Hayden Wolfe leads inspired effort as Borgia cruises past St. Dominic
WASHINGTON, Mo. — Borgia senior running back and defensive back Hayden Wolfe had one simple thought bouncing around in his head Friday.
"Everything we do is for coach and because of coach," Wolfe said of Knights' veteran bench boss Dale Gildehaus, who is in his 38th and final season with the program.
Gildehaus was super-proud on Friday.
With good reason.
Wolfe led an inspired effort as the Knights blasted St. Dominic 31-10 in Franklin County.
Borgia improved to 3-0 and has outscored its opponents 110-10.
Wolfe and his teammates were ultra focused against the previously unbeaten Crusaders, who knocked off Borgia 34-24 last year.
But this wasn't about revenge for the Knights.
This was more of a tribute to Gildehaus, who picked up career win No. 298 on Friday with only 122 losses.
Gildehaus, a 1969 Borgia grad, guided the tradition-rich program to the Class 3A title in 1993 and also reached the state semifinal round two other times.
"He means so much to all of us," explained senior quarterback Jace Mittler.
Gildehaus, who wants to spend more time with Beth, his wife of 53 years, took no credit for the near-flawless effort.
"This is not about me," Gildehaus said. "It's about these kids reaching their potential. Tonight they showed what they could do."
Gildehaus spoke to the crowd after the game over the loud speaker, thanking everyone from the cheerleaders to the band and student managers.
It has become a tradition.
"He is what football is about here," said Mittler, who hit on 5 of 7 passes for 91 yards.
Added Wolfe, who rushed for 166 yards on 18 carries: "The man just makes you want to play harder for him."
Wolfe capped off a near-perfect first half by scoring on an eye-popping 80-yard hook-and-lateral play with 1.2 seconds left in the first half.
Mittler hit junior Max Borgerding in the right flat. Borgerding immediately tossed the ball behind him to a streaking Wolfe, who scampered down the right sideline for a back-breaking score.
The well-executed trickeration would have made John Moxon and Billy Bob proud, two of the players who played a part in the game-winning score in the classic football teen coming of age movie Varsity Blues.
"Believe it or not, every practice we go about five minutes at the end and work on it," Wolfe said. "Just in case."
Borgia came out with a point to prove from the opening whistle.
Mittler connected with Borgerding on a 63-yard post pattern down the middle of the field for a touchdown on the third offensive play of the night to set the tone.
Lucas Hardin helped push the lead to 14-0 with a 1-yard TD run late in the first quarter. The short gallop capped off a 12-play, 59-yard drive that took 6:15.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Wolfe scored on an 11-yard run midway through the second period to set the stage for the 80-yard TD, which gave the hosts a 28-3 lead heading into the break.
The Knights used help from a rock-ribbed defense to dominate their first three opponents. They gave up their first touchdown of the season with 2:07 left in the third period on an 18-yard scoring strike from Brennan Czeschin to Chaz Hurston.
Bordering helped trigger the stop unit with an early interception.
The Knights' first punt of the game came with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
St. Dominic entered the contest on back-to-back shutout wins over St. Charles West and Normandy. But the Crusaders (2-1) were never in the contest.
"They out-played us, out-executed us, out-coached us," St. Dominic coach Blake Markway said. "I don't think we came out flat. I just think they came out and executed. Give them credit for that."
Borgia began the season with wins over Pacific (33-0) and Owensville (46-0).
Now, the Knights are flying high as they hope to send their coaching legend out on a high note.
"This was great, we're happy," Mittler said. "But it's not the end. We're striving for so much more for him, for all of us."
High school sports reporter
