Kearney High senior quarterback Logan Hinck tried hard to pretend his team wasn't facing five-time defending state champion Webb City in Friday's Class 4 state championship football game at Edward Jones Dome.

But he simply couldn't get away from the Cardinals mystique — even at his own school.

"I don't know how many times people came up to me this week and told me how great they were," Hinck said. "I just told them, 'I know, but I'm trying not to think about it.' "

Hinck's strategy worked wonders as the Bulldogs used a late defensive stand to put an end to Webb City's dominance with a hard-fought 17-14 win.

Kearney (14-1) claimed its fourth state title but first since 2009 by upsetting a Webb City team that carried a 42-game winning streak into the contest.

The Cardinals (14-1), long the definitive word in Class 4, had won 88 of their previous 89 games and had not lost to a Missouri opponent since dropping a 2009 semifinal game to Kearney 38-13.

Kearney coach Greg Jones made sure his team entered the contest with a positive attitude after losing 38-7 to Webb City in last year's semifinal round.

"I didn't think we played very physical last year," Jones said. "I think we got intimidated by them. So all week long we talked about going out and playing our style of football."

Kearney matched the Cardinals in all facets of the game.

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