Defense propels Blue Valley football team past Aquinas

In a battle between the top top defensive units in the Eastern Kansas League, it was no surprise that the outcome came down to a pair of critical fourth-quarter turnovers.

In a tie game, Blue Valley was able to capitalize on two St. Thomas Aquinas fumbles on the way to a 21-14 victory over the Saints on Friday night.

“The defense played pretty dang good all night,” Blue Valley coach Eric Driskell said. “Our defense played the game plan really well and really physical. They do a great job coaching those kids, so it was great to get those turnovers.”

Blue Valley, which is making the transition to Kansas Class 6A after winning the 5A state title last season, entered the game with the league’s top defense. The Tigers have allowed just 205.60 yards of total offense through five games this season. Aquinas had the second-best defense at 267.60 yards of total offense allowed per game.

The Aquinas defense, despite missing three starters, forced back-to-back three-and-outs early in the game to set up the Saints at the Blue Valley 33-yard line on Aquinas’s second possession. One play later, Aquinas junior James Cosentino ran for a 33-yard touchdown and Blake Zuniga’s extra point made it 7-0.

Blue Valley began to slowly carve into the Saints’ defense. Blue Valley pounded the ball up the middle with junior running back AJ Totta, who had not played since he re-aggravated a groin injury in Week 2 of the season. He carried the ball 13 times during the next three drives and scored a 3-yard touchdown to start the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Aquinas went on top again with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Karter Odermann to Landon Johnson. It capped a drive that started on the Saints’ 12-yard line.

Blue Valley answered again on its next drive with a 8-yard scoring pass from Colton McCumber to Braydon Huschka, the first of the Tigers’ two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The second was a 5-yard scoring run by McCumber after Blue Valley recovered the second Aquinas fumble.

“We really challenged our guys up front to be physical,” Driskell said. “We put together some drives and it was sure nice having AJ Totta back.”

With the victory, Blue Valley takes a 5-1 record into Kansas Class 6A district play. They will face Gardner Edgerton, Olathe South and Blue Valley Northwest in their next three games.

“It’s exciting for us to have something to build on because we believe we played 48 minutes of hard, emotional football against a really good football team,” Driskell said.

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 10:32 PM with the headline "Defense propels Blue Valley football team past Aquinas."