KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Friday night is full of quarterfinal playoff games for area high school football teams. The winners are two steps closer at their state title dreams. Those who lose are done for the season. We’ll have skylights, highlights and scores from these games and more on Football Friday Night airing on NBC Acton News at 10pm. Here are Five Games to Watch:
1. Blue Springs at RockhurstIf you have one game you can be at Friday night, the choice is simple. Blue Springs at Rockhurst is a can’t-miss Missouri Class 6 state quarterfinal game between two Kansas City high school football powerhouse programs. But that’s not the only reason that makes this matchup exciting. Both teams enter the contest playing extremely well. It’s really up in the air as to who will win.
“Obviously it’s a huge game,” Blue Springs head coach Kelly Donohoe said. “There are years where you have a team capable of winning the whole thing. This year we have a team that we really feel can be a state caliber championship team. The problem is that there are four other teams in the state that have the same ability. You have to be the one that weathers the storm. It’s huge because we feel we have a team that can win Friday night. We will be devastated if we lose.”
Blue Springs suffered a devastating 48-0 loss against Rockhurst last year in the first round of the playoffs.
“Last year, it was a tough offseason because we got beat in the playoffs by them,” Donohoe said. “I felt we were a smoke and mirrors team last year. This year, we feel we’re strong in all areas. We’ve been waiting since Sept. 11 for this rematch.”
Blue Springs lost to Rockhurst on Sept. 11 at home, 17-3. But since that loss, the Blue Springs Wildcats have won eight in row to improve to 10-1. They’ve scored more than 40 points in every game during that winning streak. They had victories against Lee’s Summit, Ray-Pec and Liberty. Blue Springs is coming off a 45-12 first round playoff victory against Lee’s Summit, who made its first playoff appearance since 1987.
“I’ve never in my 10 years had a team playing at this level for such a sustained time period,” Donohoe said. “We’ve had a stretch of eight games that have been very strong. This stretch has been amazing for us. We’ve walked off the field the last eight Fridays feeling we’ve played really well. That’s a rarity. That Rockhurst loss really helped us refocus.”
The Wildcats have amazing talent on offense. Junior running back Darrian Miller is arguably the best back in the city. He’s rushed for more than 2,200 yards this season and scored 29 touchdowns in the last eight games. Blue Springs has arguably the best wide receiver in the city in Keeston Terry, who verbally committed to KU. Coach Donohoe calls his quarterback, Jared Lampher, the top quarterback in the area. That makes for one explosive offense that will go up against mighty Rockhurst.
“You don’t get weapons like that ever year,” Donohoe said. “Keeston and Jared are three year starters. You throw Darrian in there and those are three guys that make a lot of plays. But our team is so much more than those three guys. Our defense has been outstanding. Our offensive line does a good job of opening up holes.”
The Hawkletts have played arguably the toughest schedule in the area and came out of it 9-2. They’ve won seven straight games. The Hawkletts enter their game against Blue Springs after winning a first round playoff showdown against Liberty, 35-14. Rockhurst features one of the top coaches in the area, Tony Severino. He’s been leading Rockhurst to state titles since 1983. Severino’s team has not one but two star running backs in Sal Belfonte and Noah Pearl. The Hawkletts have a strong quarterback in Frank Arbanas, who’s the grandson of former Chiefs tight end Fred Arbanas.
“The last time we played Rockhurst, they controlled a lot of the clock,” Donohoe said. “It was a perfect game for them. They kept us off the field. We can’t allow them to sustain drives. Another thing that killed us is that we had penalties that stopped drives. We can’t make mistakes. I told our kids we can’t play tight. We have to fly around like crazy animals and play football the way we play. I thought we played too tight the last time we played them.”
What would a win mean to Coach Donohoe and Blue Springs?
“It would mean we’re one step closer to our goal,” he said. “We’ve been able to sustain success. Ultimately people want to see you win it all. “It’s been five years since we won the title. “It’s tough to get to the championship game. All we can do is get one step closer. It’s a great rivalry. There is great respect on both sides. It would be very special win to pull this one out.”
2. Lawrence Free State vs Olathe North at ODAC
Many high school football experts in the area call Olathe North the best team in town. The Eagles have managed to win every game this season. They’ll face a tough test when Lawrence Free State comes to Olathe Friday night.
“Our kids are fired up,” Olathe North athletic director Jason Herman said. “We’re trying to bring Olathe North football back to the high school fore front in Kansas City.”
The Firebirds are coming off a 38-7 first round playoff victory at home against Olathe East, who beat Lawrence Free State in week one. But the Hawks had no chance this time around. It shows you how well Lawrence Free State is playing. The Firebirds have won four in a row after winning their district. Running back Cameron Torneden is one of their star players. He’s quite the athlete as the running back threw a 16 yard touchdown pass in his team’s victory last week. Olathe North beat Lawrence Free State on Oct. 9 at home 38-20.
“It’s tough to beat a team twice in one year,”Herman said. “Playing a team of their caliber, we have to play well to be successful.”
No surprise here that Olathe North running back James Franklin played a huge part in that victory on Oct. 9. He ran for four touchdowns. Franklin is a big reason why Olathe North is 10-0. He is considered the best running back in the city. That’s for good reason. He’s just 59 yards away from catching San Diego Chargers running back Darren Sproles as the all-time leading rusher in Olathe North history.
“James has had a great year,” Herman said. “We’re fortunate to have a running back with his caliber. Our offensive line is outstanding. They’ve done a great job, too. I don’t think the record is on the front of James’ mind. He’s looking forward to just winning football games and moving the program along. It will be great when the record happens, though.”
Franklin is usually a lock to run for more than 100 yards per game. Olathe North is coming off a 42-14 victory against Shawnee Mission East. The Eagles have scored 40 or more points in eight of their 10 victories this season.
3. Blue Valley Northwest at Blue Valley
Blue Valley is one of the best stories in town. The Tigers began the season with a 1-6 record. Any fan might think there was no way their team was going to make the playoffs after that kind of start. But head coach Steve Rampy has led Blue Valley on a remarkable turnaround. His team won two straight in its district to make the playoffs.
Last week, that magic continued. Blue Valley played on the road against a Shawnee Mission West team that was 8-1. But the record didn’t matter in that first round playoff game last week. The Tigers won 42-18.
While some might have been shocked at how Blue Valley dominated a strong Shawnee Mission West team, Blue Valley Northwest head coach Mike Zegunis wasn’t one of them.
“Nothing surprises me anymore,” Zegunis said. “Here at the end of the year, you want your team playing its best. It looks like Blue Valley is playing its best right now. When that happens, any team can beat anybody.”
Quarterback Anthony Abenoja ran for three touchdowns and threw for two scores in Blue Valley’s victory last week. Now, it should be an exciting matchup when the red hot Tigers host Blue Valley Northwest Friday night. While the Tigers are 4-6, the Blue Valley Northwest Huskies are an impressive 9-1.
Blue Valley Northwest, which has been a school since 1998, has never won a state title. But the Huskies are a strong contender this season. They’ve won five in a row. Their only loss came on Oct. 2 when they fell by 10 points against St. Thomas Aquinas.
“To win this game against Blue Valley would be very big,” Zegunis said. “It would be only the second time in school history that we’d be advancing into a semifinal game. Just knowing that makes this one of the bigger games in school history."
Blue Valley Northwest has a strong quarterback in Koby Chadick. He ran for four touchdowns last week and threw for another in a 38-25 victory against Olathe Northwest. Blue Valley Northwest has talented wide receivers, who include Matt Ornduff. The Huskies have scored more than 30 points in all but three games this season.
“This is the fourth game we've played against Blue Valley in two years,” Zegunis said. “We’re familiar with them. We’re hoping to be able to stop their offense. Their offense is explosive. We feel we have the players that can do a good job of not giving them the big play. If we can limiit them and keep the ball in front of us, that should help us defensively. Offensively, we have weapons ourselves. We have to try to get the ball to our playmakers.”
Additionally, this matchup is exciting because of history.
“They were the team that ended our season last year,” Zegunis said. “They ended up scoring on a fourth down and 19 play from the 22-yard line. The receiver caught it, we hit him, he fumbled it and the ball rolled into the endzone. Then, they fell on top of it for the win. I know our players remember that. But that’s in the past. It has nothing to do with what’s going on Friday night.”
Blue Valley Northwest has already won at Blue Valley this season. They captured a 34-15 victory on Sept. 10.
“At this point in the season, any team you face will be dangerous,” Zegunis said. “They’re in this game for a reason. They’re a good football team. We know we have our work cut out for us.”
Whoever wins this game will most likely have to deal with Olathe North in the state semifinals.
4. Bishop Miege at Louisburg
Just how big is this game for the Bishop Miege Stags? Former Chief and Miege head coach Tim Grunhard sums it up.
“We haven’t won state since 1977,” Grunhard said. “This gives us an opportunity to continue on that quest. We knew we had talent to be able to do that. This is the biggest game in our program for over 30 years. Our kids know that and will respond.”
This is a Kansas Class 4A quarterfinal game featuring teams with outstanding records. Bishop Miege is 9-2, while Louisburg is 10-1. The Bishop Miege Stags are coming off an impressive 39-14 victory against Holton last week. They appear to be peaking at just the right time.
Bishop Miege features star wide receiver Justin McCay, who’s already verbally committed to Oklahoma. McCay has helped Miege win seven games in a row. That includes a 42-28 victory against Blue Valley. The Stags have scored 40 or more points in four of those victories during the streak.
“I’m extremly pleased,” Grunhard said. “I’m pleased with my coaching staff. They’ve done a great job of getting the game plan ready and implementing the game plan. There’s not going to be any better coached team on the field around the state than the Stags when they take the field against Louisburg. Our kids have bought into working hard and continuing to work and play one game at a time.”
Miege will be facing a Louisburg Wildcats team this is coming off a 26-0 win against Columbus. That’s after Louisburg opened playoffs with a 40-0 victory against Garnett-Anderson Co. Louisburg’s only loss of the season came against Gardner-Edgerton.
“They play good defense and their linebackers are quick,” Grunhard said. “They have some good size up front, and we’re going to have to play our best on offfense. Obviously at this time of the year, everybody is good. Everybody has had some success. We think we can go down there and compete. We think we can run the ball a little bit and stop the run.”
The winner between Miege and Louisburg will play the winner of Paola and Eudora next Friday night in the state semifinals.
5. Paola at Eudora
The Paola Panthers are trying to do two things in this matchup. That would be reach the state semifinals and get revenge. Paola barely lost to Eudora, 35-27, at home on Sept. 25. Eudora’s head coach expects another close game.
“I think it will be very competitive,” Eudora head coach Gregg Webb said. “We were fortunate to go down there and get a win. They were one of the top five teams in the state earlier in the season. They hit a tough stretch. Their three losses are to teams that are still in the playoffs. Our two losses are to teams that are still playing. There’s a lot of things that will direct you to think that it will be a close game and come down to the last possession.”
Panthers star running back Skylar Hawkins had two touchdown runs in that loss and an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Now, 8-3 Paola has to play 9-2 Eudora on the road. The Eudora Cardinals lost two in a row after beating Paola earlier this season. But since those two losses, they’ve won five in a row. That included a 23-16 victory at Jefferson City West last week.
Eudora, who won its district, features running back Evan Cleveland. He ran for three touchdowns in Eudora’s first round playoff 28-0 win against DeSoto.
“Evan has taken us on his back lately,” Webb said. “We don’t have really any super stars on offense. We’ve had to manipulate and maneuver formations and find ways to get more people the ball. Evan has taken over the load as that tailback. We put him in shotgun sometimes.”
Webb is familiar with playing well this time of year. He won five state titles as the head coach at Claflin (Kan.) High School. Claflin, which is just northwest of Hutchinson, is the home to former basketball star Jackie Stiles. Webb is trying to use his experience to help his players succeed in the playoffs.
“I’m just trying to get our kids to understand not to get too high and too low,” Webb said. We just take it as the next game with urgency because you never know when that opportunity comes again. Teams that win are teams that can remain calm in the midst of chaos.”
Paola is coming off a 31-22 win against Independence last week. The Panthers won at Chanute the week before, 48-14.
“It’s scary watching Paola on offense,” Webb said. “The game will come down to our defense against their offense. If our defense can slow their offense down, I think the advantage goes to us. If we can’t, then it will be close. Our defense is our question mark. We gave up the most points all year when we played them earlier this year.”
Eudora has been to the playoffs every year other than last year under Webb. The Cardinals went 4-5 last season after dealing with all sorts of injuries. Coach Webb says Friday night’s game is a big deal.
“It’s a big game for the town, community and school,” he said. “If you’re still playing a week from Thanksgiving, it’s a great thing.”
