Lee’s Summit knocks off previously unbeaten Panthers
By Jimmy Gillispie
LEE’S SUMMIT — Todd Miller jokingly said his team is going to switch to a passing offense after watching the Tigers throw two touchdowns in Friday night’s 21-14 victory over previously undefeated Ray-Pec.
“Maybe a little run-and-shoot offense next week,” the Lee’s Summit coach said laughing. “Maybe we re-invent ourselves.”
Lee’s Summit’s ground attack single wing offense, which is a throwback to old-school football, din’t attempt a pass until the fourth quarter.
Yet, the Tigers actually completed all three of their passes in the home win. Two of their three passes went for touchdowns.
Lee’s Summit junior tight end Max Trillo caught both scores. His first was a 22-yard toss from senior Xavier Salinas. The TD put the Tigers up 14-7 with 4:46 left in the contest.
A few plays later, Ray-Pec star tailback Jojo Robinson finally broke free from the Tigers defense. They stopped Robinson for much of the night, with many of his runs being shut down in the backfield, but he ran around and through the Tigers’ secondary on his 55-yard TD run that tied the contest with 3:39 remaining.
“Our defense was awesome. Our D-line showed up and played very well,” Miller said. “I thought we tackled our best of the season. I think it comes down to what you did during the week, and we had really good practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. I felt good coming into this. I didn't know how we were going to score, but I felt good about our defense.”
Both teams traded quick possessions before Lee’s Summit took over on its own 42-yard line with 1:07 left in the game. On the first play of the drive, freshman quarterback Brody Hertzog connected with senior wideout Grady Ferguson for a 19-yard play.
Following a spiked snap, Hertzog threw a 15-yard pass to Trillo, who made one defender miss with a juke before sprinting up the sideline and into the end zone.
“He’s going to get credit for the touchdowns, but he blocked his tail off all night,” Miller said of Trillo. “We ran behind him probably 90 percent of the game. I’m really happy with that. He showed up tonight.”
The go-ahead score put the Tigers up 21-14 with 47.5 seconds left in the contest.
“Brody came in cool and collected,” Miller said. “He has great composure for a freshman. He threw two perfect balls. Those were things we did in practice and he executed him to a tee.”
Miller said he took a simple mindset going into the final minutes of the game.
“There’s a lot to be said about wisdom. I’m in my 32nd year, and you just relax and play and let the kids do what they can,” Miller said. “I think the kids kind of feed off of that. You take a deep breath and you say let's go. We got the stop and we got the ball back, and we had a good plan moving forward. Everybody was on the same page, and when everyone is rolling in the right direction, you’ve got a good chance of being successful.”
Ray-Pec’s ensuing drive ended in an incomplete pass as the time ran out. It was their first loss of the season after jumping out to a surprising 4-0 start following last year’’s 0-10 record.
The first touchdown of the game was scored by Lee’s Summit senior Drew Benassi. It was a nine-yard TD run by the Tigers’ primary ball carrier in the contest. It gave them a 7-0 lead going into halftime.
On their first possession of the second half, the Panthers drove nearly the length of the field. Quarterback Daccota Stamback capped the drive with a one-yard run, tying the game at 7.
The win pushes the Tigers to back above .500. They are 3-2, winning all three of their home games this fall.
“Our backs were up against the wall. We didn't feel like we played very well last week,” Miller said of the Tigers’ 24-17 loss at Lee’s Summit North. “We didn't have a great week of practice before that game, and that's my fault. I take responsibility for that.
“This week, I thought we had some good days. We are gritty, and I don’t even know how fun we are to watch, but we play tough, hard-nosed football and our kids do it the right way. Tonight, I thought we really tackled well. (Robinson) is hard to handle. We were just good enough on offense.”
Lee’s Summit (3-2) will stay at home next week to face Lee’s Summit West (2-3). Meanwhile, Ray-Pec (4-1) will be at home to face North Kansas City (4-1).
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