Harrisonville football team wins 34-7, improves to 6-0

A lost fumble and three other mishandled balls were but a misdirection for Harrisonville senior quarterback Chance Chamberlain.

Thanks to Chamberlain’s knack for third-and-long escapes, another slow offensive start for the undefeated Wildcats gave way to a second-quarter flurry in a 34-7 victory over Grain Valley on Friday night.

On the first play of the second quarter on third-and-seven, Chamberlain scrambled deep into the backfield to elude Grain Valley rushers before hitting Joe Snooks for a 21-yard completion. Harrisonville went up 7-0 three plays later after Chris James’ 18-yard touchdown run.

Later in the second quarter, Chamberlain capped a seven-play, 90-yard drive with a three-yard leap into the end zone for a 13-0 lead for Harrisonville, 6-0 and The Star’s No. 1-ranked small-class team. Earlier in the drive, on third-and-10 at his own 10-yard line, Chamberlain rolled toward the right sideline, turned abruptly and guided an opposite field pass to Wyatt Schenker in the flat. Sch\enker covered 60 yards before being pushed out of bounds.

“My mindset is just get the first down,” said Chamberlain, who went eight-of-11 for 138 yards. “No matter what the cost.”

From there, Grain Valley’s offense couldn’t keep up in its Homecoming game. The Eagles, 2-4, managed just one first down in the first half.

Harrisonville running back Morgan Selemaea, in his second game back since missing the first four, scored on broken-tackle touchdown runs of 24, 58 and 17 yards on the way to 101 yards rushing in the game.

“He’s come back and run the ball like a maniac,” Chamberlain said of his junior teammate. “You know when he gets the ball he is going to make something happen.”

Center 40, Clinton 7

Over the past seven seasons, Center has formulated its offensive gameplan around its running game. The philosophy embodies a personal preference for coach Bryan DeLong.

But in 2015, the Yellowjackets are slowly migrating toward a more balanced approach — and sophomore quarterback Amaun Ryan continues to profit from it.

Ryan threw four touchdowns to lead Center to a 40-7 win against Clinton on Friday night.

The Yellowjackets improved to 6-0 for the first time in DeLong’s seven-year tenure.

“He’s the best true quarterback I’ve had,” DeLong said in a phone interview after the game. “We still come out with our same philosophy of running the ball, but when we see 8-man boxes, we have a guy who can throw the ball, and we have two or three receivers who are fast with big hands.”

Ryan has thrown seven touchdowns over the past two weeks, a development aided by his offensive line. He has been sacked only once in six games.

Lee’s Summit West 34, Lee’s Summit 14

A week after losing to one crosstown rival, Lee’s Summit West upended another.

The Titans rolled to a 34-14 win Friday against Lee’s Summit, utilizing three touchdown runs from Jacob Katzfey.

Lee’s Summit West, 5-1, lost its first game of the season last week, falling 13-9 to Lee’s Summit North.

The offense more than doubled that output Friday in the first half alone. Katzfey scored two of his three touchdowns before the break, and Phillip Brooks caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Cole Taylor, leading to a 21-7 halftime advantage.

Lee’s Summit’s Salvatore Garozzo closed the gap to 24-14 with a touchdown run in the second half, but Katzfey’s third touchdown sealed the victory.

Rockhurst 39, Blue Springs 21

The schedule hasn’t exactly been kind to the Rockhurst Hawklets. In fact, over the past four weeks, they faced three undefeated teams — leading to a four-game losing skid.

Against a more familiar rival, they got back on track Friday.

Rockhurst defeated Blue Springs 39-21 on Friday, claiming its first win since the opening week of the season.

Blue Springs fell to 1-5.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 11:56 PM with the headline "Harrisonville football team wins 34-7, improves to 6-0."