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Facing an uphill battle all game long, Smithville rose to the challenge not once, but twice to secure a title-clinching win.

The Warriors engineered a comeback to remember on the way to a dramatic, 17-14 victory against Kearney in a battle between conference and district rivals. They scored two times in the final six minutes, and Isaac Miller scored the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds remaining.

With the win, Smithville forced a three-way tie for the Suburban Conference Blue Division title, sharing it with Kearney and Platte County. All three teams are also in the same district, and Platte County emerged with the No. 1 seed after winning against Grandview in the regular season finale.

Smithville coach Jason Ambroson beamed as he reflected on his team’s comeback win, the first against Kearney in recent memory.

“I’m just very proud of them, how through adversity and a very, very hard-fought game,” Ambroson said. “It was a defensive war, and we made the plays when we needed to.

“It’s a great team effort.”

Both defenses dominated for much of the contest. Kearney standout Patrick Connery scored the only touchdown in the first three quarters on a first-quarter swing pass from Dakota Ah-Mu, and the Bulldogs maintained a 7-3 lead after three quarters.

Then things got nutty.

Smithville (8-1) put together a lengthy drive that resulted in a touchdown pass from Kellen Simoncic to Jake Fisher to give his team a 10-7 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Fisher is one of the team leaders on defense as a defensive end but has been a threat in the passing game this season, especially in the red zone.

“I always tell them that they need to throw it more to me, and they did,” Fisher said, jokingly.

But Kearney (7-2) wasn’t about to go quietly and responded with a scoring drive of its own. Connery put the Bulldogs ahead with just more than two minutes left to play.

Connery has shouldered the load all season for the Bulldogs but was limited to 39 yards on 13 carries by a senior-heavy Smithville defense led by Fisher, Brian Boyd and Seth Teachout, among others.

“We just knew that we had to stay on the line of scrimmage, play hard and take on everything coming right at you,” Fisher said. “You’ve got to play hard and finish, and that’s what we did.”

The Warriors took possession with just a couple minutes left and benefited from a double personal foul call on Kearney that moved the ball 30 yards on a single play.

With 30 seconds left, Fisher drew a holding penalty in the end zone, and on the very next play, Isaac Miller took the toss from Simoncic and blasted into the end zone for what would be the winning touchdown.

Playing in the Suburban Conference for the first season, Smithville secured a share of its second consecutive conference title after last year’s split championship in the Midland Empire Conference.

Still, Platte County emerged on top of the Class 4 District 8 standings because of a head-to-head victory against Smithville earlier this year. Kearney finished third in the district, and all three teams will host their respective first-round district contests next week.

In the aftermath of his team’s win, Ambroson tipped his cap to a Kearney team that could be waiting in the district semifinals, and ultimately praised his team for its ability to make so many clutch plays when it mattered most.

“We’re going to celebrate this one tonight because it’s a really good team win,” Ambroson said. “And we’re going to get ready for whoever next week.”