Hazelwood Central did it again.

The Hawks successfully defended their Missouri Class 6 title on Friday night, using two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a stingy defense in the final 10 minutes to earn a 35-24 victory over Blue Springs at the Edward Jones Dome and claim the school's fifth state title.

"Nobody has done this before in Class 6," said Central coach Richard Nixon. "I promise you, nobody believed in those kids, by and large."

The state first went to six football classes in 2002.

Tra Brown had 138 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown for Hazelwood Central.

Darrian Miller had 181 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries for Blue Springs.

Hazelwood Central (13-1) trailed Blue Springs (12-2) by three points, 24-21, following Cody Best's 30-yard field goal with 1 minute, 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

But the Hawks responded with a 10-play scoring drive, their longest of the night, and Alonzo Chappelle's 5-yard TD run with 10:51 left gave Hazelwood Central its first lead of the game at 28-24.

After Central shut down the Wildcats on their next series, Central's Spencer Davis returned the ensuing punt 76 yards for a TD to give the Hawks a 35-24 lead.

All night long, Hazelwood Central came up with answers. Every time Blue Springs scored on Friday night, the Hawks answered with a score.

Both teams scored three times in the first half.

A 3-yard TD run by Miller, the Wildcats' standout running back, was answered by a 55-yard TD pass from Kerry Gibson to Jawyne Thomas.

After Blue Springs wideout Keeston Terry lined up as quarterback and scored on an 18-yard run early in the second quarter, Hazelwood Central recovered a muffed punt at midfield. After a 42-yard run down the right sideline by Brown, Gibson tied the score with a 3-yard TD run.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Blue Springs quarterback Jared Lanpher late in the second quarter was answered by a 78-yard run to tie the score at 21-21.

The fast-and-furious scoring pace of the first half slowed to a crawl in the third quarter as both teams' defenses tried to put their stamp on the game.

After 10 scoreless minutes in the third quarter, Blue Springs went ahead 24-21 on the 30-yard field goal by Best. Hazelwood Central answered, of course, with a scoring drive the Hawks capped off by Chappelle's 5-yard run with 10:51 remaining to give them their first lead of the night.

"It's amazing," Gibson said. "We just made history."