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by Michael Smith After an impressive offensive performance in the jamboree last week, the Grain Valley football team proved it was a sign of things to come. The Eagles looked impressive in a jamboree against Liberty North and Lee’s Summit as they scored a total of five touchdowns and were able to move the ball effectively throughout. That seemed to carry over into Friday’s season opener against Fort Osage at Murray Moody Memorial Field. The Indians had won four in a row against the Eagles, including two in the Class 5 state quarterfinals. It appeared that the Indians streak was on the verge of continuing after junior running back Ryver Peppers scored on an 18-yard run to put his team ahead 42-32 with 5 minutes and 53 seconds remaining. However, new Grain Valley quarterback Sal Caldarella had other ideas. The senior signal caller responded with two touchdown passes in the final 5 minutes, including the game winner to junior wide receiver Aaron Barr with 37.2 seconds left as he led a comeback in a 46-42 victory, ending Fort Osage’s four-game winning streak over the Eagles. “It’s bittersweet,” Grain Valley senior running back Ty Williams said of ending the losing streak against Fort. “My freshman year was the last time we beat them. We though, ‘We got to beat Fort. We got to beat Fort. Tonight we did it.” The Eagles overcame a bevy of mistakes, including two failed extra point attempts, an unsuccessful two-point conversion, a blocked punt that led to a Fort Osage TD and a fumble in the red zone that swung the momentum of the game in the Indians’ favor in the second quarter. Even after all that, the Eagles showed grit and resiliency to win a game in which it trailed for the majority of it. After Grain Valley went down by 10-points late in the fourth, Caldarella went to work. He fit a pass over the top, in a tight window, as senior wide receiver Noah Olah made an over-the-shoulder catch with a defender right behind him and he raced into the end zone for a 44-yard catch-and-run to make 43-39 with 4:28 left. “I played little league with Noah, so we already had that connection growing up,” said Caldarella, who credited his offensive line for his success. “He was at Blue Springs with me. It’s constant reps and we have learned how to play with each other over time.” Added Williams: “Noah is a dog. He’s probably the fastest guy in the state right now.” Grain Valley forced a three-and-out from the Fort offense and got the ball back with a little more than two minutes left. Disaster seemed to strike the Eagles on the next drive as Williams suffered a leg injury after a low tackle on a 2-yard run by an Indian defender. He was out for the rest of the game. Williams finished with 224 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns. There were three occasions trainers had to work on Williams’s leg throughout the game due to what appeared to be cramping. Each time the senior toughed it out and came back into the game. “He can break it, he’s got some speed,” Grain Valley head coach David Allie said of Williams. “If you give him a crease, he has good vision and gets up field.” With Williams out, Caldarella hit Barr along the left sideline and the junior wide receiver tight roped his way into the end zone for the winning score. “That was our waggle switch play,” Barr said of the winning score. “Normally we switch it and we did because Fort Osage’s safeties like to bite down and we knew it would be open.” Caldarella, a transfer from Blue Springs, was brilliant as he totaled 204 yards and three TD through the air, while completing 11 of his 18 passes. He also had six carries for 82 yards. “Honestly, everything is good and we have more opportunities to throw the ball,” Barr said. “We couldn’t do that last year – it’s two different quarterbacks. He can fit passes into small windows. We are grateful to have him on our team.” Both teams exchanged touchdowns in the first quarter as Williams scored on a 2-yard run and Peppers hit pay dirt on an 11-yard scamper to go into the second period tied at seven apiece. Fort Osage then outscored Grain Valley 14-6 to go into halftime up 21-13. Indians senior Xander Shepherd blocked a Colton Clyman punt and returned the ball 26 yards for a score. A fumble recovery by junior Levi Carter on a lost ball from Williams set up a long drive that was capped by a 5-yard Peppers TD run. Before that score, Fort Osage senior quarterback Kyle Wilson had his pass tipped by a Grain Valley’s Jordan Fuller, but sophomore Nicholas Penamon caught the deflection and made it to the Grain Valley 5-yard line on a 50-yard passing play. The Eagles’ lone score in the second came on an 80-yard run from Williams, in which he found a huge hole in the middle, cut right and outran the Fort defense. The Indians continued their momentum into the early third period when Wilson, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 194 yards and three scores, found Curtis Holloway over the middle for an 80-yard TD through the air to make it 28-13. However, the never-say-die Eagles responded with a play action that resulted in a 50-yard scoring pass from Caldarella to Olah. Grain Valley then got an interception of Wilson from junior Toby Inman as he returned the ball to the Fort Osage 4. Williams plunged into the end zone on the ensuing play to cut the lead to 28-26 after a failed two-point conversion late in the third. Fort Osage then answered with a swing pass from Wilson to junior Alex Snodgrass that resulted in a 33-yard score 11 seconds into the fourth. But once again the Eagles came back with another score as Williams found pay dirt on a 37-yard run in which he juked two Indian defenders. “I want to thank God for this opportunity,” Williams said. “Without him, we’re nothing. Secondly, shout out to my O line, they make me look way better than I really am. Without that O line, we aren’t doing anything.” Olah finished with five catches for a 123 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles, while Barr added three receptions and 65 yards and a TD. After Grain Valley went down by 10-points late in the fourth, Caldarella went to work. He fit a pass over the top, in a tight window, as senior wide receiver Noah Olah made an over-the-shoulder catch with a defender right behind him and he raced into the end zone for a 44-yard catch-and-run to make 43-39 with 4:28 left. Photo credit: Clara Jaques Photo credit: Clara Jaques
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