Ottawa ? With defensive breakdowns haunting the Ottawa High football team, it was only a matter of time before Osawatomie — and, more specifically, running back Daniel Rose — crept back into the contest.

After Ottawa was up 17-0 just before halftime, Osawatomie stormed back, outgunned the Cyclones in the second half and stole the game — and district title — by a 36-24 score Thursday night.

Rose was the main culprit, rushing 41 times for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He also converted two two-point conversions.

With the victory, Ottawa, Osawatomie and Burlington all finished with a 2-1 record in Class 4A District 3. Osawatomie won on the tiebreaker, though, which is determined points differential.

While the Trojan offense at times was unstoppable, Ottawa (7-2) countered with nimble senior Jason Houston, who had 202 rushing yards and three touchdowns of his own.

But the Cyclone defense’s inability to stop Rose was too catastrophic for the offense to mend.

“Defensively we played horrible,” Ottawa coach Pat Boeh said. “We didn’t control the line of scrimmage. (Rose) had a great big night, and we couldn’t tackle him.”

Rose, a junior, had 12 runs longer than 10 yards, and he bullied his way to 146 rushing yards in the first half alone.

But Houston’s 161 first-half rushing yards on 11 carries offset Rose’s hot start. More importantly, Houston found the end zone twice in the first half, on runs of 39 and 82 yards. Rose found it just once, on a 20-yard run.

Ottawa led, 17-8, at halftime.

“Jason found a few holes and made some things happen,” Boeh said. “He’s a kid that’s hard to bring down. He’s very elusive.”

A two-yard touchdown by Rose put Osawatomie within three at 17-14, but Houston countered with a 13-yard score of his own five minutes into the third quarter, giving the Cyclones a 24-14 lead.

They wouldn’t score again, though, and Osawatomie had plenty left in the tank. The Trojans (4-5) forced a fumble on a punt return, and the ball was scooped up and returned 43 yards by Will Johns.

Then in the fourth quarter, a two-yard run by Rose and a 41-yard pass from Zach Madden to a streaking Tyler Antwine secured the Trojan victory.

Ottawa couldn’t recover from Osawatomie’s onslaught.

“Through the grind of the game, I didn’t think we had consistent drives,” Boeh said. “We were a little bit out of sync offensively. A lot of that was the intensity that Osawatomie brought defensively.”

Ottawa took care of enough business in its first two district games — victories over Anderson County and Burlington — to clinch a spot in the 4A state playoffs Tuesday. The Cyclones likely will hit the road to play Paola, a team they beat, 24-14, earlier this season.

“We’ll go play who we got to play,” Boeh said. “They’re a very good team. Very sound. They’ve had a great season.

“We want to advance, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Osawatomie 36, Ottawa 24

Osawatomie 0 8 12 16 — 36

Ottawa 14 3 7 0 — 24

Ot — Jason Houston 39 run (Caleb Mitchell kick)

Ot — Houston 82 run (Mitchell kick)

Ot — Mitchell 30-yard field goal.

Os — Daniel Rose 20 run (Brendon Crain pass from Zach Madden)

Os — Madden 27 run (run failed)

Ot — Houston 13 run (Mitchell kick)

Os — Will Johns 43 fumble return (pass failed)

Os — Rose 2 run (Rose run)

Os — Tyler Antwine 41 pass from Madden (Rose run)