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Photo Credit: Keith Kreeger/kreegerphoto.com bvnwsports.com

There was a fire burning under Mikey Pauley. It started as an underclassmen when his Blue Valley Northwest Huskies struggled mightily.

They were winless his freshman year and a whopping 2-7 in the following campaign. Coincidentally, those were Northwest coach Clint Rider’s first two years at the helm, as well. Despite the rough going in 2018 and 2019, Rider relied on the athletic dual threat quarterback in Pauley to ignite the Huskies’ program, as the offense exploded and helped Northwest to a 5-2 2020 season.

Turns out, that only set the stage for what was in store for 2021. Thanks to a commanding 35-21 victory over rival Blue Valley North on Friday night, the Huskies have marched on to a 6-0 start to Pauley and his classmates’ senior campaign. Not bad after going a combined 2-16 as underclassmen.

And that wasn’t even Pauley’s first bit of motivation on the night, which was dedicated to North’s Homecoming and Senior Night festivities on the Northwest campus.

“It means a lot for Blue Valley Northwest,” Pauley said of the win. “We took offense that they’d do their Senior Night and Homecoming against us, and we used it as fuel to motivate us this week.”

And then, of course, Pauley, the University of Nebraska baseball commit, gets to the payback theme.

“Growing up and playing against those guys, even when I was an underclassman, when we’d get beat down a little bit, that fueled it a little more,” he added. “Just to go out and beat them and punish them pretty badly, yeah, it felt good.”

Mission accomplished. Pauley tossed four touchdown passes and rushed for another TD to help the Huskies maintain their lead atop the Eastern Kansas League standings. They sit one game ahead of 5-1 Blue Valley, who beat Bishop Miege Friday. North, falling to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in EKL action, is tied with Blue Valley West for third in the league.

On top of this rivalry game being North’s Homecoming and Senior night, it was also selected to be featured as a part of the Great American Rivalry Series. Representatives of the series, accompanied by members of the United States Marine Corps, presented trophies and a Most Valuable Player award, which went to Pauley. The series was on hand to recognize the Northwest-North rivalry as one of the best high school rivalries in the nation.

“That was kind of a grind-it-out win,” said Rider, the Huskies’ head coach. “Our defense came up in big spots in the red zone, and I'm just proud of how our guys fought in the second half, as well.”

Northwest’s defense shined in the first half, shutting out the prolific North offense as the Huskies led 14-0 at the break. It was a 14-point third quarter — with touchdown receptions by Nick Cusick and Max Muehlberger — that helped the Huskies to a 28-7 lead before the Mustangs’ offense really got involved. Pauley found senior Steven Whitter late from 22 yards out for Northwest’s final score with 1:15 left.

North senior quarterback Henry Martin completed his 636th career completion early in the fourth quarter to set the all-time Kansas high school record, passing former Shawnee Mission North and William Jewell College signal caller Will Schneider.

 

Martin connected with Mizzou commit Mekhi Miller for back-to-back touchdowns late in the final frame.

“I mean, it speaks for itself,” North coach Adam Pummill said of Martin’s record. “He’s an incredible quarterback and he has a really unique ability to keep his eyes downfield amongst the chaos and that’s rare. I’m very proud of him; he makes this offense go along with Mekhi Miller and Lucas Bullock.”

In the first half, Northwest limited North to just four possessions — two punts and two turnover on downs. Not only did the Huskies blank the high-powered Mustangs in the first two frames, but their methodical run-first offense kept the clock moving and Martin's troops on the sideline for most of the first half.

“We knew it’d be a run-heavy game,” Pauley said, “so we focused on that and then bust it open with a quick pass behind them and took our chance. It worked out.”

“He’s such a big, strong kid,” Pummill said of Pauley. “You never know if he’s going to go downhill or sling it with his throwing arm. They’re very challenging to stop and they’re defense did a great job, which makes it tough when you’re one-dimensional. We have to figure that out.”

Junior running back Grant Stubblefield, who is enjoying a breakout season, and Pauley chipped away with effective rushes and long offensive possessions, with the help of an efficient offensive line.

After both teams failed to find the end zone to open the game, Pauley linked up with a wide-open Nick Cusick for a 36-yard touchdown, the first points of the contest with 2:26 left in the first. Following a North punt, the Huskies marched their way down the field and scored on a 2-yard quarterback dash by Pauley for an eventual 14-0 halftime lead.

Out of the locker room, North finally got on the scoreboard, as Martin threw his first touchdown pass of the night to Bullock to make it a one possession game. But Northwest had a response. And once again it was the Pauley-Cusick connection, this one on a 28-yard link-up for a 21-7 lead with 2:58 left in the third frame.

“We just have to keep getting better,” Rider said. “We might see (Northwest) again or Blue Valley or whoever else, there’s a lot of good teams in 6A. This is great, this is awesome, but it really counts in a few weeks.”

Northwest looks to continue its winning ways with a date at St. Thomas Aquinas (2-4, 1-3) next Friday. Meanwhile, North hopes to avoid a four-game losing streak with a road contest against St. James Academy (2-4, 1-4) at Bishop Miege High School.

“Our back’s up against the wall,” Pummill said. “We have to fight our way out of it or we’ll stay on this track. I just told the kids that there’s no magic formula. It sucks, but we’ll get back to work. We don’t know any other way to do it.

“We have a history around here of clicking in the playoffs, so hopefully we get this thing rolling here soon.”