An interstate showdown that will likely go down as one of the most memorable and entertaining games of the season, Lee’s Summit North crossed into Kansas on Friday night and stunned Blue Valley North 28-27 in a classic overtime finish.
Leading 13-7 at the half, the Broncos got hit hard by an upbeat Mustangs offense in the third quarter. Senior running back Lucas Bullock opened the second half with a 42-yard run past the Lee’s Summit North sideline to begin an eight-play touchdown drive to regain the lead.
Then it looked like the roof might fall in on the visitors after a third down sack by senior linebacker Ty Farrington on the next series gave Blue Valley North the ball back with good field position, allowing veteran quarterback Henry Martin to orchestrate an 11-play series that culminated with a screen play touchdown to senior receiver Cole Stratton to send a raucous BVDAC into a frenzy.
But this is what head coach Jamar Mozee has been preparing his roster for all year long.
“We worked really hard, unusually hard, on details,” the head coach said afterwards. “I mean, we worked hard this offseason to change our mindset.”
“I gave it all I got to show these men how to compete and how to finish. And out of every game we’ve played I really saw it tonight where they bowed up and said we’re going to fight back. That’s all I’m after. That’s all I’m after.”
Finish his Broncos did.
Failing to convert a fourth down run in Blue Valley North territory as the third quarter came to a close, a defense with its back against the wall was able to strip senior Mekhi Miller on a completed pass over the middle and spark a Missouri turnaround.
Though it wouldn’t be immediate, a sense of Lee’s Summit North’s revival was felt across the field.
“I think we were clicking on all cylinders there for a bit but fell short in the end,” first year Blue Valley North head coach Adam Pummill stated, adding that having the wind at their backs for the third quarter came in handy.
“We saw them making some strides and knew how they’d approach the fourth quarter, with the weather getting a little nasty. They’re a strong, physical team and took advantage of that.”
Marching behind an offensive line that asserted itself more as the game wore on, a calm and collected Tre Baker found ways to move the Broncos forward and sustain drives. And with 2:07 on the clock, facing a 4th and 5 at the Blue Valley North 19-yard line, the quarterback improvised on a broken play and silence the home stands.
“I’m not going to lie, that one was a little scramble and ‘Devin, you’re there so I’m throwing it to you’,” Baker chuckled of the rollout toss to find senior Devin Blayney for his second score of the night and bring Lee’s Summit North to within two points. “I knew Devin was back there when no one was open, so we took a shot, and he made the catch.”
Of course the Broncos would need a conversion to try and knot the scoreboard, but as Baker added, there was no sweating that part.
“The two-point conversion, we’ve been running that thing for three weeks now. We knew what we were doing and that’s what won us the game there.”
Technically speaking, several other elements happened in between that conversion and the dramatic overtime celebration — including a Broncos missed field goal at the end of regulation, the first touch, 15-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Quincey Baker to open overtime, and a Blue Valley North touchdown reception where the ball actually touched the ground — but Baker’s point rings true in that the Suburban Gold leaders clung tightly with confidence down the stretch. And they have their defense to thank for much of that.
“It’s a resilient defense,” two-way standout senior Gracen Bell proclaimed. “We’re just tighter than we’ve ever been, knowing you can always play for your brother more than you can play for yourself.”
“People run the ball in our league, so it took us a while for things to slow down a bit,” Mozee added of his squad’s defensive resurgence late. “That’s a good football team. I’m not sure we’ll see another passing attack like it, with the quarterback and those good receivers. I do think they got a little tired up front because we’re a handful in the box.”
True to form, that power along the line of scrimmage directly impacted the outcome, forcing Blue Valley North’s hand to go for two in the extra period instead of trying to tie it up and enter double overtime.
“Their ground game was pretty lethal, and we had probably our best defensive lineman pretty banged up,” Pummill described of his team’s choice to go for two. “So we didn’t have a ton of confidence at that point in stopping the run.”
Even with star playmaker Martin fading backwards in order to survey more of his options, the Broncos secondary did its part to blanket receivers and force the decorated passer to heave a tall throw up and over his targets in traffic.
For Bell, the monumental win is a culmination of sorts, remembering back to his freshman year and an all too familiar scenario.
“My freshman year we had almost the exact same game against Blue Springs where it was an away game with drizzle that went into overtime and had a penalty cost us the game,” Bell recalled in detail of a 28-27 loss to the Wildcats on September 7, 2018. “It feels like everything has come full circle now. We feel like this is a special team.”
“Some of these programs are 30 years ahead of us,” Mozee also said, recapping the journey his program has had since he took the job seven years ago. “We didn’t have any culture, so we’re creating everything from dust.”
“That’s been the challenge and we’ve changed it. It’s manifesting in wins now.”
Lee’s Summit North looks to improve to 6-0 next Friday at Blue Springs.
Blue Valley North returns to action next Friday as well, on the road against fellow 3-1 EKL contender Blue Valley.
