Seneca Indians Finish Dream Season with Class 3 State Tournament Title
The third time is the charm for fifth-year football Head Coach Cody Hilburn’s Seneca Indians (13-1) as they finished a memorable dream season with a Class 3 State Tournament championship after a hard-fought 33-26 title-game conquest over Lift for Life Academy Charter of St. Louis in early December.
After back-to-back heartbreaking state finals losses in 2023 and ’24, Seneca wouldn’t be denied three years in a row, and Coach Hilburn says, “This group of seniors have been part of 50 wins, four district championships, four conference championships, two state runners-up and a state championship. They have a ton of experience playing in big football games.
“It was tough on them to start the process all over again and we faced a ton of adversity throughout the regular season. I think that adversity helped us come together as a football team and helped us play our best football down the stretch.”
Seneca was clearly on a mission throughout its impressive post-season march, starting with a 56-21 rout of East Newton in a district semifinal-round matchup, then easily disposing of Cassville 47-14 to claim a district crown.
In the state tournament quarterfinals, Coach Hilburn’s Indians dispatched Mountain Grove with little difficulty, 47-14, and followed that up by steamrolling their way past St. Clair 57-20 in a semifinal-round fray.
Lift for Life didn’t concede so easily, but Seneca seized the moment. Coach Hilburn says, “I think it goes back to the adversity we faced in the regular season. When bad things happen, you respond or not. Our kids didn’t flinch and found a way to win.”
Senior quarterback Brodie Probert, who zigged and zagged his way to 183 yards rushing and two touchdowns, as well as another TD passing, along with senior running back Roman Miller, who churned through Lift for Life’s defense for 180 yards of rushing real estate and a pair of scores helped fuel Seneca’s title-game victory.
“They are special athletes,” Coach Hilburn said of Probert and Miller. “They’ve had tremendous careers. The part I love about them is they’re so quick to credit other teammates. That’s what makes all this group of kids so special.”
Pondering what made this championship so sweet, Coach Hilburn says, “It’s the life lessons it teaches kids. You can do everything right in life and things do not go your way, but you don’t quit working and doing things the right way. Our kids are resilient. They continued to work and were rewarded for it.”
Coach Hilburn is elated how everyone on Seneca’s roster handled themselves on and off the gridiron and says, “I’m most proud of our kids for the people they are and the way they went about this process. Everything we do is to set kids up for success in life. Football is our avenue for doing that.
“I can’t wait to watch our seniors graduate and become successful in whatever they choose to do. Hopefully they will look back and say our football program helped them in becoming who they are.”
Carthage Tigers
Even though 21st year football Head Coach Jon Guidie’s Carthage Tigers (12-2) had their Class 5 State Tournament title hopes abruptly ended with a heart-wrenching 34-28 overtime loss to Platte County of Platte City in the finals, this talented bunch has no reason to hang their heads.
Coach Guidie’s Tigers reeled off nine consecutive victories after their lone regular-season setback in mid-September.
Carthage opened district tournament post-season play by subduing Neosho 42-7 in a semifinal-round game and followed that up with a 31-14 win over Republic to hoist championship hardware.
In the state quarterfinals, the Tigers tamed Capital City 36-17 and defeated Cardinal Ritter of St. Louis 20-18 in a closely contested semifinals showdown, before falling just short of a first-place trophy in the finals.
Lamar Tigers
While both Seneca and Carthage played for state titles, a Lamar Tigers program (8-4) familiar with collecting championships didn’t advance quite as deep into post-season play as they are accustomed to doing.
Although Lamar, which won seven consecutive Class 2 State Championships from 2011-17 and then celebrated another pair of state crowns in 2023 and ’24, bowed out early this year with a tough-luck 12-7 setback to Liberty (Mountain View) in a quarterfinal-round fray, sixth year football Head Coach Jered Beshore appreciated how this bunch persevered.
“At Lamar, the standard is always high and anytime you fall short of your goal, it stings,” Coach Beshore says. “But disappointment doesn’t take away from the pride I have in this group.
“They battled every week, they grew and they represented our program the right way. Sometimes, the ball doesn’t bounce your way, but the effort and commitment were exactly what we expect in this program.”
After losing two straight regular-season games in a disheartening mid-season stretch, Lamar regrouped to win five in a row for a solid finish. Coach Beshore says, “The major keys for us were how quickly our young guys developed and we stayed together as a team.
“We found our identity as the season went along. Once we hit district, we were playing our best football of the year. That combination allowed us to keep advancing.”
Considering what sparked his Tigers to get things turned around, Coach Beshore says, “It started with their work ethic. This team showed up every day ready to improve. We had a lot of underclassmen in big roles, but they never flinched.
“We stayed together through injuries, tough stretches and several close games. That resilience and togetherness is what made this group so solid and allowed us to make the run we did.”