Photo Credit: Nick Smith/PrepsKC 
Every team can hardly wait to play its season opener, but Blue Valley Southwest might have had a few extra circles on their calendars to pump them up for Friday’s matchup against Blue Valley. The Timberwolves felt like they let one slip away in last year’s season opener against the Tigers, but they weren’t about to let it happen again. Blue Valley Southwest was all smiles on Friday after earning a 33-19 victory over Blue Valley for its first win over the Tigers in school history.
“I can’t even explain the emotions that are going on in the locker room right now. It’s been a long time coming,” BV Southwest coach Anthony Orrick said. “We’ve worked our butts off for years and we’ve been close. We weren’t any closer than we were last year and didn’t get it done. But the kids made it happen tonight.”
The connection of quarterback Dylan Dunn and Alex Parks came through for the Timberwolves when it counted most in the fourth quarter. Dunn threw two of his four touchdown strikes to Parks in the final quarter—one on a 3rd and 17 play from the Blue Valley 20 with 5:48 to go and the other on a 55-yard bomb with 2:19 remaining to put the Timberwolves back up by two scores.
“That was huge,” Dunn said. “It created a ton of momentum for our team. We just kept going and knew at a certain point that we were going to win the game.”
Dunn completed 23 of 30 passes for 299 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Parks paced the BV Southwest receiving corps by hauling in 11 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Tate Everard (six catches for 114 yards) and Emmitt Peters (three catches for 30 yards) were on the receiving end of Dunn’s other two touchdown passes.
“Dylan came in in like fifth grade and we became buddies,” Parks said. “I was hurt last year, so (I was focused on) coming back and getting prepared. I was working in the offseason with Dylan to get that connection back.”
While the Timberwolves pulled away late, it was the Tigers that got off to an electric start. After bobbling the opening kickoff, Martell Buchanan returned it 92 yards to the house to give the Tigers a 7-0 just 14 seconds in. It was a bit of a flip of the script from last year when the Timberwolves jumped out to a 21-0 lead only to watch the Tigers roar back for a 28-21 victory.
However, the Timberwolves had a speedy kick returner of their own in Parks that made sure his team wouldn’t fall in an early hole. Parks rumbled 64 yards to the Blue Valley 35-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. Landon Christiansen finished off the Timberwolves’ first drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, but the 2-point conversion failed.
The Blue Valley offense didn’t waste any time making an early statement either. On the Tigers’ second offensive play, Chris Aiello hit Grady Westphal for a 79-yard touchdown toss to push Blue Valley’s lead to 13-6.
Everard’s 27-yard touchdown reception with 1:52 to go in the first quarter knotted it back up at 13-13. That score held from the remainder of the half thanks in large part to a tackle for loss by Blue Valley linebacker Dawson Merritt on a goal-line stand with less than a minute to go in the second quarter.
Peters’ 13-yard touchdown catch with 1:43 remaining in the third gave Blue Valley Southwest a 20-13 edge going into the fourth. Parks’ first touchdown allowed the Timberwolves to have a little bit of breathing room, but it didn’t last long. Ford Bevins led the Tigers down the field and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to John Price with 2:33 to go to make it a seven-point game again. Bevins and Aiello split time under center for the Tigers—each seeing their first varsity action.
“I need to look at the film, but I wasn’t disappointed in them. It was their first time on the Friday night field,” Blue Valley coach Allen Terrell said. “I don’t come away from this game feeling like they cost us the game. It wasn’t them by themselves. It was no one person and that goes all the way to the coaching staff. Blue Valley Southwest beat us with their scheme and the execution by their players.”
That was as close as the Tigers would get, though, as Parks’ second touchdown came two plays later. The Timberwolves will try to keep rolling when they take on Bishop Miege at 7 p.m. Friday. The Tigers will try to get back to the .500 mark when they take on St. James at 7 p.m. Friday.
