Another chapter has been written in the outstanding history of Conway Springs football.

The Cardinals won their eighth State championship – the first at Class 1A – with a dominating 35-6 victory over the Jefferson County North Chargers. Conway Springs’ previous State titles were at the 3A level.

It has seemed like a long time for the Cardinals, who won seven titles in a stretch of 14 years. That included four straight titles from 2001 to 2004. Their longest drought had been just three years, between the 2004 and 2008 championships.

Before this victory, it had been 12 years since they last raised a championship plaque.

While various State football locations dealt with different winter weather conditions, the Cardinals seemed unaffected.

“I don’t think it was the impact we thought it would be,” said Conway Springs head coach Matt Biehler, who has now led the Cardinals to two State titles. He was a part of the previous six as an assistant coach.

Nathan Berntsen scored the Cardinals’ first touchdown, a 5-yard run that gave them a 7-0 lead. Brayden Kunz then broke free for an 87-yard highlight reel touchdown and the Cardinals led 13-0.

Jefferson County put together its lone scoring drive early in the second quarter, making it 13-6 on a 4-yard rush.

Kunz scored on another big run before halftime, this time on a 54-yard scamper. Isaac Winter ran in the 2-point conversion, and the Cardinals led 19-6 at halftime.

Conway Springs then closed out the game with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. First, Kunz scored on a 4-yard run, and then Cade Howell found the end zone on a 3-yard rush. Eli Benge kicked three extra points, including two in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals played the way they wanted to, not attempting a single pass while running for an impressive 441 yards on the ground. Their defense limited Jefferson County North to justd 1,236 yards.

Kunz has gotten much of the attention all season, and he showed why with 300 yards on 33 carries during the title game. He averaged 9.1 yards per rush. Kunz ran for 2,806 yards this season, which is second all-time for a season at Conway Springs. With his performance on Saturday, he passed Tanner Wood’s 2,704-yard season.

“He was determined. Our guys blocked so well for him. They wanted that (record) as well,” Biehler said.

All season, fellow backs Isaac Winter and Berntsen have been blocking for Kunz and running in relief of him. Berntsen had one of his better games, gaining 92 yards on 13 carries. Berntsen is who the Cardinals turn to in short yardage situations.

“He’s a punnishing runner in short yardage. He helped keep our defense off the field and rested. Nathan doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He blocks so well for Brayden,” Biehler said.

Winter finished the game with 36 yards on seven rushes. That might be below his average, but he contributed in multiple ways including a big first-half interception that killed a promising Jefferson County North drive. He recorded multiple 100-yard games this season.

A big part of the Cardinals’ success was figuring out the offensive line after two losses to start the year.

One challenge was losing Gunnar Williams to injury. Berntsen moved to the backfield.

Lane Whitney shifted from tight end to the offensive line.

“He did a great job. He got better every week,” Biehler said.

Ashton Stull, just a sophomore, also moved into a starting roll. By Week 3, the Cardinals had two new linemen in place. That’s not necessarily a recipe for success, but the Cardinals won their last 11 games.

“You don’t know if they’ll be ready,” Biehler said of sophomore starters. “He did a great job.”

The defense was nasty as one could hope, giving up just one score to the East’s best team.

“Our defensive line and linebackers were able to stymie them. Your secondary gets a little jealous not getting any tackles,” Biehler said.

The victory helps erase the sting of several close calls. Conway Springs was beaten on a last second score in the 2017 playoffs, suffered a 1-point loss in 2018, and was beaten by a Norton comeback in 2019. Last year, the Cardinals lost in the State semifinal to an Inman team they had beaten in the regular season. It was the Cardinals’ third straight playoff loss to Inman.

Would the Cardinals ever make State again?

“We were starting to wonder as we went along the last 12 years,” Biehler said.

Wonder no more. The Cardinals are State champions once again.