Liberty, Liberty North among big winners in Missouri high school football: KC roundup

Here’s a recap of some of the top Missouri high school football action around the Kansas City metro on Friday night.

Liberty North 35, Rockhurst 7

A clash of top 5 foes turned out to be a showcase for Liberty North.

The Eagles, No. 2 in the 810 Varsity Top 25 and No. 3 in Missouri Class 6, romped the Hawklets 35-7 at Dasta Stadium. Rockhurst (2-1) entered the game No. 4 in the 810 Varsity Metro and Class 6 rankings.

Liberty North set the tone early with an interception on the opening drive of the game, then followed with a 32-yard pass from Tillman Martin to Jayshawn Ross and a 7-0 lead.

Martin later connected with senior Keelan Smith for a 55-yard deep ball to set the Eagles at the Rockhurst 11. Three plays later, Jacorey Love scored a 6-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead, which North took into halftime.

“We came in with a great game plan and it showed tonight,” said the junior quarterback. Martin finished with a whopping 364 yards on 9-of-10 passing, including three touchdowns.

Liberty North (2-1) broke the game open when Martin threw deep on third-and-2 at the Eagles’ 32, and hit a wide open Smith along the right sideline for a 68-yard touchdown and a 20-0 cushion with 6:33 left in the quarter. The Nebraska commit finished with a ridiculous 205 yards on seven catches.

Smithville 41, Kearney 21

In a battle of top-ranked foes, Smithville beat Kearney in a Suburban Conference showdown in Smithville.

The Class 4 No. 2-ranked Warriors pulled away in the second half for the victory behind four total touchdowns from quarterback Jake Shaffer and three from Ben Murawski.

Smithville (2-1) went ahead 14-0 early. After the Bulldogs (1-2) pulled within a score, Shaffer scored on a touchdown run late in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs, No. 4 in Missouri Class 4, got back within a score on Cameron Emmons’ second rushing touchdown; this one capped a 91-yard drive.

With the lead down to 21-15, the Warriors accounted for the next three scores to bust the game wide open.

Shaffer’s second touchdown run boosted the lead to 27-15, and then Murawski intercepted a Brad Doll pass and returned it for a touchdown. Late in the fourth, Murawski hauled in his second touchdown pass from Shaffer for a 41-15 romp.

Smithville is now 10-1 against the Bulldogs since leaving the Midland Empire Conference for the Suburban in 2018.

Oak Park 32, Grain Valley 31

It’s been a few years since Oak Park has picked up a statement win like the Northmen pulled off on Friday.

Oak Park rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter and picked up a 32-31 win in the final seconds to upset Class 5 No. 3-ranked Grain Valley at Moody Murry Field in Grain Valley.

Quarterback Aiden Hinkle carried the ball only nine times in the contest, but his 2-yard run with 19 seconds left provided the difference — the seventh lead change in the game.

The senior finished with 52 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, adding earlier scores of 5 and 6 yards.

Travon Pankey did the heavy lifting for the Northmen with 32 carries for 165 yards and one score for Oak Park.

Ty Williams led the Grain Valley offense with 135 yards on 19 carries and had two touchdowns. Quarterback Sal Caldarella threw for 170 yards and a touchdown, but he was picked off twice by Donovan Ross.

Grain Valley’s Gabe Storment recorded 19 tackles in the loss.

Liberty 35, Ray-Pec 20

Liberty picked up its first win of the season, overcoming an early miscue against the Panthers.

The Blue Jays trailed 7-0 early after Eli Cook picked up a fumble and returned it 45 yards for a score. Liberty (1-2) responded by scoring the next 28 points, spanning from the first quarter into early in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Christian Kuchta ran for a score, while Andrew Olson added two rushing scores. He finished with 15 carries for a team-high 93 yards.

Grady Coppinger added a 24-yard pick-six for the Blue Jays with 25 seconds left in the first half, making it 21-7 at the break. The Panthers (1-2) were driving with a chance to tie the game at 14.

Liberty ran for 235 yards and had three different ball carriers score. Kuchta ran for 52 yards and passed for 100.

DeZephen Walker led Ray-Pec with 111 yards on 21 totes and had a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

St. Pius X 49, Cameron 8

St. Pius X rolled to its third win in as many games, scoring 42 straight points and holding Cameron scoreless for the final 33-plus minutes.

In the 49-8 win, sophomore quarterback Hudson Bailey threw for three scores, pushing his season total to eight TDs through the air. Larry Cascone added his third and fourth rushing touchdowns of the season and the Warriors defense even found the end zone on a fumble return by linebacker Jackson Rotterman.

“We tell them the standard is the standard here,” Pius head coach Anthony Simone said. “We don’t even look at the wins and losses. It’s how we do things. I just want to make sure we do it the right way.”

The Warriors, ranked No. 21 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, have scored 162 points while allowing just 35.

Next week Pius travels to Maryville, while Cameron (2-1) is at home against Chillicothe.