KSHSAA Covered
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    • by Mac Moore, Staff Writer

    Week 1: Pick Six East Recaps

    St. Thomas Aquinas 28, St. James Academy 7
    Aquinas and St. James Academy have faced off eight times since 2015. Aquinas has now won all eight of those games. The Saints couldn’t be stopped by the Thunder or the lightning, although the latter did delay this game twice in the first half. Still, once junior running back Sean Carroll got rolling on his way to 214 yards and a touchdown, St. James Academy could not keep up. Junior quarterback Maxwell Ford and junior running back Jeremiah Penney pitched in as well, helping Aquinas build a 391-157 yards advantage despite not completing a single pass in the game. MJ Overstreet and Wyatt Porter both had 5.5 tackles as the defense limited Tiave Watts and the Thunder rushing attack to just eight yards on 13 carries. Overstreet specifically stayed locked on wide receiver Tyler Claiborne, who remained all but neutralized until he gained 23 yards on a third-quarter drive. The Thunder still ended up punting on that possession after a third-down snap sailed over quarterback Jackson House’s head. Aquinas scored all four of its touchdowns in the running game with Ford picking up two on 1-yard quarterback sneaks while Carroll and Penney scored one apiece.

    Mill Valley 35, Gardner-Edgerton 14
    Mill Valley got its revenge from last year’s loss to Gardner-Edgerton, although this year’s contest was not nearly the same nailbiter. It did look like it might based on the halftime score. After Mill Valley struck first with a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hayden Jay to wide receiver Kendrick Jones, the Trailblazers responded with two straight scoring drives of their own. Quarterback Colton Hawkinson broke free for a 56-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter. Jake McClure threw a 52-yard passing touchdown on a double-pass play, finding Austin Buie wide open down the field after the entire defense bit on the initial screen pass. But it was all Mill Valley from there. The Jaguars defense shut down a fourth-and-1 running attempt back Hawkinson with Gardner-Edgerton gambled near midfield early in the third quarter. Jay proceeded to command a 44-yard scoring drive that he capped off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Running backs Jared Napoli and Tristan Baker traded 2-yard rushing touchdowns to help the Trailblazers pull away. Jay added more cushion with another rushing touchdown, this time on a 28-yard run in the early stages of the fourth quarter. Running back Reice Kennedy gave the Jaguars 76 yards on the ground despite not seeing the endzone.

    Blue Valley North 51, Bishop Miege 24
    Henry Martin has hit the repeat button from his dominant performance a season ago. In fact, his numbers in the first game put him on pace to far exceed his already gaudy 2020 stats. Martin racked up six passing touchdowns and 352 passing yards against Bishop Miege in a 51-24 game that was over by halftime. Miege did stay in it through the first quarter though. The Stags even pulled within a score after Jaylen Burch, who finished with 70 yards on the ground, earns his first of two rushing touchdowns with a 2-yard score to make it 16-10 a few minutes into the second quarter. But the Mustangs rattled off three straight touchdown drives to close out the half. Martin connected on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Bullock before twice finding Cole Stratton for scores through the air. Martin found Bullock one more time for a 25-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter. He also twice found Mehki Miller for touchdown passes in the first quarter to take a 16-3 lead. Stratton finished with 157 yards receiving. For Miege, Mac Armstrong finished with one touchdown and two interceptions to go along with his 173 passing yards, most of which came from Rohan Putz. Putz had 95 yards on seven receptions, including a 7-yard touchdown reception late in the game.

    Lawrence 28, Olathe East 7
    Lawrence High seems to have started where they left off after former head coach Steve Rampy left to coach in Staley, Missouri. The Lions controlled the action for all four quarters as they gave first-year head coach and longtime Kansas football defensive coordinator Clint Bowen a win in his first game. After a scoreless first quarter for both teams and an interception by Truman Juelsgaard, the junior quarterback responded by leading a scoring drive that he capped off with an 11-yard touchdown run. The Lions defense kept Olathe East in check, allowing Lawrence to go up two scores before halftime when Juelsgaard connected on a 25-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Baylor Bowen, son of the Lions head coach. Juelsgaard had his hand in the third score as well, finding Josh King for a 62-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. Olathe East almost ended in the scoring run when they drove down to the 2-yard line, but the Hawks got a false start, tackle for loss and finally a sack by Malique Morris-Ramirez that even messed up a chance for a field goal. Outside of Juelsgaard, who also had 59 rushing yards in the game, the Lions gave a balanced share of carries to Josh King and Brayden Heck. King finished with 56 rushing yards while Heck finished off his 43-yard performance with a 24-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Olathe East finally got on the board during their next possession with Joe Zinn punching it in from 1-yard out. East tried to make the final score look more respectable with another late score, but the Lions defense stepped up again to stop the Hawks drive and seal the 28-7 victory.

    Frontenac 20, Columbus 0
    Frontenac held onto a 6-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of their game with Columbus, but the Raiders added two scores in the final frame to win 20-0. Both teams had 52 yards through the air, but Frontenac led in rushing yards 161-91. Most of that difference came on a 74-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back Justice Compton to put the Raiders up two scores early in the fourth quarter. Compton started heading to the right before he cut back to find wide-open space down the left sideline. Before that game, remained all but even through three quarters. Frontenac still led on the scoreboard after scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. Senior quarterback Collin McCartney hit Aaron Doria on a quick out route, with the ball placed perfectly over the outstretched arms of the trailing cornerback. Frontenac made their shutout look even more impressive by adding a third touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Junior Mario Menghini went untouched up the middle for a 6-yard touchdown. Columbus tried to get back into the game by throwing, but Menghini stepped up again, this time by picking off junior quarterback Brett Hamilton on a deep shot down the field.

    Girard 33, Colgan 7
    Girard picked up a win over St. Mary’s Colgan for a second straight season, with this one coming in a fairly one-sided game after winning by a single score a year ago. Junior quarterback Luke Niggemann got things started by leaping into the end zone from 1-yard out on a rushing touchdown. The offense was not needed after that. On the following series, Colgan senior quarterback Aidan Fleming took a shot down the middle of the field on third-and-long only to find Girard’s Braham Born, who intercepted the pass and returned it 60-yards for the pick-six. Before the half, Colgan barely got a punt off from deep in their own territory. The ball bounced right to Alex Coester, who ran right around the coverage team before cutting back to the left side of the field on his way to a 58-yard touchdown. Girard made the Panthers pay on special teams again, this time on a kickoff from Colgan in the second half. Tight end Brecken Toicke looked like he was running up to block when a squib kick went right to him. Colgan’s return team did not realize he had the ball until it was too late, with Toicke sprinting up the middle of the field before moving down the right sideline on his way to a 75-yard kick return touchdown. Girard was already up 27-0 before they got a big play on offense. Coester made two defenders miss in the backfield before he sidestepped another in the open field and took off for a 62-yard touchdown run. Colgan’s lone touchdown came late in the game when Fleming found VanBecelaere on a hitch route, but the receiver slid underneath the first defender before zig-zagging his way through the rest of the secondary and into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown reception.