Lee’s Summit West holds on against Liberty North in district playoff football

There’s nothing unusual about making a last-second defensive play to win a game.

But a last one-tenth-of-a-second defensive stop? That’s a new one.

That was the challenge facing Lee’s Summit West in its Class 6A District 4 playoff opener against Liberty North on Friday.

The Titans were up to the challenge, knocking away a pass to preserve a 21-13 victory at Lee’s Summit West.

Lee’s Summit West (9-1) thought it was facing one last play when Liberty North lined up at the Titan 13-yard line, looking for the touchdown it needed.

Eagle quarterback Jake Van Dyne scrambled, and his last-ditch effort fell to the turf. Lee’s Summit West started to celebrate, before realizing the clock read 00.1.

“We thought we had the game won. We had a sub clock operator in, and I guess he doesn’t know the home-field advantage rules,” Titan coach Vinny Careswell said with a laugh. “We knew they had players, and all night they were making plays. They snuck the back out and luckily we picked it up and sealed the deal right there.”

Titan senior defensive back Jake Grauberger was the man on the spot, knocking down the pass intended for Liberty North running back Keshawn Turner.

“I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was over for sure,” Grauberger said. “We had to tough it out, I guess. It’s hard knowing that you’re so close to being over, but at the end of the day, you’ve just got to do it. I think everybody understood that.”

Film study paid off when Lee’s Summit West needed it most.

“We were working all week on certain formations. I had the back out, and I saw him run out and I knew I had him,” Grauberger said.

All Titans senior quarterback Ben Kobel could do was watch.

“I was pretty nervous. I don’t normally get nervous, but that was pretty nerve-wracking,” Kobel said.

Liberty North (4-6) entered with a record that wasn’t indicative of its talent level. The Eagles went about proving that on Friday, refusing to go away despite falling in an early 14-6 hole.

The Eagles hung around, and got the ball down eight with 2:18 remaining. The Eagles put together a 13-play drive, including a fourth-own conversion, to get the ball in position to score before falling just short.

Van Dyne finished with 271 yards through the air.

The Titans, meanwhile, couldn’t quite put Liberty North away, until that last play, despite a prolific offensive performance.

Kobel threw for 328 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

The offense had three possessions to make it a two-possession game after taking a 21-13 lead midway through the third quarter. The Titans moved the ball, but got nothing to show for it.

“We knew they were going to come out and give us their best,” Kobel said of Liberty North. “We knew their record wasn’t how good they are. They came out and gave us all they got. Once you get into Class 6, every team is going to put up a fight. It’s one game at a time.”

Lee’s Summit West has seen a bit of everything this year. The Titans have won shootouts and defensive struggles. They’ve upset top teams like Staley, and been stunned by city rival Lee’s Summit North.

All of that, including Friday night’s victory, will go into next week’s showdown against Rockhurst.

“You learn from all those things,” Careswell said. “Maybe we put both a defensive and offensive game together. All those difficulties help you in a game like this at the end. And they’re all gonna be like this.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 10:17 PM.