Blue Valley began district play with a 38 – 20 win over rival Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Though both offenses began the game looking stagnant, the Saints were the first to break through on a 71-yard pass by senior quarterback Richard Davila. After a BV punt, the Saints scored on another big pass play, this one a 69-yard strike to junior Clayton Henning, putting the Saints up 14 – 0.
The Tigers answered with a big pass play of their own: a 41-yard touchdown reception by senior Jacob McDermott, his first of two touchdown catches of the night.
The Saints moved methodically down the field on the following drive, and capped it off with a short yardage touchdown run, leading 20-7 after a missed extra-point attempt.
BV again matched the Saints touchdown, this time on an 18-yard scramble by junior Kyle Zimmerman.
On the Saints next drive, they failed to convert on third down and were forced to punt. BV was able to pressure the punter and caused a punt of 2 yards.
The Tigers took advantage of good field position before halftime with a touchdown pass by Zimmerman to junior Austin Katsorelos to take a 21 – 20 lead going into halftime.
The Tiger’s secondary struggled in the first half but shut down the Saints in the second half allowing zero points.
“We adjusted to the new things we were seeing,” senior Bryant Reber said.
Reber and senior T.J. Nee both had interceptions in the second half.
Following a 35-yard field goal by junior Austin Johnson, the Tigers scored on a 20-yard McDermott touchdown reception.
The Tigers topped off the game with a touchdown run by senior Hayden Murray to extend their lead to 38 – 20.
BV could clench a playoff spot with a win on the road against Pittsburg next week and a Gardner-Edgerton victory over Saint Thomas Aquinas.