​Eagles football clinches No. 1 seed for district following 65-6 win over Truman

by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News
 
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The Grain Valley football team is banged up.
 
Starting running back Sjoeren Aumua has been out the past few weeks with a broken collarbone and starting linebacker Lucas Jurgensmeyer has been out most of the season with a leg injury.
 
Following Friday’s regular-season finale Truman, the Eagles added a pair of injuries to the list. Starting quarterback exited in the second quarter with an injured shoulder and senior wide receiver Bentley Carver suffered a concussion.
 
However, the Eagles earned a much-needed bye week as they locked up the No. 1 seed in the Class 5 District 7 following a 65-6 blowout of Truman at Moody Murry Memorial Field.
 
Grain Valley (6-3) will be able to rest and won’t play until Nov. 7 at home and will play the winner of the Ruskin-Belton first round game in the semifinals.
 
“That week off helps us recover,” Allie said. “Nine games doesn’t seem like a lot but there is a lot of wear and tear there. It’s going to be nice to get a little time off.”
 
The front seven for the Eagles dominated the Patriots as they totaled a season-high five sacks against Truman quarterback Donovan Toese, with junior defensive end Max Allen earning 2.5 of those. Coming into the game, Allie said the Eagles aimed to dominate the line of scrimmage and that’s exactly what they did.
 
“We wanted to be physical where we could,” Allie said. “They weren’t a very physical team. We decided to send a lot of pressure.”
 
Added senior Chase Kitsmiller: “We all played well and stuck to our assignments. We knew if we pressured them, they’d fold.”
 
Grain Valley’s defense once again has had a strong season, giving up just 17.6 points per game. Against the Patriots, the Eagles only gave up 213 yards and senior safety Brody Jones also had an interception Toese.
 
“I'm pretty happy with where we are at as a whole,” Allie said of the defense.
 
Truman’s lone score came on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Toese to senior wide receiver Maxwell Kerby at the 4:49 mark in the second period.
 
On offense, the Grain Valley offensive line, which Allie said would be the biggest strength for his team coming into the season, continued to be as good as advertised. Sophomore running back Dawson Head continued his breakout season as he had 229 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries. His highlight came on an 80-yard TD run with 1:48 in the first half where he found a huge hole behind left tackle Will Page and left tackle Logan Bennett.
 
“They are as physical as any offensive line we have had,” Allie said. “They’re smart and they get off the ball.”
 
Backup running back Brody Davis had 116 yards and two TDs on seven carries in the second half. As they have for most of the season, the Eagles dominated the ground game with 452 yards rushing.
 
Neer added 30 yards rushing and scored on a 12-yard run as he deked three would-be tacklers. Third-string quarterback DJ Pechar scored on a 12-yard run himself late in the fourth quarter. Senior place kicker Colton Clyman added a 23-yard field goal and Terrell King returned a punt 31 yards for a score early in the first.