PALMYRA, Mo. - Thanks to a typically stout performance by its defense, No. 3-ranked South Callaway is St. Louis-bound with its eyes on state hardware.
The Bulldogs punched their ticket to the program's first-ever Class 2 state football championship with a 27-2 semifinal triumph Saturday afternoon against the Palmyra Panthers at Palmyra Middle School.
South Callaway (14-0) will try to unseat the three-time defending state champion Lamar Tigers at 2:15 p.m. Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome.
Lamar (13-1) - ranked No. 1 in Class 2 - advanced to its fourth-straight title game thanks to a 28-2 road victory Saturday against the Malden Green Wave.
"I'm so happy for our guys, for our players, specifically our seniors," Bulldogs head coach Tim Rulo said. "I'm so proud for them because they put in so much time and effort in the offseason.
"For them to be able to experience this, that's great."
The South Callaway defense picked off five Panther passes and turned those into 20 points. Bulldogs senior linebacker Dylan Hare's interception of Palmyra junior quarterback Ben Cheffey on the team's first offensive snap set up Bulldogs senior quarterback Troy Hentges to put the first points on the board.
Hentges plunged across the goal line from a yard out, giving South Callaway a 7-0 lead with 6 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs would add to their advantage just before halftime. A play after the Panthers were drawn offside on a fourth-and-4 from their own 10, South Callaway senior slot receiver Cory Hanger scored on a 5-yard run with 1:27 left in the second.
Bulldogs senior linebacker Jacob Smith intercepted Cheffey in the fourth quarter to set up South Callaway's next touchdown. Hanger's 19-yard scoring scamper pushed the Bulldogs to a 21-0 edge with 8:51 remaining.
Hanger affected the game on both sides of the ball, complementing his scoring runs with a pair of second-half interceptions from his free safety spot.
South Callaway senior running back Mason Shoemaker topped off the Bulldogs' scoring with a 19-yard run of his own with 4:34 to go.
Palmyra (9-5) forced a South Callaway safety late in the fourth quarter for its only points.
This will be the third state championship the South Callaway athletic program has played for in the last four seasons.
The Bulldog baseball team captured the school's first state championship in any sport in 2012, while the South Callaway softball team was the Class 2 runner-up in 2013.