Week 2: Pick Six East Recaps

Blue Valley Northwest 49, Bishop Miege 36
Blue Valley Northwest did most of its damage on the ground in Week 1. The Huskies switched to attacking through the air against Bishop Miege in Week 2. Northwest senior quarterback Mikey Pauley racked up 358 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions on a Stags defense that did not allow a single passing yard in their first game. Junior running back Grant Stubblefield still got in some work with 79 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and a pair of catches for 13 receiving yards, although he did fumble the ball twice with one being recovered by Miege. Pauley targeted his senior trio of wide receivers in Max Muehlberger, Steven Whitter and Nick Cusick as each scored a receiving touchdown. Whitter finished with 134 receiving yards while Muelhberger ended with 113. Cusick added another 66 receiving yards. Junior wideout Chase Wernimont rounded out the scores in the passing game with a receiving touchdown to go along with his 32 receiving yards. For Miege, quarterback Mac Armstrong had a strong performance with his 25 of 43 passes going for 323 yards and three touchdowns. The Stags also had Aidan Wing complete his one pass for a 25-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Rohan Putz in the second quarter to get Miege on the board after Northwest scored the first three touchdowns of the game. Armstrong connected with Tommy Wright on two touchdown passes as the junior wideout finished with 106 receiving yards. Putz and senior wide receiver Christian Bowen-Webb both added 78 receiving yards. Senior running back Jaylen Burch finished with 51 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Miege opened the season with two tough losses by double-digits to Class 6A schools. The winless Stags are still projected to be one of the top teams in Class 4A.

UP NEXT: Bishop Miege (0-2) at St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0); Blue Valley Northwest (2-0) at St. Joe Central (Mo.) (0-3).

Piper 26, Eudora 23
Piper made the most of its first home football game in two years. The Pirates junior quarterback Logan Ladish got the final snap off at the 50-yard line with just over five seconds left on the game clock. Ladish found senior wide receiver Ethan Walker open 30 yards down the field, placing the ball right where Walker needed to pull in the pass before sprinting into the end zone for the game winning touchdown in a 26-23 classic. The Cardinals thought they had a game winner of their own a few minutes prior, when Eudora senior quarterback Gage Hayden connected on two passes for 60 yards to put his team five yards out while trailing 20-16. The Pirates forced a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line before senior running back Brayden Beerbower powered his way into the end zone to take the lead. Piper only led for about four minutes, which came after closing a 16-8 deficit in the fourth quarter. Ladish finished with three touchdowns, 204 passing yards and 88 rushing yards. Junior running back Miguel Martin picked up the lone rushing touchdown for the Pirates.

UP NEXT: Piper (2-0) at Leavenworth (1-1); Eudora (1-1) vs. Bonner Springs (1-1)

St. Thomas Aquinas 53, Lutheran North (Mo.) 39
Aquinas pulled away for a 53-39 victory, but the Saints survived a high-powered offensive battle where they trailed most of the first half. Aquinas junior quarterback Maxwell Ford promised he'd improve his passing stats after finishing with zero completions in Week 1. Fellow junior Sean Carroll joked that he'd complete one. Ford proved him wrong by completing two for 72 yards. That proved to be enough as he repeated his success at the goal line, scoring two rushing touchdowns from inside the 3-yard line. He also showed his big play threat when he went for 54 of his 111 rushing yards with a rushing score on the team's first offensive play of the game. Gianni Rizzi had his own breakaway run in the first offensive play of the second half, taking off for a 72-yard rushing touchdown to regain the lead for the first time since late in the first quarter. Rizzi finished as the Saints leading rusher with 138 yards, barely edging out Carroll's 137 rushing yards. Carroll tied Ford's three rushing touchdowns to lead the team. Aquinas outgained Lutheran North 575-489 yards.

UP NEXT: St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) vs. Bishop Miege (0-2)

Spring Hill 42, Paola 14
Spring Hill ran away with this Frontier League matchup on the road. Paola got on the board first with a 4-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback keeper from senior Trey Moala in the first quarter, but Spring Hill followed up with a 42-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Fletcher Pankey to senior wide receiver Daniel Mitchell. Then Pankey exploded in the second quarter, completing three more touchdown passes, each coming in goal-to-go situations. First he hit senior Zach Knowlton on a 4-yarder, then Mitchell again for a 5-yard score. Both players finished with three catches, Mitchell for 71 yards and Knowlton for 61. Finally another 4-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Draven Pipkin, who added 6-yard and 3-yard rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to fully put the game away. Pipkin finished with 95 yards rushing. Paola put together one more scoring drive late in the fourth quarter as junior quarterback Jett Osbern punched it in with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Spring Hill kept their offense efficient and balanced, scoring six touchdowns while passing for 166 yards and rushing for 150 yards. Pankey finished with 166 yards through the air. Junior Brandon Richardson and senior linebacker/safety Austin Rivers led Spring Hill in tackles with 15 and 11 respectively. Rivers also earned an interception. The defense earned seven tackles for loss as they kept Paola in check for most of the game.

UP NEXT: Paola (1-1) vs. Tonganoxie (0-2); Spring Hill (2-0) vs. Ottawa (1-1)

Galena 20, St. Mary's Colgan 12
Galena worked out it's ball security and special teams issues from Week 1 as the Bulldogs controlled the action for all four quarters against CNC League foe St. Mary. Galena quarterback Brett Sarwinski did a lot of the work with a balance of passing and running. Sarwinski finished with 55 rushing yards on 10 carries and 77 passing yards on 4 of 7 throws. Galena scored first with Dawson Mooney scoring on a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Colgan quarterback Aidan Fleming connected with Tucker Harrell for a 43-yard touchdown pass to even things up in the second quarter. It looked like that would be the score going into halftime until Sarwinski intercepted a pass from Fleming to put the Bulldogs in goal-to-go with just eight seconds left in the second quarter. Galena took the lead right back as Sarwinski called his own number on a 7-yard rushing touchdown, making it 14-6 after he ran in a 2-point conversion, which made up for his missed the extra point on the previous scoring drive. Both defenses clamped down for a scoreless third quarter until Galena extended its lead with a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, but failed that 2-point conversion to make the score 20-6. Fleming led another scoring drive to get the game within one possession, scoring on a 1-yard rushing touchdown, but Galena held on for the 20-12 victory.

UP NEXT: St. Mary's Colgan (0-2) vs. Frontenac (1-1); Galena (1-1) at Riverton (2-0)

Blue Valley 42, St. James Academy 13
Blue Valley recovered from a tough loss against Blue Valley Northwest in Week 1 to handily beat a highly regarded St. James Academy team. Blue Valley running back Michael Solomon and quarterback Greyson Holbert combined for six rushing touchdowns in the game, starting with two by Solomon and one by Holbert before St. James Academy could answer with points. Thunder quarterback Jackson House cut the lead to 21-7 when he found wide receiver John Niesen for a 32-yard passing touchdown in the second quarter. But Solomon added two more scores with one at the end of the second quarter and one at the start of the third quarter. House led a 69-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyler Claiborne. Holbert scored his second rushing touchdown on a 13-yard run to wrap up a 42-13 victory.

UP NEXT: Blue Valley (1-1) vs. Lee's Summit (Mo.) (1-0); St. James Academy (0-2) at Blue Valley West (1-1)