Game of the Week: Recap

ANDOVER – Dumped in the backfield as he released the football, Andover Central quarterback Kai Kunz's vantage point of the third-and-15 pass he threw late in the fourth quarter Friday night against Buhler left much to be desired.

Kunz is still getting to know teammates after transferring from Kapaun Mount Carmel to Andover Central for his senior season. But sprawled on the ground, he understood two things.

First, his intended target was senior Ashton Barkdull, the Jaguars' workhorse running back who ran for more than 800 yards a year ago. And setting up to block for Barkdull was 274-pound senior Drew Daniels, an all-state selection who anchors both of Andover Central's lines.

While Kunz strained to watch, Barkdull hauled in the dump-off pass in front of the Jaguars' sideline, and used Daniels' escort to spring free on a 54-yard touchdown with one minute remaining for the decisive score in Andover Central's 21-19 victory at Jaguar Stadium.

Andover Central, No. 5 in KSHSAA Covered's Class 4A rankings, moved to 2-0 despite seeing much of its momentum vanish in the second half as No. 3 Buhler erased a 14-point deficit and snagged the lead with 3:07 to play.

"I was on the ground and I was like, 'I hope it's a touchdown,'" Kunz said of the go-ahead scoring pass to Barkdull. Three plays earlier, Kunz scrambled 14 yards on fourth-and-8 to keep the drive alive. One play before the touchdown, Buhler defensive back Javohn Ostrom was unable to corral a Kunz pass that went in and out of his hands.

"Ashton is the man," Kunz added. "He just takes off and does his thing. He jukes and jives. It was a wonderful play call by Coach (Derek) Tuttle. Very smart."

The Jaguars were awesome at times and their own worst enemies at others as their duel with Buhler unfolded. They opened the game with a methodical, 15-play drive that included two fourth-down conversions and Kunz's 29-yard counter run on third-and-15. Barkdull capped the 80-yard march with a seven-yard touchdown run.

Andover Central showed its big-play ability – albeit unconventionally – later in the opening quarter. Backed up two yards from the goal line, Kunz connected on a long pass with senior wide receiver Brock Stupka, who fumbled as he was being tackled near midfield. Junior teammate Cooper Tabor scooped up the ball and raced the final 54 yards to complete the 98-yard play.

"We came out strong in the first quarter and put together some nice drives, some nice big plays," Tuttle said. "Then we kind of stalled. I don't think we handled things very well, especially with our penalties. The big thing at the end is our kids believed we could drive it down because we had done it several times all night."

The Jaguars settled for a 14-0 halftime lead that hinged strongly on a superb defensive effort. Andover Central limited Buhler to 74 yards in the first half, including 12 on the ground. Buhler senior running back Sam Elliott, who ran for 264 yards in a season-opening victory over Goddard, was held to 20 yards before the break and finished with 32 on 12 carries.

"Where we were at halftime, and (Andover Central) probably felt it too, it looked like it was going to be a blowout," Buhler coach Steve Warner said. "The kids responded and played great defense, and then we finally found a way to move the ball."

The Jaguars failed to score on four consecutive drives bridging the second and third quarters, and Buhler finally took advantage. With the south wind at their backs, the Crusaders drove 28 yards in three plays, with quarterback Bradley Neill hitting fullback Colin Rolland from eight yards out for the score. After silencing Central's offense again, Neill raced in from 16 yards with 34 seconds to play in the third to cut the deficit to 14-13, but the Crusaders' extra point hit the left upright.

After the Jaguars missed a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, Neill and the Crusaders capitalized. Buhler went 80 yards in 17 plays, with Neill and Rolland connecting on third-and-goal from the 6 to give the Crusaders their first lead at 19-14.

Kunz, who completed 12 of 20 passes for 160 yards, and Andover Central got the ball 65 yards from the end zone with exactly three minutes to play. The 6-foot-2, 182-pound quarterback stirred the Central crowd with his fourth-down scramble. He showed poise on the dump pass to Barkdull, releasing it at the perfect moment to let his running back used Daniels' block.

"Drew is a phenomenal lineman," Kunz said. "I think he's one of the best linemen in the state. The only thing that holds Drew back that colleges say is that he's 6-2 and not tall enough. But Drew has the most heart of anybody. He comes with energy every single day and outworks everybody."

With Buhler defensive back Cameron Campbell the last line of defense, Daniels turned him outside, opening the path down the sideline for Barkdull.

"They were bringing some pressure, and Kai wasn't having a whole lot of time to throw in that fourth quarter," Tuttle said. "We'd been holding on to that play for quite a while, and we thought there was no better time than that to run it, and it worked out."

Andover Central appeared to have the game locked up when linebacker Dillon Savage intercepted Neill's pass over the middle with 42 seconds remaining. But Buhler used its final three timeouts and got the ball back with one second to play after Kunz's fourth-down incompletion through the back of the end zone left one second on the clock. The Crusaders' ensuing hook-and-lateral, however, failed to cross midfield.

"Kai still has some things to work on in our passing game, but he's catching on to what we're trying to accomplish," Tuttle said. "His natural ability to make some plays happen down the stretch helped us a ton."

ANDOVER CENTRAL 21, BUHLER 19
Buhler (1-1) ... 0 ... 0 ... 13 ... 6 ... – ... 19
Andover Central (2-0) ... 14 ... 0 ... 0 ... 7 ... – ... 21
Andover Central – Barkdull 7 run (Saye kick)
Andover Central – Tabor 54 run (Saye kick)
Buhler – Rolland 8 pass from B. Neill (J. Neill kick)
Buhler – B. Neill 16 run (kick failed)
Buhler – Rolland 6 pass from B. Neill (pass failed)
Andover Central – Barkdull 54 pass from Kunz (Saye kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Buhler: Elliott 12-32, Coffey 4-6, Rolland 1-2, D. Campbell 1-(-3), B. Neill 5-(-1). Andover Central: Tabor 4-119, Barkdull 24-105, Kunz 14-72, Rees 1-3.
Passing – Buhler: B. Neill 16-30-1, 216 yards; J. Neill 0-1-0, 0 yards. Andover Central: Kunz 12-20-0, 160 yards.
Receiving – Buhler: Eddy 3-46, Coffey 3-40, Tustian 1-30, C. Campbell 1-22, McCurdy 1-22, McCabe 1-18, Rolland 2-14, Elliott 2-10, D. Campbell 1-9, Van Bruggen 1-5. Anover Central: Stupka 3-64, Barkull 3-63, Ek 2-18, Tabor 4-15.