The Harrisonville Wildcats won their homecoming game Friday, beating Center for 62-48. (photo by Stephen Slaughter (https://skslaughter.smugmug.com/) Wildcats win wild shootout HARRISONVILLE — It’s been a couple of wacky weeks of football for the Wildcats, but they’ve won a pair of contests after losing their first two games of the season. Harrisonville and Center lit up the scoreboard Friday night, combining for 110 points. In the end, the Wildcats defended their home turf,

By Jimmy Gillispie BLUE SPRINGS — The Wildcats have now won back-to-back games in a series that was lopsided for years. The Wildcats defeated Liberty North, 31-24, on their home field Friday night. Their 27-14 victory last year ended a nine-game losing streak to Liberty North. “Obviously, winning is a big deal. We just continue to have way too many penalties,” Blue Springs coach Jed Paulsen said. “That’s putting us in bad situations, and we have to clean those up.” Blue Sprin

Blue Springs senior quarterback Wyatt Erickson threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats' 38-17 win at Blue Springs South on Friday night. (photo by Jimmy Gillispie) By Jimmy Gillispie BLUE SPRINGS — Wyatt Erickson made sure his last guaranteed rival game for city bragging rights ended in a win for the Wildcats. On Friday night, the Blue Springs senior quarterback threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 38-17 victory at the Blue Spring

By Jimmy Gillispie ARCHIE — A week after a rough second half that resulted in a lopsided loss at Lockwood, the Archie Whirlwinds bounced back in dominating fashion Friday night. The Whirlwinds crushed Osceola, 72-0, in front of their home crowd. It was their first shutout since Nov. 8, 2024. It was also their eighth-straight win over Osceola. “I told our boys we did exactly what we needed to do,” Archie coach Drew Smith said. “We came in from the get-go and played with the ph

By Jimmy Gillispie PLEASANT HILL — Following a pair of lopsided losses, the Roosters earned their first 2026 victory Friday night. They defeated Benton, 47-21, at Eklund Field after a pair of losses by a combined 59 points. Needless to say, the mood was a lot more positive in the locker room following the game. “I don’t know, other than Class 6A schools, if there is a school that starts off with a tougher scheduled than we do,” Pleasant Hill coach Justin Hamilton said. “That

Blue Springs senior quarterback Wyatt Erickson dives across the goal line, scoring the first touchdown of the game Friday night. Erickson also threw four touchdown passes in the Wildcats' 38-17 win over rival Blue Springs South. (photo by Jimmy Gillispie) By Jimmy Gillispie BLUE SPRINGS — For the first time since 2021, Blue Springs defeated its cross-town rival in the regular season. The Wildcats did beat Blue Springs South, 29-10, last year in the Class 6 playoffs. Tonight,

By Jimmy Gillispie Before Friday night, it had been nearly four years since Archie was on the receiving end of a lopsided loss. But, coach Drew Smith said his squad wasn’t too far from possibly pulling off the upset at Lockwood. Archie led early in the second half, but turned the ball over on four-straight possessions. Lockwood capitalized and won 79-40 on its home field. Lockwood has won the past two regular season games over Archie, but lost the past two playoff games to t

By Jimmy Gillispie Although it was another loss on the season, Pleasant Hill coach Justin Hamilton was a lot happier about his team’s performance than he was following the season-opening shutout loss. His Roosters fell 41-20 at Maryville, falling to 0-2 on the season. Yet, Hamilton felt much better about the loss. He knew his team would have a tough opening two weeks, playing top-five teams in Class 3 and 4. “I felt completely different as the coach of this team after this ga

By Jimmy Gillispie BLUE SPRINGS — Greg Jones, the second-year Ray-Pec coach, was overcome with emotions following Friday night’s overtime victory. To say it was a tough week for Jones and the Panthers is likely an understatement. A day after the Panthers’ season opening win, William Jewell College running back MicahJo Barnett – a former player of Jones and Liberty North graduate – passed away following a medical emergency during the Cardinals’ game. Additionally, three Ray-Pe

Ray-Pec senior quarterback Daccota Stamback scores the game-winning touchdown on the first play of the Panthers' offensive possession in overtime Friday night. Ray-Pec beat Blue Springs, 35-32, improving to 2-0 on the season. (photo by Jimmy Gillispie) BLUE SPRINGS — Daccota Stamback caught the snap, hesitated and sprinted through the heart of the defense before ripping off his helmet and celebrating with teammates late Friday night. He helped the Panthers take down Blue Spri

Photo by Griff's Pix By Jimmy Gillispie PLEASANT HILL — Coach Justin Hamilton knew his team was facing one of its toughest opponents in the season opener, but he hoped for a better result. His Roosters squared off with a Savannah (1-0) team that went 10-2 last year – nearly opposite of the Roosters’ 3-8 record. They welcomed Savannah to Eklund Field on Friday night, but the Roosters fell 38-0 in a game where Hamilton said his team’s offense never got into any rhythm. “It was

By Jimmy Gillispie LEE’S SUMMIT — Needing a spark following a scoreless first half, the defending Class 6 state champions were propelled to victory by a sophomore with outstanding speed. Matthew Ahrens quickly put himself on a list of football players to watch in the Kansas City area. On Friday night, he scored two touchdowns – both on runs of at least 30 yards – and helped Lee’s Summit defeat Blue Springs South, 20-17, in the season opener. “We knew we had to make it ugly to

PLEASANT HILL — With less than two weeks until the 2026 season officially kicks off, the Roosters are wrapping up their summer workouts in Branson this week.

Editor's Note: From November 2024 By Jimmy Gillispie PLEASANT HILL — Two streaks remained alive for the Roosters football team Friday...

Editor's Note: From December 2024 By Jimmy Gillispie COLUMBIA — This year's senior class of Adrian football players had one goal in mind...

Editor's Note: From December 2024 By Jimmy Gillispie ST. JOSEPH — Mystery surrounded the Archie football team entering the 2024 season...