Kearney wins battle of unbeaten squads
By Jimmy Gillispie
KANSAS CITY — In a clash between undefeated teams in front of a large crowd filling the entire stadium, it was Kearney’s ability to make plays in all phases of the game that ultimately led to victory tonight.
Kearney shut down St. Pius X’s rushing attack and kept the Warriors off the scoreboard in the second half. Kearney was held to just one touchdown – on special teams – in the first half, but roared back with three scores in the second half.
In the end, Kearney cruised to a 31-6 victory in the battle of unbeaten teams. Kearney improved to 6-0, while St. Pius X fell to 5-1 with just three regular season games left on the schedule.
“This is going to help us in a playoff game somewhere down the road,” Kearney coach Logan Minnick said. “These are the kind of games we want to play. Two unbelievable teams. What a crowd here. Unbelievable night for football. Just so proud of our kids for finishing.”
The stadium, which was already full of energy and anticipation, was greeted to a touchdown on the opening kickoff. Kearney senior Kale Tucking took the kickoff 87 yards to the house, giving the Bulldogs a quick 7-0 lead in the first 15 seconds of the game.
“That was the difference in the game for a while,” Minnick said. “I told our guys that was a mistake when they kicked it to No. 3 – he’s one of the best players in the state. It was an unbelievable job of our kickoff team blocking that thing up and getting it done, and Kale just doing the rest. It was a huge momentum swing. It was our only touchdown in the first half.”
Kearney senior quarterback Carter Temple finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and another passing score late in the contest. He found senior Caleb Stevens for the 28-yard TD.
All three touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. His 30-yard TD run came on the first play of the quarter when the Bulldogs were facing a fourth-down-and-3 leading just 10-6.
“He battled. I thought he made a couple of mistakes early, but then he just went to work,” Minnick said. “He kept battling. He’s the ultimate competitor. The guy has won two state championships and wrestling in overtime, so the moment is never too big for him.
“It was fourth-and-3 in a tight ball game, we call his number and he absolutely runs through somebody going to the end zone. He’s the guy we call Seabiscuit – we are going to ride him.”
For the Warriors, a couple of miscues proved costly in the loss Friday night. They allowed a long punt return after their opening drive three-and-out, and Kearny took over at the Warriors’ 25 yard line.
Late in the second quarter, the Warriors took over at the Kearney 15 yard line. Four plays later, their drive ended on an incomplete pass.
A few minutes later, the Warriors began another drive at the 35 yard line. The drive began with a 21-yard pass, but ended in an interception two plays later.
With Kearney leading 10-6 in the third quarter, the Warriors dropped a long pass that would have resulted in a go-ahead touchdown. They also dropped a fourth-down pass, threw an interception and lost a fumble in the second half.
St. Pius X came into the game averaging 40.8 points per game, and hadn’t scored less than 23 points in a contest this year. Tonight, they were held to just six.
“Unbelievable effort from our defense tonight,” Minnick said.. “That’s one of the best offenses we’ve seen in a long time. We kept battling and played lights out like we have all year.”
No team has scored more than 13 points against the Bulldogs this fall. Five of their six opponents have scored sever or fewer points.
Next week, Kearney will be back on the road, traveling to Raytown South (3-2). Meanwhile, St. Pius X will travel across the state to face De Smet Jesuit (5-1).
“The great thing is we have a lot of experience and a lot of seniors that have played a lot of football, so they understand what it takes and what it looks like to try to go on a run,” Minnick said.
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