High school football playoffs underway in Missouri & Kansas: Thursday highlights
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Smithville dominated Benton 43-6 in Missouri Class 4 first-round playoff win.
- Olathe West survived a 63-42 shootout, Hale threw four TDs and led offense.
- Shawnee Mission Northwest advanced as Trai Woodruff rushed for six touchdowns.
Postseason high school football got underway Thursday evening with games across the Kansas City metro.
With more games scheduled for Friday night, too, here’s a look at some highlights from Thursday’s playoff games in Missouri and Kansas, around the KC area.
Smithville 43, St. Joseph Benton 6
Smithville got off to a sluggish start but eventually ran away with a first-round blowout.
The Warriors, the No. 3 seed in Missouri Class 4, District 8, saw Benton come from St. Joseph and take a 6-0 lead on a touchdown pass in the first quarter.
The Cardinals’ lead held until Smithville quarterback Quentin Morse hit fellow senior Haze Middleton for a touchdown pass with two minutes remaining in the first half. And they weren’t done, connecting a second time for another TD before intermission — it was 14-6 Warriors at halftime.
The points came more easily to Smithville in the second half. A field goal made it 17-6, then junior linebacker Evan Anderson intercepted a Cardinals pass for a 36-yard pick-six that swelled the hosts’ advantage to 24-6.
Later in the third quarter, 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior running back Austin Clevenger took a handoff up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown run. And the Morse-Middleton tandem struck one more time for a 20-yard score.
Smithville (8-2) will travel to Savannah (9-1) for a district semifinal showdown next Friday, Nov. 7.
Olathe West 63, Shawnee Mission North 42
Sometimes all you can do is survive and advance. Olathe West wasn’t assured of either for a while in this one.
The Owls, the No. 1 seed on the Kansas Class 6A East side, held off No. 16 Shawnee Mission North in a shootout to advance to the second round. But it was white knuckles throughout for West fans.
The Bison went toe-to-toe with the Owls, battling to a 28-28 tie late in the first half. Eventually, West created separation in the score line with a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior Cabe Roberson from senior quarterback Brody Hale — his third passing TD of the night to that point.
Olathe West (8-1) opened the second half with a scoring drive capped by senior running back Josh Foland’s four-yard TD run. That made it 42-28. After a Bisons touchdown, Foland ran in a TD from the 4.
North (1-8) scored yet another TD to pull with 7, at 49-42, but Sam Krzykowski broke loose for a 70-yard scoring run and Hale tossed his fourth TD pass of the night (to senior WR Luke Zimmerman).
Olathe West will face the winner of Olathe South and Blue Valley Northwest next weekend.
Shawnee Mission Northwest 50, Lawrence 40
Trai Woodruff made sure Shawnee Mission Northwest will be playing another week.
The senior rushed for six touchdowns in a see-saw battle with Lawrence as the Cougars (6-3) advanced to the second round of the Kansas Class 6A playoffs.
Shawnee Mission Northwest is the No. 3 seed from 6A East, but the No. 14-ranked Chesty Lions (1-8) held a 26-21 lead at halftime and a 40-36 advantage late in the contest.
Woodruff, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior, scored with 6:05 left to put the Cougars up for good. His sixth and final TD came with 2:38 remaining.
The Cougars will take on the winner of Friday night’s Free State vs. Olathe East game next weekend.
This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 11:03 PM.