The Winfield-Mount Union Wolves preserved their undefeated football season with a 34-6 victory over Moravia in the second round of the state 8-man playoffs Friday night. WMU faced some early adversity, as quarterback Jake Edwards threw an interception on the first play of the game that led to a Moravia touchdown.

But the Wolves bounced back behind all-state senior Cam Buffington, who capped the ensuing drive with a 13-yard TD run to tie the game. Buffington would finish off four straight drives with scores to power Winfield-Mount Union in front, and a goal-line stand late in the first half made a 26-6 lead stand up going into halftime.

Despite rushing for 150 yards on 15 carries, Buffington would miss most of the second half due to injury. But WMU’s defense continued to swarm. Behind a strong night from senior linebacker Kael Johnson with five-and-a-half total tackles and two tackles for loss; plus four tackles for loss and two sacks by senior lineman Abram Edwards, the Wolves shut out Moravia over the final 45 minutes of play.

Jake Edwards would finish off a long drive in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Abram Edwards to complete the scoring. After the game, Winfield-Mount Union head coach Scott McCarty told KCII Sports that the defense set the tone for the night.

“It was a great defensive effort,” McCarty said. “Right at the beginning of the game, [when] we throw a pick [and] waste a possession [and] they come out and score, we haven’t been punched in the face like that. [But] then our kids, they dialed in. Abram Edwards really started teeing off. Kael Johnson, [we got a] great game out of him. A lot of guys did things that won’t go in the stat sheet, but that Helmick kid is a really nice quarterback, and he was unable to complete a lot of throws, so [I am] very, very proud of our effort.”

With their 10th victory of the season, WMU matches their most wins in a single season since 2015. The number-one-ranked Wolves also advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1999. Unbeaten Winfield-Mount Union will meet seventh-ranked Don Bosco in the next round of the 8-man playoffs Thursday night. You can hear the game starting with pregame coverage at 6:30 on 106.1 FM KCII.