Post by MizzouTiger on Dec 1, 2007 17:10:45 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/696/story/374553.html
Lee’s Summit West blanks Parkway Central for 4A crown
By BOB LUDER
The Kansas City Star
ST. LOUIS | Coaches in every sport constantly espouse the value of experience. But there’s experience, and then there’s the Lee’s Summit West football team’s senior class.
The first class of Titans football players — the school opened in the late summer of 2004 — finished their careers in high style Friday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.
Blending a big-play offense with a stifling defense, the Titans broke open a scoreless game in the second quarter and captured a 35-0 win over Parkway Central for the school’s — and city of Lee’s Summit’s — first Missouri Class 4 state football championship.
The victory, and the method in which it was achieved, was a testament to a large senior class that, by Friday’s title match, had just about seen it all.
LS West had advanced to the state semifinals each of the previous two seasons before falling to teams that would go on to win championships.
This year, there was no stopping a team that rolled to a 14-0 record and allowed only one opponent all season more than 19 points.
“The motto for this bunch all year has been, finish the job,” said Titans coach Royce Boehm. “This (2004) freshman class has played in 53 high school football games. That doesn’t happen very often.
“It showed today what these kids are made of. Each year, they’ve bought into the program. When we started, we said we didn’t just want to be the city champs. We wanted to go all the way.”
Boehm said he had a good feeling before game time when he saw the officiating crew and noticed it was the same crew that worked an overtime game against Raytown South a couple years ago, when the Titans captured their first-ever district win.
Things didn’t exactly come easily for LS West early on. Parkway Central, which carried just 37 players on its roster, traded punches with the Titans in a scoreless first quarter and marched deep into Titans territory, setting up for a 28-yard field-goal attempt early in the second quarter.
The Titans’ defensive leader, Malachi Bickle, had aided the Colts’ drive moments earlier when he was flagged for a late hit. But seven plays later, Bickle atoned and finally turned momentum in the Titans’ favor when he rushed through the middle of the Central line and blocked Codey Davis’ field-goal attempt.
Two plays later, LS West quarterback Bryant “B.J.” Jackson launched a 63-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Rollin, and the Titans were off and running.
“I (messed) up a couple tackles early,” Bickle said. “(The blocked field goal) felt like a motivator. We picked it up … got momentum on our side.”
Lee’s Summit West blanks Parkway Central for 4A crown
By BOB LUDER
The Kansas City Star
ST. LOUIS | Coaches in every sport constantly espouse the value of experience. But there’s experience, and then there’s the Lee’s Summit West football team’s senior class.
The first class of Titans football players — the school opened in the late summer of 2004 — finished their careers in high style Friday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.
Blending a big-play offense with a stifling defense, the Titans broke open a scoreless game in the second quarter and captured a 35-0 win over Parkway Central for the school’s — and city of Lee’s Summit’s — first Missouri Class 4 state football championship.
The victory, and the method in which it was achieved, was a testament to a large senior class that, by Friday’s title match, had just about seen it all.
LS West had advanced to the state semifinals each of the previous two seasons before falling to teams that would go on to win championships.
This year, there was no stopping a team that rolled to a 14-0 record and allowed only one opponent all season more than 19 points.
“The motto for this bunch all year has been, finish the job,” said Titans coach Royce Boehm. “This (2004) freshman class has played in 53 high school football games. That doesn’t happen very often.
“It showed today what these kids are made of. Each year, they’ve bought into the program. When we started, we said we didn’t just want to be the city champs. We wanted to go all the way.”
Boehm said he had a good feeling before game time when he saw the officiating crew and noticed it was the same crew that worked an overtime game against Raytown South a couple years ago, when the Titans captured their first-ever district win.
Things didn’t exactly come easily for LS West early on. Parkway Central, which carried just 37 players on its roster, traded punches with the Titans in a scoreless first quarter and marched deep into Titans territory, setting up for a 28-yard field-goal attempt early in the second quarter.
The Titans’ defensive leader, Malachi Bickle, had aided the Colts’ drive moments earlier when he was flagged for a late hit. But seven plays later, Bickle atoned and finally turned momentum in the Titans’ favor when he rushed through the middle of the Central line and blocked Codey Davis’ field-goal attempt.
Two plays later, LS West quarterback Bryant “B.J.” Jackson launched a 63-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Rollin, and the Titans were off and running.
“I (messed) up a couple tackles early,” Bickle said. “(The blocked field goal) felt like a motivator. We picked it up … got momentum on our side.”