Santa will have his a tough time coming up with a better present for Doniphan-Trumbull football than the one the Cardinals gave themselves on Tuesday afternoon.

Pounding away behind a relentless running game and adding a brutally effective defensive effort, the Cardinals won their first-ever state playoff football title with a 32-13 win over Aquinas in the Class C-2 state title game played at Memorial Stadium.

With the win Doniphan-Trumbull completes a perfect 13-0 season while Aquinas, which had won the two previous Class C-2 state titles, ends its season 10-3.

For the past two years Doniphan-Trumbull has put up huge offensive numbers, running a read-option offense which when it hasn't baffled opposing defenses it out-athleted them. On Tuesday it did both.

Aquinas is a proud football program, a disciplined lot which consistently makes the most out of what its got. Tuesday it was simply overmatched by an unbeaten state champion. No shame in that.

Almost from the beginning the game was in D-T's court, its offense extending drives which ended in points while Aquinas simply couldn't get anything going on a consistent basis. With the Cardinals compiling 446 yards of total offense, including 394 on the ground, and holding Aquinas to just 188 total yards, the numbers pretty much tell the story.

Doniphan-Trumbull football has had its moments over the course of time but these last two seasons - last year's semifinal, this year's title - has taken it to places it had never been before. Head coach Brent Breckner took some chances by trying to implement this newfangled offense and it purred under the leadership, skill and poise of senior QB Riley Wiltfong, who handles the ball in superior fashion and excels when the Cardinals go with the hurry-up.

Last season the Cardinals took to the air, Wiltfong passing for over 2,300 yards. While they remained a dangerous passing offense in 2013, it seems there was a larger emphasis on the running game, especially in this game, played in frigid, windy conditions, as D-T finished the game with three rushers over 100 yards, including senior all-stater Jordan Slough (154), Lorenzo Williams (132) and Wiltfong (104).

It's always great fun to watch a first-time state championship team celebrate and Doniphan-Trumbull let it rip, probably not even feeling the cold winds that swirled around them.

Good luck Santa...