Tipton rolls 42-6, wins another state title

BETHANY—Tipton Public Schools may need to hire a carpenter to expand its trophy case after the Tigers coasted to another Class C State Championship Friday with a 42-6 victory over Ryan at Southern Nazarene Stadium.

The defending state champs raced out to a 34-0 lead behind their dominating ground game and were never in trouble as the Cowboys avoided a shutout with a kickoff return touchdown to account for their only points.

The rest of the game was dominated by the Tigers who wrapped up the school’s ninth football championship and ran their playoff record to an amazing 67-42.

While the game was all Tipton, it was not a good night on the injury front as a pair of standouts, Ryken Shallenberger and Johnny Fernandez went down to injuries and Fernandez appeared to suffer a severe ankle injury and was removed by paramedics and taken to a nearby hospital.

Before he exited he was impressive, including setting up Tipton’s final score with a 38-yard run to the Ryan 2-yard-line. After the lengthy delay, Roy Manriquez bulled into the end zone and AJ Gaye added the two-point PAT to cap the scoring with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

Ryan had a good drive going after the ensuing kickoff but Dayton Stephens intercepted a pass deep in Tipton territory to stop the Ryan threat.

After that Ryan had to go upstairs to try and get something going but the Tigers were chasing Ryan QB Racen Williams on every play and eventually the Cowboys were forced to punt as the clock marched down to 0:00.

The Tigers wasted little time taking the lead as Kadence Sheffield fired a 16-yard TD pass to Cameron Ramirez for a 6-0 lead but Tipton failed on the PAT.

On their next possession, Fernandez showed off his blazing speed with several big runs, one for 26 yards on a 4th-and-4. Shallenberger got that TD on a 20-yard jet sweep for a 12-0 lead.

In the second period Shallenberger injured an ankle and never returned but the depth proved big at that point as several players made plays including Arlen Taplin who broke free for a 27-yard touchdown run. Fernandez got the PAT and it was 20-0.

Ryan may have had some hope at that point but after another defensive stop, Tipton coach Travis White called a pass play and Sheffield fired a deep strike to Ramirez who made the grab and completed the 55-yard dandy as the lead soared to 28-0 at halftime and the Tigers and their fans knew they would be taking home another gold ball.