Shawnee Mission West had not won a state championship since 1985, but that drought is now over.  Coach Tim Callaghahan coached the 2012 Shawnee Mission West Vikings to a 6A state championship with a victory over powerhouse, Hutchinson. 

Hutchinson had won 7 of the last 8 state championships, including a victory over SMW in 2006.  So this was definately not an easy chore, but the Vikings defense only allowed their season average of 14 points in the game and defeated the Hutchinson Salt Hawks 19-14.

Senior running back Bret Sterbach went over the 2,000 yard mark.  The defense racked up another goal line stand and the special teams held up, despite missing an extra point.

The victory was the icing on the cake for many of these kids who have been playing together since grade school.  The Vikings proved again to be  a strong second half team.  The score at halftime was 14-6 Hutchinson, thanks to a stiff goal line stand. 

Hutchinson ran a difficult scheme by using their triple option attack.  However, the Vikings countered with a strong running game behind Sterbach, who scored on the first play of the game.  Coach Callaghan also used the Wildcat with Andre Maloney and they proved to be too much for the Salt Hawks to handle.

Marcus Austin

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