SM East, Miege, St. James, Park Hill South among Friday’s high school football victors
Here’s a look at highlights from some big high school football games around the Kansas City metro on Friday night.
Shawnee Mission East 28, Lawrence 14
The Lancers built a 14-point lead through two quarters and never trailed in beating Lawrence in a Kansas Class 6A playoff showdown.
Shawnee Mission East’s ground attack included two first-half rushing scores from quarterback Jack Reeves — both times on fourth-down plays.
“Our guys were relentless,” Shawnee Mission East coach Mark Simoneau said. “Defensively there were times they were on the field for awhile, but they just kept battling and fighting. I’m really proud of that group.
“On offense, we made plays when we needed to and really got going early in the game.”
Indeed, with a two-touchdown lead the Lancers kept rolling. At the 5:35 mark of the third quarter, Brady Haughton rushed for a 25-yard TD that pushed the margin to 21 points.
Lawrence finally got on the board late in the third period, but SM East answered that with another rushing TD: Nate Phillips galloped to the end zone from the 29-yard line. out to make it 28-7.
Lawrence (4-5) got its final points of the season when QB Banks Bowen found Jaxon Becker for a TD with 45 seconds remaining.
Shawnee Mission East (5-4) will play once-beaten Gardner Edgerton next week.
Park Hill South 13, Staley 12
Special teams fueled Park Hill South’s Missouri Class 6, District 8 victory.
The Panthers (3-7) utilized two Asher Huffman field goals — including a 57-yarder — to take a 6-0 lead into halftime.
But Staley’s Lance Holstead broke loose down the right sideline midway in the third period for a 77-yard touchdown. After a missed PAT, it was 6-6.
That’s when the Panthers mounted a drive that culminated in Kaiden Irvin’s 7-yard rushing touchdown.
Staley responded with a long drive of its own that ended in a 7-yard TD run by TJ Shanks. But the kick was blocked and Park Hill South survived.
The Panthers face district rival Park Hill next Friday in the second round.
Bishop Miege 21, Louisburg 14
Even in a down year, Bishop Miege is still the team to beat in Kansas Class 4A.
The Stags (2-7), who entered the playoffs as the No. 15 seed on the East side, traveled to No. 2 Louisburg and held off the host Wildcats (7-2).
Miege got started with a 4-yard touchdown run by Vinny George. Then Marco Rodriguez lobbed a 55-yard pass to Teryn Jackson to open the second quarter and scored on a keeper.
Louisburg answered with a drive of its own, Ashton Moore scoring on a 7-yard run. That plus an 83-yard march, culminating in a 17-yard scoring toss from Alex Saad to Moore, tied the game at 14 just before intermission.
With about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Rodriguez found Jackson for a 35-yard hookup that proved to be the winning touchdown.
Bishop Miege will travel to Labette County next week for a second-round matchup.
St. James 48, Blue Valley 22
When it comes to the postseason, potential opponents should only overlook St. James Academy at their own peril.
The Thunder’s easy victory over Blue Valley, the No. 3 seed in Kansas Class 5A East, served as a reminder of that on Friday evening.
St. James (4-5) was dominant from the outset, building a 20-7 halftime lead against the Tigers (6-3).
A fumble recovery in the end zone provided the Thunder’s first points. Then came Jack Bevitt’s two field goals and Tyson Beashore’s 3-yard touchdown run — all before halftime.
The Thunder poured it on from there, with additional TDs coming via John Tujague 3-yard run, Connor Skahan’s 80-yard pick-six and Beashore’s 38-yard strike to Tujague.
St. James, which won Class 4A titles in 2020 and 2021, will travel to Basehor-Linwood (8-1) as the Kansas postseason continues next Friday.
For stats, recaps, online broadcasts and more, visit 810Varsity.com.
This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 11:21 PM.