Photo Credit: Toriano Porter/PrepsKC 
Late in the third quarter of the DiPasquale Moore/PrepsKC Metro Game of the Week, Southeast led Northeast by two points. Needing a big play, the Knights' Jeremiah Ross came through, first snagging an interception and following up the pick with a rushing touchdown early in the fourth.
During a break in action, he repeatedly told game officials that he did not commit a pass interference penalty that negated a 85-yard pick-6. He hadn't, video footage of the play showed. And Ross knew it.
Ross' defensive TD was waved off, but the Knights kept the ball. Unbothered, Ross scored on a 19-yard run, helping Southeast hold off Northeast 22-12.
The win was the first of the season for Southeast and first-year head coach William Williams. How sweet it was, Williams said after the game. His team put in the work required against Northeast and came away with an Interscholastic League victory.
"I'm proud of my boys for putting in the hard work," Williams said.
With the loss, Northeast finds itself winless after 5 games. The Vikings, 0-1 in IL play, led 12-6 at halftime but were outscored 16-0 in the second half.
"When you got blood in the water, you gotta go find the meat," Northeast head coach Roger Franks said. "We haven't gotten to that point. We're not finding the meat."
Miscommunication on the field with officials and the PA announcer left spectators to wonder what the issue was.
Apparently, the Knights did something wrong during Ross' return. Or did they?
"There was no way that ref should have threw that flag," Williams said. "That ball belongs to anybody, and anybody can go get it."
After a slow start to the first quarter, Northeast scored first on a short touchdown run. With 48 seconds left in the second quarter, the Vikings went up 12-6 thanks to Willy Maurdi's interception return for a touchdown.
Maurdi was a problem on offense, too, with several long gains against the Knights' defense.
Southeast's Nazir Fane was all over the field against Northeast. Fane is listed on the roster as a tight end and linebacker. Against Northeast, he played nearly every position except punter and kicker. Fane made long runs as a running back on offense, ran down ball carriers on defense and created matchup problems for the Vikings all evening. His 5-yard TD run tied the game at 6-6 in the second quarter.
Fane "wants the rock and I'm going to give it to him," Williams said.
Down 6 at halftime, the Knights came out of the break on fire. Southeast drove 65 yards for a score. Four minutes into the third quarter, Cordell James' 10-yard TD run tied the game at 12-all. A successful two-point conversion run by Ross made the score 14-12 in favor of Southeast.
Ross' score on a 19-yard TD run less than one minute into the 4th quarter put Southeast ahead 20-12. On a two-point conversion attempt, Travon Ball out jumped Vikings defenders in the end zone and came down with the ball. The leaping grab gave the Knights a 10-point lead and cleared its path to victory.
