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by Cole Arndorfer, Grain Valley News The Grain Valley Schools Board of Education met on Thursday, December 4 for its monthly meeting. The board began the meeting by honoring the state qualifiers for cross country, golf, softball, swimming and diving, as well as the state champion cheer team. Following this, the board moved into reports, beginning with approving a resolution to authorize the issuance of up to 6.5 million general obligation refunding bonds with L.J. Hart & Company. A representative from L.J. Hart & Company then gave a presentation to the board over the district’s options with those bonds as well as information over a proposed April 2026 ballot measure. Next, the board thanked the curriculum committee for their work and looked at a brief overview of its report. Superintendent Dr. Brad Welle delivered the highlights from his superintendent’s report for the month. Welle noted that the district is on track with its health premium overage payments and is tracking at a 92.01 percent attendance rate. The board then moved into unfinished business, beginning with a motion to approve a contract with Fired Up Consulting Group. The contractor will engage the community in the district’s drafting of a new CSIP plan. Following this, the board moved to new business. For the first item, the board approved nominating Cali Beard for this years Belcher Scholarship. The board then discussed the period for school board candidate filing which opened on December 9 at 8 a.m. and will run through December 30 at 5 p.m. The board also noted the staff holiday reception which will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 19 at Grain Valley High School. The next Board of Education meeting will take place on January 15 at 6 p.m. inside the Leadership Center.  by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News It didn’t take long for the Grain Valley boys basketball team to put its imprint in the game. The Eagles took on Suburban White Conference foe William Chrisman Tuesday on the road and put on a clinic on defense from the jump. They held the Bears without a point until the 2:18 mark when Chrisman junior Kenneth Heath made a driving layup. Grain Valley carried that defensive momentum into the rest of the game and didn’t allow more than 12 points in the quarter en route to a 65-38 victory. “I thought our defense and rebounding was better (than the previous three games),” Grain Valley head coach Andy Herbert said. “We had spurts where I thought we were tremendous defensively. We were very connected and our communication was at a high level. “When we are locked in like that defensively, we are pretty good.” Last season, the Eagles had three players who were 6-foot-5 or taller in the rotation, which allowed the team to use a variety of zones to use their length to get deflections and contest shots at the rim. Two of those tall players graduated in May, so Grain Valley (3-1) has had to adjust their offensive and defensive strategies with a more guard-heavy rotation. The Eagles rotations were sharp, the guards pressured the ball and created turnovers and they limited open looks in the paint for the Bears. “We knew their game plan was to screen a lot,” Grain Valley senior Anthony Juarez said. “We just talked and communicated and we took away the drive first because they don’t shoot the ball very well. After we took the drive away, we then closed out.” The defense of star senior Eli Herbert was a big part of Grain Valley’s success. The Liberty University commit made things tough on Chrisman’s guards, using his length and athleticism to cut off passing lanes and disrupt shots. He had two blocks and three steals on the day to cap off his stellar defensive performance. “I think my defense has gotten a lot better,” Herbert said. “I think that is because I spent the summer working on getting bigger, faster and stronger. My athleticism has gotten a lot better.” “We were enthusiastic on defense as a team. We took everything away they wanted to do. When we can guard the ball and not have to rotate behind it, we are pretty good.” Grain Valley raced out to a 15-0 lead to start the first before going into the second period with a 17-6 lead. The Eagles then expanded the advantage to 34-18 at halftime as Herbert hit two key 3-pointers while coming off screens and releasing the shots from the right wing. Senior 6-foot-7 center Sam Pendergrass then made his presence felt in the third period by dominating the interior and putting in nine points to put the Eagles ahead 65-28. From there, Andy Herbert went deep into his bench and used 10 players in the contest. Juarez had one of his best games of the season as he finished with a team-high 17 points, while Herbert had 15 and Pendergrass chipped in with 12.  Grain seniors Anthony Juarez, left, and Eli Herbert combined for 32 points in a 65-38 victory over William Chrisman Tuesday on the road. Photo credit: Michael Smith by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News With last year’s leading scorer, Addy Seyfert, still recovering from a left ankle injury, the Grain Valley girls basketball team has needed others on the team to step up. That’s exactly what’s happened to start the 2025-26 season for the Eagles as they have looked good on offense. In Monday’s Suburban White Conference opener against William Chrisman, the Grain Valley offense was humming thanks to well-executed set plays and juniors Bella Bollinger and Madison Rust combining for 37 points in a 75-25 blowout victory on the road. “It really accelerates the scoreboard when you share the basketball,” Grain Valley veteran head coach Randy Draper said. “This group is doing a good job of that.” Bollinger has stepped up in a big way for her team on offense. She just came off a 25-point performance against Lee’s Summit last Friday and stayed hot against the Bears. Seven of those points came in a first quarter in which the Eagles led 23-13. “I played all over the country this summer,” Bollinger said. “I play competitively and that helps me prepare for games like this.” She was a part of an offense that utilized off-ball movement on cuts to the basket that resulted in wide-open layups. Rust, who had 17 points, received a quick pass from senior Aspen Reed on a cut for an open layup in the second period. Senior Chloe Hernandez scored on a similar play later in the period on a pass from junior McKenna Heidrich. “We have really been spreading the floor and moving without the ball well,” Bollinger said. “We want to constantly move and not stay in one spot. It benefits everyone when we do that.” Draper emptied the bench in the second period as his team took a 43-16 halftime advantage. Sophomore guard Malaina Green was the beneficiary of the extended minutes that the reserves received as she was the third Eagle in double figures with 10. Four of those points came in the third period, one of her steals and a fast-break layup as she helped extend Grain Valley’s advantage to 69-22 going into the final period. “Getting turnovers and playing fast really helps us get ahead early in the game,” Rust said. “We broke their press and they started sitting back. Then we can start working on (halfcourt offense).” From there, the mercy clock ran for the remainder of the contest as every available reserve on the roster received playing time. Chrisman (3-1) struggled with turnovers as the Eagles converted many of those into baskets in transition. Many of those turnovers came on passes that went out of bounds as Grain Valley’s zone defense threw coach Reid Titus’ offense off. “Our four freshmen who started probably haven’t seen a team (at Grain Valley’s) level before,” Titus said. “There are going to be errors. We played really well in the first quarter, but you would tell the floodgates opened after that.” Bears junior Camila Woodruff led the Bears with 13 points.  Grain Valley juniors Madison Rust, left, and Bella Bollinger combined for 37 points in a 75-25 rout if William Chrisman Monday on the road. Photo credit: Michael Smith
by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News Veteran head coach Randy Draper said Bella Bollinger was frustrated after the team’s 59-46 loss in the semifinals of the Winnetonka Invitational’s Cardinal Division. Because of that, she was hard at work the next morning, working on her game. “She was back in the gym in the morning getting up shots,” Draper said. “That’s how you answer. You get back to work.” That work ethic paid off in Friday’s third-place game against Lee’s Summit. She scored a career-high 25 points and she was aided by some clutch plays from junior Madison Rust and senior Chloe Hernandez in a 62-59 victory at Winnetonka High School. “We played simpler, which is good for us,” Draper said. “We did a great job defensively on them.” Grain Valley went into the fourth period trailing 43-39 and Bollinger helped her team get back in it with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, a cutting layup and a free throw. The latter tied the game at 48-48, but the Tigers countered with a 6-0 run as junior Ryann Arnold scored six of her game-high 33 points during the run to put her team up 54-48. A trey from Grain Valley senior Aspen Reed cut the advantage to 54-51 then the Eagles got a stop on defense and Rust made a cutting layup to narrow the gap to one on the following possession. After both teams came up empty on their next two possessions, Hernandez hit a cutting Rust who put the team up for good with a layup to make it 55-54. That sparked a 6-0 run capped by a corner 3-pointer from Hernandez, which put the Eagles up 59-54. Arnold brought the Tigers back with a layup and a 3-pointer that was sandwiched around a cutting layup from Bollinger to pull within 61-59. Rust was fouled with 18.6 seconds left and split a pair of free throws to put the team up by three. Lee’s Summit missed a layup on the other end and Hernandez secured the rebound for the win as Grain Valley improved to 2-1. “I think our team chemistry is getting better and we are moving the ball well,” Bollinger said. “We’re hitting the shots that we should hit. “Chloe has been doing good this season. It’s a lot of help.” Bollinger started out hot, scoring 11 points in the first period as her team took a 20-17 advantage. Freshman Sophia Epping made a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup in the second as the Eagles pushed the lead to 32-24 at halftime as their defense limited Lee’s Summit. Arnold went off for 11 points in the second half as Lee’s Summit forced turnovers that led to baskets in transition in the third period as it pulled ahead 43-39 going into the fourth. From there, clutch plays from Rust, Bollinger and Hernandez sealed it for Grain Valley. “We knew we needed to cut and slip to the basket more in the second half,” Rust said. “We got good shots off of that and that helped us.”  Juniors Madison Rust, left, and Bella Bollinger score 14 and 25 points, respectively, to help the Grain Valley girls basketball team take a 62-59 victory over Lee's Summit in the third-place game of the Winnetonka Invitational. Photo credit: Michael Smith, Grain Valley News  by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News Kansas City Comets president/general manager Brian Budzinski does not own a crystal ball. He doesn't need one. The amount of hard work he and coach Stefan Stokic put together in the offseason is paying some high dividends. Before the start of the season, Budzinski watched his team practice at the Soccer Down in downtown Kansas City. He was intent on disecting the spirited practice, as it offered the same intensity fans might expect from a regular-season game. When it concluded, Budzinski shook his head and said, "The 10 most talented players in the league might be on the field right now, practicing against each other." He might be right as the Comets opened the season with a 7-3 win at St. Louis and then topped the Ambush 8-3 Saturday night at Cable Dahmer Arena. "When I took over as coach, I had a three-year plan," Stefan Stokic said after the home victory Saturday night. "After our first two games, we have the talent and the depth to make a have a great season and to make a serious run in the playoffs. We've never had depth like this, and there are so many talented players on our roster." Stefan Mijatovic, Rian Marques and Mikey Lenis did not play in the season opener and Dom Francis, Nacho Flores and Lenis did not play Saturday. "We had some outstanding players on the sidelines Friday and Sunday, and I believe that type of depth is going to be a key to our success this season," Stokic added. "We hope to have a healthy roster for every game this season because of our depth." Midfielder Christian Anderaos started the season with a bang as he had four goals and an assist in the weekend sweep against the Ambush. "I'm here for whatever Coach needs," Anderaos said, as he signed autographs for a group of young fans. "I played midfield the first three quarters and was a defender in the fourth. The entire team is off to a great start, and our depth and talent are two big reasons for our 2-0 start. "No one wants to let anyone down. We're playing for Coach and each other. And looking at the big picture, I think this is going to be an amazing year." Forward Zach Reget, a scoring icon in the MASL, also had four goals and an assist in the first two games. And he was pumped up after the hometown win. "I am not saying this to be disrespectful, but we are not going to let St. Louis win a game this season," Reget said, as the Comets took a 2-0 lead in the Missouri Cup series. "I have a lot of friends and players I respect on the Ambush, but this year's team is unbelievable. We're off to a 2-0 start, we have outscored them 15-6 and our goal is simple - we're going to work hard to win our next game. That's all we need to think about - winning that next game. Then, we can prepare for the next game and the next game and the next." Lesia Thetsane (10) and reigning MASL Defender of the Year Chad Vandegriffe (6) combined for 16 blocks in the first two games, and are part of a defense that has never wavered. "We've allowed six goals in the first two games, and most of them have been off set plays," Vandegriffe said. "There are some things we need to clean up - but I've been a team with this much depth. We score eight goals tonight without Mikey, Nacho and Dom - that's the type of depth we have." Marques, who missed the first game, serving out a one-game suspension that resulted from the 2024-2025 playoffs, had two goals came back with a vengeance Saturday night with two goals and an assist. He honored his young son Adriano by placing a pacifier in his mouth following goal No. 1. "That goal was dedicated to Adriano," a smiling Marqes said as he held his son after the big win. "It's so great to be back. Watching last night's game in St. Louis was hard to watch. I wanted to be out there with the boys." Another key to the team's success this season in the play of goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu, who leads the MASL in point allowed (3.0) and wins (2-0). "The win was big in St. Louis, but nothing tops a win in front of our fans," said Ejimadu, who answered questions and signed autographs for a group of youngsters. "We play in front of the best fans in the league, and we want to give them something to cheer about." The Comets are 4-1 against their cross-state rival in opening day games and 10-6 in career season openers. Kansas City is on the road this weekend, playing at Baltimore Saturday night and Utica City Sunday afternoon.  Kansas City Comets goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu signs autographs for young fans following an 8-3 victory over St. Louis at Saturday night's home opener. Ejimadu leads the MASL in wins (2), goal against average (3) and point allowed (6 in two games). Photo credit: Bill Althaus  Eagles girls wrestling team sees growth in numbers, boys return multiple varsity competitors11/26/2025
by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News It was just seven years ago when the Grain Valley wrestling team had its first girls wrestler. At the time, three-time state champion Sevreign Aumua was the only girl on the team and had to practice against the boys. Since then, the girls team has grown a lot, and going into the 2025-26 season, the Eagles will have the most on the team in the history of the program with 14. “We have 14 girls, which is pretty good,” Grain Valley coach Donald Horner said. “We have grown just a hair every year and we would love to see it keep growing. We would love to have 40 girls on this team.” The girls team will be led by its only senior, Jayden Moehle, who is working to move down a weight class. She is a three-time all-state medalist and finished as a runner up the past two seasons at the state meet in the 235-pound weight class. She has been working on eating healthier and bumping up her exercise in an attempt to move down to the 190-pound weight class. So far, she has lost a lot of weight and is close to reaching her goal of 190 pounds. “It’s about staying disciplined,” Moehle said. “Coach Horner has shown me how to eat right and exercise and get on weight programs. I have been changing my habits and have been eating low carb and high protein foods. “I was big on weight lifting during the summer time. Ever since wrestling practices have started I have been working on a lot of cardio.” Horner praised Moehle for the amount of progress she has made in cutting weight and it has helped with her wrestling. “She’s losing weight the right way and she’s really healthy,” Horner said. She’s moving really quick. We haven’t seen her move this quickly since she was a freshman or a sophomore.” Because of the weight loss, Moehle has been working on adding more moves to her arsenal. “I have been hitting things a lot differently,” the senior said. “I have been trying to change my strategy a little bit because a lot of the time, I would hit my outside sweep and that was my go-to move and I didn’t change anything. “I really changed up my tactics. I have been working on double legs and head outside singles.” The Eagles will have some returners from last year’s lineup including juniors Lucy Dampf, Cecilia Del Real, McKenna Lane and sophomore Ellerae Hay. They also have an incoming transfer in junior Tairyun Blocker, who wrestled in Cherryvale, Kan., last season and qualified for the Kansas state tournament. Horner said freshmen Brooklyn Koepkey, Adalynn Burch and Hadleigh Scott are some names that could make an immediate impact this season. “I believe we all have a chance to make some noise this year, especially some of the incoming freshmen,” Del Real said. Boys On the boys side, the Grain Valley wrestling team returns multiple wrestlers who competed at the varsity level last season. The boys are led by senior Zac Bleess, who is a two-time state medalist and three-time qualifier. Last season, he fell short of a state medal for the first time but he’s looking to come back and finish strong for his last high school season. “The focus in the offseason has been freestyle and working on my feet because there is not a lot of transition from top and bottom,” Bleess said. “On my feet, I have been working on fine tuning my dump series and I have been watching lots and lots of film. “We all want to be state champions. Every single day I want something extra to do. I want to show my training and preparation is working. Whether I win or lose, if I wrestled the best I could, that is a win in my book.” Horner gave Bleess high praise and expects him to make some noise in 2025-26. “He is one of the best wrestlers in the state in my opinion, and he can make a push to make the state championship,” Horner said of Bleess. “He’s a great leader and he works with our younger kids.” Bleess said he will likely bump up to the 138- or 144-pound weight class after wrestling at 132 last season. I have been wrestling at 138 and 144 all summer, so I have gotten used to it,” Bleess said. “I think the biggest adjustment is not having to cut as much. Being able to bump and being able to just focus on wrestling is going to be a big thing for me.” Senior Tyler Jones also is a returning state qualifier, who will be coming back to wrestle for the Eagles. He qualified for the state tournament for the first time last season and finished with a 27-15 record. He is a wrestler who is strong on his feet and has utilized a double-leg takedown to score a lot of his points. His goal is to earn a state medal in his final high school season. “I have been working on my neutral game while wrestling freestyle,” Jones said. “I feel like I can match anyone in the state on my feet. The main thing for me is improving on bottom. If I can get better at getting up from the bottom, I can beat anyone. “I want to place at state and impose my will on my opponents. I want to show the world I can do it.” Other returning from last year’s varsity lineup are junior Sjoeren Aumua, who was a state qualifier as a freshman; junior Brody Braa, sophomores Grant Burd, Dalton Burch, Brodie Davis, Brady Jones, Kobe Hughes and Kaeler Byrd; and seniors Alec Fenstermaker and Justin King, a returning state qualifier. Grain Valley also added Kansas City Northeast transfer Maui Sua, who finished fifth in the Class 3 heavyweight division last season. There also will likely be some new faces in the lineup to replace the three seniors that graduated in 2025. “It’s different,” Bleess said of the team overall. “There are going to be a lot of new faces in the lineup. I think if we grow and develop, we will be where we need to be at the end of the season. It’s just going to be a very new team. Almost everyone in the room has experience with wrestling.”  Jayden Moehle: Three-time state medalist and two-time runner-up Jayden Moehle, top, is looking to cut her weight down to 190 pounds and is aiming for her first state championships. File photo: Addie Kennedy  Senior Zac Bleess, left, is a two-time state medalist and has been wrestling all offseason in tournaments to prepare for his final high school season. File photo: Addie Kennedy  by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News The Grain Valley football team was sitting on the doorstep of the Class 5 semifinals. The Eagles were in a battle with the No. 1-ranked Platte County Pirates in the quarterfinals as both teams exchanged leads four times in the second half. However, a late-game interception from Pirate defensive back Mogie Walkingstick on a screen pass from Grain Valley Cohen Morris quashed Grain Valley’s hopes of making the semifinals for the first time since 2007 as it fell 46-33 Friday at Moody Murray Memorial Field. “The kids believed in the gameplan and came out and executed it,” Grain Valley head coach David Allie said. “Unfortunately the bounces didn’t go our way in the finish. They left their hearts on the field.” Platte County scored touchdowns on all five of its possessions in the second half, while Grain Valley scored on its first four. Grain Valley had a chance to take control of the game when it had a 33-32 lead late. The Pirates had the ball at the Eagles 33 on fourth-and-2. With a stop, the home team would have had a chance to milk the remaining time off the clock for the win, but quarterback Landon Marriott got the edge on left side on a designed run, broke a tackle near the 2-yard line and hit pay dirt and gave his team a 40-33 lead after a successful two-point conversion pass to senior tight end Brooks Hall. The Eagles got a first down on their ensuing drive, but Morris tried to get a screen pass to sophomore running back Dawson Head and Walkingstick jumped the route and intercepted it at the Grain Valley 30-yard line and returned the ball to the 6 with 1:48 remaining. It took two plays for Platte County to put it away from there as Marriott scored on a 5-yard misdirection run to the right side to make it 46-33 after a failed two-point conversion. The visitors then recovered a Morris fumble on Grain Valley’s final possession and were able to run out the remaining clock and advance to the final four. Rain poured down onto the field for much of the first half as Platte County went into halftime with a 14-7 lead. Head helped the Eagles strike first and put his team up 7-0 when he broke a tackle and rumbled 28-yards for a scoring run at the 3:53 mark in the first. However, the Pirates used their potent passing game to take the lead as Marriott threw a rocket over the top of the Eagles defense for a 35-yard TD pass to senior wide receiver Tres Baskerville late in the first quarter. Marriott also connected with Baskerville on a 4-yard scoring pass on an out route with 32 seconds left in the first half. In the second half, senior Braiden Stevens gave Grain Valley’s defense fits as he got wide open down the field twice for touchdowns of 70 and 20 yards on passes from Marriott. On a third-and-11 play with 9:57 left in the contest, Marriott burned the Eagles deep once again as senior wide receiver Ty Christopher was wide open on a deep 52-yard scoring pass to make it 32-27. Marriott, who will be playing at NCAA Division I James Madison next season, rushed for 96 yards and two TDs on 10 carries and completed 15 of 10 passes for 256 yards and five scores through the air. Stevens finished with 145 yards receiving and two TDs on eight receptions. Grain Valley’s strong running game helped keep them in it as Head, who had four touchdowns and 196 yards on 31 carries, scored on runs of 53, 14 and 1, with the latter score being set up by a creative play drawn up by Allie. On fourth-and-7, offensive lineman William Chrisman, who normally wears No. 53, put on a No. 91 jersey so he could be eligible as a tight end. He was wide open on an out route and got his first varsity reception as he took it 23-yards and down to the Platte County 1. “We have been working on the play for about four weeks,” Allie said. “That was a special one. Will has some great hands for a big man. Every time we ran that, he caught it. He had to wear one jersey over the other one, so it was kind of tight for him.” The Eagles’ last score came on an impressive throw from Morris, who fit a pass between three defenders and got it to junior wide receiver Terrell King for a 12-yard score to make it 33-32, Grain Valley, with 5:36 left. Morris had three varsity starts this season, all in the playoffs, following starting quarterback Chase Neer’s shoulder injury. The sophomore was a key part in Grain Valley making it to the quarterfinals. On Friday, he completed 8 of 12 passes for 112 yards and a score and rushed for 47 yards on 12 carries. “I can’t thank the boys up front enough,” Morris said. “They had my back every single day. Chase also was doing everything he could to help be out. I knew I was going to be able to execute well because of them.” The Eagles season comes to an end with a 8-4 record and the team will graduate 24 seniors. by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News The Grain Valley football team is in familiar territory. The Eagles have made it to the state quarterfinals for the sixth time in the last seven years. Last Friday, they defeated Raytown 49-28 to win the Class 5 District 7 championship. They will take on defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Platte County at 7 p.m. Friday at home for the right to advance to the semifinals. The Pirates won their district following a 2-yard touchdown run from quarterback Rocco Marriott with 2 seconds left in the game in a 29-22 victory over Rockhurst. Platte County will be the Eagles’ toughest matchup this season as the Pirates have not lost a game since Nov. 10, 2023, which was a 27-25 defeat in the district title game to Grain Valley. The Eagles fell to Platte County in Week 2 of the regular season in a 54-23 loss, which was their largest margin of defeat in 2025. But Allie and his players have noted that the team has made some major improvements since that loss and will be prepared for the Pirates. “We’re pretty confident,” Grain Valley senior safety Brody Jones said. “We have had a great week of practice. All we have left is something to prove this Friday.” Some of those improvements include a leap in the offensive line play, which has led to some gaudy rushing numbers. Grain Valley has rushed for 2,444 yards since the Platte County game. That production has been led by sophomore Dawson Head, who took over as the lead back when junior Sjoeren Aumua went down with a shoulder injury in a Week 6 game against Kearney. Since the game with the Bulldogs, Head has totaled 1,367 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground. Any time Head discusses his big-yardage performances, he always gives credit to the offensive line. “I feel like we are playing a lot more physically,” Grain Valley senior left guard/defensive end Logan Bennett said. “I think we all have turned that up since the Kearney game. It will be a good matchup in the trenches. “We do grades after every game. At the beginning of the season, we struggled a little bit, but we all have had passing grades in recent weeks and we are understanding the game better.” The Eagles potent run game will be key against the Pirates as the home team will need to keep Platte County’s explosive offense off the field as much as possible. Added senior tackle Will Page: “We have to sustain our blocks and sustain our drives. We have to be more physical with them. If we can do that, we will kick their (behind).” Platte County has an explosive offense led by Marriott, who will be playing for Division I James Madison University next fall. He was a first-team, all-state selection in 2024 along with tight end Jack Utz, who is one of his top targets. He also has a big target in 6-foot-5 tight end Brooks Hall and has three experienced receivers in Tres Baskerville, Braiden Stevens and Ty Christopher. The spread offense of the Pirates will challenge the Eagles secondary and the rest of the defense as Allie said the key was limiting their big plays and containing Marriott, who is a dual-threat signal caller. “We have to make them earn it,” Allie said. “We can’t let their receivers get behind us. One thing Rockhurst did in the first half was get pressure on Marriott. They got some turnovers because of that. “Marriott can scramble so we have to be able to contain him. Last time, he got outside the pocket and was able to run on us. We can’t give them easy plays. They are multi-faceted so it’s hard to do that. We have been preparing for that.” The Grain Valley defensive line has been a strength for the defense this season despite having several newcomers up front, including Kansas City Northeast transfer Muai Sua, who has racked up several tackles for loss for his team. The defensive line has been doing a great job,” Allie said. “We had some injuries there so we have had some kids that have had to play both ways, which makes things hard. Luckily we have been able to spell those guys and not use them as much.” If Grain Valley can get its run game going and contain Platte County’s passing game, the Eagles could make their first state semifinal appearance since 2007. “We need to sustain drives to keep that offense on the field,” Allie said. “We also need to finish drives. Platte County is going to score a lot of points.”  Grain Valley has rushed for 2,444 yards since the Platte County game. That production has been led by sophomore Dawson Head (pictured above in Grain Valley's first game this season against Platte County), who took over as the lead back when junior Sjoeren Aumua went down with a shoulder injury in a Week 6 game against Kearney. Photo credit: Addie Kennedy
by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News Last season was a rare one for the Grain Valley football team. The Eagles didn’t win a district championship for the first time in five years as they fell to Webb City 21-9 in the semifinals of the district tournament. They were back in familiar territory Friday as the Grain Valley took on Raytown in the Class 5 District 7 championship at Moody Murray Memorial Field. The Eagles leaned on sophomore running back Dawson Head and the running game as he totaled 290 yards and three touchdowns on a whopping 35 carries to help lead his team to its sixth district title in the last seven years following a 49-28 victory. Grain Valley (9-3) will advance to the Class 5 quarterfinals to face the defending state champion Platte County Pirates at 7 p.m. next Friday at home. Following the game the Eagles circled around head coach David Allie, jumped up and down and shouted with jubilation as the veteran coach held the district championship plaque up high. “The work ethic, leadership and determination has all been great this season,” Allie said. “That’s a quality win. They had a good record. That was a big-boy win for us.” Once again, Grain Valley’s high-touted offensive line and Head did the heavy lifting for Grain Valley on offense. Head grinded out some tough yards as he scored on TDs of 7 and 9 in the first half. He said his weakness of his coming in 2025 was being a physical, between-the-tackles runner as he was known more for his speed prior to the season. In the playoffs he showed his physicality and opposing defenses have had a tough time bringing him down. On his 9-yard TD run that put the team up 14-7 at the 3:08 mark in the second period, he powered through a Raytown tackler to make his way into the end zone. “I had never been a physical runner,” Head said. “I worked on getting better and better at that every week and it’s paid off.” Head got the opportunity to be the lead back for the Eagles after junior Sjoeren Aumua went down with a broken collarbone in a Week 6 loss to Kearney. From the game against the Bulldogs going forward, Head has exploded for 1,367 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground. Head has accomplished in six games what a lot of running backs don’t in a full nine-game regular season and one playoff game. “It all starts with the guys up front and Dawson will tell you that,” Allie said. “Coach (Mike) Tarrants does a great job with our offensive line. Dawson has definitely improved at being physical and breaking tackles. He got some tough yards today. He earned them all.” The sophomore did get some help from junior wide receiver Terrell King, who made arguably the biggest play of the game. With nine seconds left, Grain Valley quarterback Cohen Morris connected with King near the right sideline at the Raytown 20. King quickly turned around, raced past a Blue Jay cornerback and outran the rest of the defense for a 40-yard TD reception as time expired to put Grain Valley ahead 21-7 going into halftime. “I saw the (defensive back) drop down and take the three, so I was wide open,” King said. “I saw I could make the spin there and get into the end zone.” On their first drive of the second half, the Eagles created separation as a block from left guard Logan Bennett paved the way for Head to score on a 35-yard run untouched to make it 28-7 at the 7:22 mark in the third. The Blue Jays (7-5) never got closer than two scores the rest of the way as sophomore running back Brody Davis scored on a 1-yard run, King returned a squib kick 67 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff and half back Zach Dowhower scored the Eagles final TD with 2:19 left on a 10-yard run up the middle on a scissor run play concept. Raytown got its only touchdown in the first half on a 14-yard strike from quarterback Kayden Downing to wide receiver Jayden Davis. The Blue Jays had a 19-yard touchdown pass from Downing to wide receiver Roger Haney waived off due to a chop block penalty. Had the score held, the score would have been tied at 14-14. The Blue Jays turned the ball over on downs on that possession In the second half, Downing connected on TD passes of 38 and 11 to Haney. Senior Aaron Giles scored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth on a drive set up by a recovered onside kick for Raytown. But in the end, the Eagles had a big enough cushion to withstand Raytown’s late push. They will now turn their attention to the Pirates, who defeated the Eagles 54-23 in the regular season. “We will have to do what we did this week,” Head said when asked what it would take to get past Platte County. “We need to stick to our assignments, execute and play our style of football.”  Grain Valley football’s past, present, and future collided in the best way this past week, as the city’s youngest Eagles lined up alongside its oldest. In a community-building event that blended mentorship with plenty of friendly competition, the Grain Valley Sports League’s (GVSL) 2nd/3rd-grade 8-man tackle team joined the senior members of the Grain Valley High School football team for an evening of stretches, drills, and a spirited mini-scrimmage. With full support from both the high school coaching staff and the youth program, the seniors paired with their pint-sized counterparts for warm-ups, skill stations, and challenges like the longest pass, 20-yard dash, and route-running drills. What followed was equal parts instructional and entertaining—an opportunity for the varsity players to inspire the next generation, and for the little Eagles to show the big guys they can bring the heat too. From modified halftime stretches to youth-vs-senior scrimmages, the night showcased the tight-knit spirit of Grain Valley football and the joy of watching tomorrow’s athletes challenge today’s leaders. The youth coaches coached their players and a couple of the seniors' past youth coaches, Derek Craver and Nilesh Patel, helped referee the games. Participants included: Youth coaches: Dane Heller and Jon Adams Former GVSL coaches of many of the seniors: Derek Craver and Nilesh Patel GVHS Seniors: Logan Bennett Jack Fuller DJ Pechar Chase Kitsmiller Titus Jennings Brody Jones Bentley Craver Hunter Nally Landen Marriott Alec Fenstermaker Alby Negrete Brett Boyle Will Page Nico Caldarella Landen Marcum by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News Grain Valley High School girls basketball coach Randy Draper is in his element when he is working with members of the Eagles during the preseason. The veteran coach spent time working with varsity and junior varsity players and he was having as much fun as the players. When asked how the practices are going, he has a ready answer. "We're having fun and our practices are going well," said Draper, who is entering his 26th year as a boys and girls basketball coach. "We let 'em go a little bit early today because they have been working so hard. "This group is great to work with, and they have already found an identity. We have four starters back from last season and some exciting newcomers. This is always one of my favorite times of year." Returning starters are Addy Seyfert, the reigning area player of the year; Aspen Reed, Bella Bollinger, and four-sport star Madison Rust. It might be a few days before Seyfert joins the Eagles practices because she is dealing with an ankle issue. "When you're as good as Addy, and you're not at practice, inquiring minds want to know what's going on," Draper said. "She's going to be fine, and we're excited to get her back on the court." Draper's Eagles have been one of the most consistently winning teams in Eastern Jackson Count, and he expects more success this season. "We can score and we can defend," Draper said. "And with all the starters back from last season, we're already a team out there. That was evident early in our practices. And we've got some youngsters who are fitting in nicely and will play some important minutes this season." Correction: 11/15/2025. Bella Bollinger was incorrectly identified as Ava Bollinger in the original story. This error has been corrected.  Longtime Grain Valley girls basketball coach Randy Draper works with members of the Eagles during a recent practice session at the high school. Photo credit: Bill Althaus
GVHS Theatre's Fall Musical, URINETOWN, premieres Thursday evening at Grain Valley High School. The musical runs November 13, 14, and 15 at 7:00pm. The satirical musical follows young hero Bobby Strong, who leads his community in a fight against oppression. Set in a dystopian world where water is scarce and “hope” is even scarcer, all citizens must now pay a fee for “The Privilege to Pee” at one of the public facilities controlled by a selfish tycoon and monitored by authorities like Officer Lockstock. The poorest, filthiest of these facilities, run by Penelope Pennywise, becomes a “number one” site for major change. The musical will be presented at Grain Valley High School, 551 SW Eagles Parkway. Tickets are $12/adults and $10/students. To reserve tickets, visit Grain Valley R-5 High School Events and Tickets by GoFan.  by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News The Grain Valley swimming and diving team is on the rise. Head coach Julie Reilly said the team has had more members than it ever had in 2025 with 17 swimmers. The Eagles have also experienced a lot of success this season as they qualified eight competitors in seven different events for the Missouri State High School Swimming and Diving Championships beginning Thursday at the St. Peters Rec-Plex. Senior Gage Wright, junior Morgan Brown and freshman Colton English all qualified in the 1-meter diving event; senior Haden Harshman will be competing in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events; Connor Osburn made it to state in the 200-meter individual medley; and Grain Valley qualified its 200 medley, 200 free and 400 free relay teams for the state event. Wright is leading the way for Grain Valley as he is a returning state champion in the 1-meter diving event and he could also possibly compete in the 200 and 400 free relay events. Last season, he won the state diving event with a score of 409.15. This season, he’s even made a bigger leap. Wright broke his own school record and the all-time Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference 11-dive event at the Suburban Conference Championships on Oct. 29 with a score of 546. He also had the highest score of anyone in the state at the Class 1 District 4 diving event with a score of 496.60. Earlier this season, he broke the school 6-dive record on Senior Night in a dual against Blue Springs South with a score of 296.6. “It wasn’t really on my goal sheets,” Wright said of breaking the conference record. “It’s a really cool record to see fall. I am focused on individual technique and improvement. Wright and head coach Julie Reilly said the work the senior has put in year round has led to his success. He works at the Blue Springs South Aquatics Center and works on his diving whenever he has a chance. He also dives for his club team in the offseason. “He’s so committed to his diving,” Reilly said. He works here, so when he is on a break, he is diving. The degree of difficulty for the dives he does has gone up 10 fold since last year. He has some dives that are amazing.” Some of those new dives include the inward 2 ½ and my reverse 1 ½ twist. Increasing the difficulty of his dives have led to even higher scores than Wright had last season. “I went to a new swimming and diving club and I have focused a lot on improving my technique,” Wright said. “I have worked on improving lines and making everything look cleaner and smoother. That has really helped with consistency and improving my (personal record).” Wright also has helped other divers improve, too. He’s been a mentor to English, who qualified for the state diving event by finishing in fourth place at districts with a score of 338.45. He also helped Brown qualify as he finished seventh at districts with a score of 258.45. “I think he’s in a really good spot to make finals,” Wright said of English. “I have been working with him since the start of the year. It was really nice to see him come in as a freshman and have a really good foundation. I have been working with him since the start of the year. We have been working on takeoffs and head position.” Added Reilly: “Colton English is a Gage in the making. He practices all the time. He’s been diving outside just for the team. He is probably a little bit in a better position than Gage was in his freshman year.” Harshman has led the way for the swimmers as he set personal bests in almost every swimming event, including the 50 and 100 free. He will also be competing in the 200 and 400 free relay teams with Wright, Osburn and sophomore Rush Buxton. The 200 free relay team has the best chance of earning an all-state honor, which is earned by the top 16 finishers. The team is currently seeded 18th with a time of 1:35.09. Harshman also has a good chance of earning all-state honors (given to the top 16 finishers in each event) for the first time in his high school career in the 50 and 100 free as he is currently seeded 10th and 15th, respectively. “I feel like I improved a lot more than I did last year and I am excited to see what I can do at state. My kick under water is a lot better,” Harshman said. “Going into this season, we didn’t know how well our relays would do. We lost one of our sprinters from last year – Asa Kiem. We got some new kids and they have really pulled through.” Osburn will be competing in his first individual event at state as he is seeded 22nd in the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.04. “I couldn’t even get a state consideration time last year,” Osburn said. “This year I qualified for the 200 IM. I had to lose 25 pounds. Swimming has really put me into shape.” The preliminary swimming events will start at noon on Thursday and the diving event will be at 4:30 p.m. the same day. by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News Grain Valley sophomore quarterback Cohen Morris made his first varsity start under one of the biggest spotlights possible. The Eagles played in a Class 5 District 7 semifinal game Friday against Belton and Morris filled in for injured starter Chase Neer, who was out with a shoulder injury. The sophomore signal caller filled in nicely as he carried the ball five times for 67 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 4 of 7 passes for 112 yards and another score, which was a 12-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Terrell King during a 56-14 blowout of Belton at Moody Murray Memorial Field. Grain Valley (7-3) will play against Raytown, who defeated Sedalia Smith-Cotton 37-0 in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. next Friday at home. The Eagles defeated the Blue Jays earlier in the season 34-7. The Eagles’ offense didn’t miss a beat with Morris in as they totaled 452 yards. “We all know he can sling the rock,” senior offensive guard/defensive end Logan Bennett said of Morris. “He led the offense well for his first start. He’s young, but he is playing like he had a lot of experience right now.” Senior tackle Will Page agreed. “He did a great job,” Page said. “He had some perfect throws and some good touchdowns. Grain Valley David Allie also had some high praise for his sophomore quarterback. “He had a couple of pretty good throws that we didn’t end up catching,” Allie said. “He has a strong arm and he’s good at running the offense.” He also got a lot of help from his stellar offensive line and sophomore running back Dawson Head, who dominated with 208 yards and four TDs on 14 carries. Backup running back Brody Davis added 43 yards and a score on five totes. “We’re all seniors and we have been playing together for a long time,” Bennett said of the offensive line. “We all hang out outside of practice, so our chemistry is great. Our checks are always on point.” During the game, King appeared to hurt his knee on his touchdown catch from Morris and his status is uncertain for next week’s game against Raytown. Neer could make his return against the Blue Jays as his status is week to week per Allie. “Terrell hit his knee on that touchdown catch,” Allie said. “We are hoping he’s OK. We weren’t going to play him in the second half anyway. Chase is recovering and there is nothing torn or broken. We’ll see what happens next week.” On defense, Grain Valley created three turnovers and allowed just 245 yards, with 88 coming in the second half when there was a running clock. One of those turnovers came on a pick six on a pass from Belton senior Cooper Shrum that senior safety Brody Jones returned 87 yards for a touchdown as time expired at the end of the first half. He raced along the left sideline while dodging two tackles. He cut his run back to the far left side of the field and dove for the left pylon and scored, which was his first varsity touchdown. “I have been working on getting a touchdown for three years now, and finally got it done,” Jones said. “Last time we played them, I got stopped just short on a kickoff return. I wasn’t going to let that happen again.” Junior safety Owen Hames also had an interception of Shrum and junior cornerback Azryel Walker recovered a fumble on a reception from Belton’s Aaden Hall after senior linebacker Brett Boyle punched the ball out. Grain Valley Schools ranks 1st among all Jackson County schools in latest APR score report11/6/2025
Grain Valley Schools is ranked first among all Jackson Coiunty Schools the latest APR scores released by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) report for school districts across the state. DESE uses an Annual Performance Report (APR) to score districts on their performance and improvement, measured through DESE's Missouri School Improvement Program. As a district, Grain Valley scored 92% overall, up from 84.7% the previous year. The data used in this APR is from last spring (2025). Scoring 92% places Grain Valley Schools first among all Jackson County schools, third in the Kansas City metro area, and in the top 10% of schools statewide. "This year’s score is a strong affirmation for the focus our teachers and leaders have placed on student success. We also benefit greatly from strong working relationships between families and school," Superintendent Dr. Brad Welle said. In a release to parents this afternoon, the district highlighted key results and next steps for the district, including:
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