Hannibal coach Jeff Gschwender addresses his team after the Pirates beat Marshall 51-6 at Porter Stadium on Friday night to wrap up an undefeated run to the North Central Missouri Conference championship. | Don Crim photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The North Central Missouri Conference football championship is back in America’s Hometown for one final time.

After relinquishing the league title to Kirksville last season, Hannibal put the finishing touches on its fourth NCMC championship in five years with a 51-6 victory over Marshall on Friday night at Porter Stadium.

It also marked the 12th time since 2008 the Pirates (7-1, 5-0 NCMC) have been unbeaten league champions. Their dominance is best illustrated by the fact they have won 94 of their last 101 conference games.

This one proved especially sweet since the NCMC, which debuted in 1971, is disbanding after this school year.

“The boys wanted that conference championship back here,” Hannibal coach Jeff Gschwender said. “Especially with it being the last one, they wanted it here and they wanted it here to stay. I was happy for them that they were able to get that done.”

The Pirates, ranked third in the Class 4 state poll, were in total control in beating Marshall for the 18th consecutive time since 2010, including two playoff rematches.

They scored on their first four offensive possessions to build a 28-0 lead 2 ½ minutes into the second quarter and outscored the Owls 23-0 in the second half.

Marshall (3-5, 1-4 NCMC) was limited to just 57 yards on 44 offensive plays. Its lone score was set up by a fumbled punt return deep in Hannibal territory in the waning minutes of the first half.

“Our kids came out fast,” Gschwender said. “We put together some nice big drives as well as some good big plays.”

Washington sparks offense

Junior running back Darrion Washington finished with a game-high 99 yards rushing and a touchdown on six carries and another 104 yards and a score on five pass receptions.

His first touchdown came on a 34-yard pass from quarterback Wyeth Dorsey when he caught the ball along the left sideline and juked a couple of defenders before gliding back across the field behind a wall of downfield blockers and into the end zone.

“That was just kind of me, just doing what I do,” Washington said. “I was reading blocks, reading players the way that they’re turned. I knew I had a cutback or two and ran down there behind a good block from my receiver and got in the end zone.”

Then, one play after Pares Chapple intercepted a Chase Thompson pass at the Hannibal 43-yard line, Washington broke free on a run up the middle, cut to the right sideline and then back across the field for a 57-yard touchdown run that made it 21-0 with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.

“He’s a player,” Gschwender said. “Sometimes you just got to get the ball in his hands and let him do his thing.”

Hannibal, which came in averaging 42 points per game, rolled up 402 yards of offense (257 on the ground) despite the final 14 ½ minutes being played under a running clock.

Dorsey rushed for 88 yards and a score and completed 8 of 11 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He also hooked up with Reid Holliday for an 18-yard scoring strike in the third quarter.

McAfee stands out on defense

The Hannibal defense once again proved to be stout. It has allowed just 26 points in the past five weeks combined.

Marshall, which was averaging nearly 26 points per game, was limited to a minus-1 yard on 31 rushing attempts. Thompson was sacked six times for losses totaling 53 yards, with three of those credited to senior linebacker Kaisen McAfee.

“The last two, three weeks, he’s playing on reaction. He’s trusting his reads and trusting his athletic ability, and whenever he does that, good things happen,” Gschwender said of McAfee. “He’s playing better than he’s ever played, and he’s doing it at the right time.”

McAfee finished with nine tackles, with four resulting in losses. He sacked Thompson for a 10-yard loss on the Owls’ first play of the second half, and Aden Scott and Hunter Brinkley brought down the quarterback for an 8-yard loss on third and 25 from the 18-yard line.

Hannibal then blocked the ensuing punt in the end zone for a safety to push the lead to 30-6. The Pirates needed just three plays to go 60 yards on their next possession to make it 38-6 four minutes into the third quarter.

“We got the stop, got the safety and that just changed the whole ballgame. It was a blowout from there,” McAfee said. “Defense is a big part of our game. Our defense knows when it’s time to go. We’re playmakers out there.”

Notable

Hannibal has scored in 58 consecutive games and 78 of its last 79. The last time it was shut out came in the 2021 state championship game against Smithville (31-0). … The Pirates have won nine straight home games and 29 of their last 31 at Porter Stadium, with the lone losses coming against Jefferson City Helias in 2022 and 2024. … Hannibal is in the midst of its 18th straight winning season. … Marshall has now dropped five of its last six games.

Up next

Hannibal travels to Fort Zumwalt West next Friday for the regular-season finale. The Jaguars are 5-3 after beating Timberline 30-7 Friday night, their third straight win. The Pirates have won all three previous meetings, including 20-17 last season.

“We understand that teams are going to get harder and harder from here, so what we put on (Friday night) is not going to be enough the next game,” Washington said. “We have to be even better.”