Photo Credit: Nick Smith/PrepsKC 
Pembroke Hill quarterback Joshua Stahl wouldn’t and couldn’t be denied. In Friday’s Missouri Class 2 District 6 championship game against KIPP Legacy, the senior signal caller led the undefeated Raiders to a convincing 36-6 victory.
Stahl accounted for four of the Raiders’ five touchdowns, leading Pembroke Hill (11-0) to its first district title since 2003.
“It’s crazy, man,” Stahl said. “I never thought we’d be here. We made it to the district championship our sophomore year and never thought we'd be back. We fell short but we finally got it. First team in 20 years to get it.”
Pembroke entered postseason play as the district's top seed. Thanks to a Stahl-led ground-and-pound attack, the Raiders advanced to next week’s state quarterfinals against tradition-rich Lamar, the defending Class 2 state champions.
The Tigers (8-4) have won 15 state championships. They defeated Warsaw 15-13 in the Class 2 District 5 championship.
Against KIPP, Stahl rushed for three touchdowns — penalties negated two others. For good measure, he passed for a score as well. But more importantly, Stahl set the tone for a ball-control offense that saw the Raiders hold in check the upstart Gators.
Stahl is a special player, Pembroke head coach Sam Knopik said.
“He’s everything for us,” Knopik said.
For KIPP, containing Stahl proved difficult all night. He was a marked man in the number 10 jersey.
Despite repeated calls to “Get 10,” from the Gators faithful, the task proved easier said than done.
“They were the better team tonight,” KIPP head coach Michael Cobbins said. “They came out with a great game plan.”
Things started well for Pembroke. Giles Kearns’ 37-yard field goal early in the first quarter gave the host a 3-0 lead.
KIPP quickly answered on a scintillating 80-yard catch and run from Jadavion Fleming. The two-point conversion failed. And the Gators’ first and only lead of the game quickly dissipated.
Stahl scored on a 6-yard option keeper to help put Pembroke in front 10-6. The Raiders never looked back.
Stahl scored once more 32 seconds before halftime. A successful extra point kick from Andrew Nottberg put the Raiders in front 17-6.
Early in the third quarter, Stahl appeared to score again but a holding penalty wiped out the touchdown. The call could have proven costly — the Raiders turned over the ball on downs at the 8:23 mark.
But the Pembroke defense forced a punt.
Raiders wide receiver Josiah Stigger capped off a nice drive with a 14-yard touchdown reception from Stahl with 2:59 remaining in the third. Stigger hauled in several passes on the night to complement the Raiders’ run game.
“Me and Josh, we’re just a duo,” Stigger said. “We’ve been dominating all season.”
Stahl’s third rushing touchdown with just over two minutes left in the third quarter gave Pembroke a 30-6 lead. In the fourth, another holding penalty wiped off what would have been another Stahl touchdown run.
After the Raiders recovered a fumble, Xavier May found paydirt on a 6-yard run to make it 36-6. After another stop, the Raiders ran out the clock to advance to the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.
“We worked all season for this and it’s great,” Stigger said. “Undefeated. 11-0. We worked for this and I’m proud of my guys that got it for us.”
