendous job. Football’s football — and winning is winning.”
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