​Eagles’ offense explodes after slow start in 57-22 win over Belton

by Michael Smith


The start of Friday’s game was less than ideal for the Grain Valley football team.
After getting a stop on defense during the opening possession against Belton on the road, the offense had a gaffe.

Junior quarterback Chase Neer tried to get a swing pass out to sophomore running back Sjoeren Aumua, but the pass fell to the ground. The pass was thrown slightly backward and was ruled a fumble as Belton junior Gabe Brownell scooped up the ball and ran it 51 yards to pay dirt to give his team an early 8-0 lead following a successful two-point conversion.

It seemed like it was going to be a dog fight between the two Suburban White Conference rivals as it was a close game throughout most of the first half. However, the Eagles responded to the early miscue and scored touchdowns on nine consecutive drives to turn a competitive game into a 57-22 rout at Belton High School.

“Belton rode that emotion early and we didn’t respond well at the beginning,” Grain Valley head coach David Allie said. “(Belton) played great. It’s their Homecoming game. We were able to control the game in the second half on offense. Before the next game, we have to work on some things so we don’t start slow in the first half.”

The Eagles’ second drive went awry as well when Neer fumbled while dropping back to pass and Belton recovered it at the Grain Valley 29-yard line. The Eagles’ defense held up, though, forcing a turnover on downs.

On their third drive, Palmer found a huge hole up the middle and broke off a 73-yard jaunt into the end zone to cut the Pirate advantage to 8-7 midway through the first period. Belton responded on their following drive, however, as sophomore running back Eden Loza took a sweep play 57 yards on the right side of the field for a score at the end of the first period to go up 14-7.

It didn’t take long for Grain Valley (5-2) to get the equalizer. Senior Aaron Barr fielded the kickoff on a bounce, found a huge hole, a rumbled 77 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-all 10 seconds into the second period.

“That was the first (kickoff return for a TD) of my career,” Barr said. “There was a huge hole, and we may have gotten away with a hold there, but I’ll take it.”

After the Eagles’ defense got a stop on the Pirates’ next drive, Aumua broke off a big run of his own as he ran it up the middle for 27 yards and broke two tackles close to getting to the goal line. He fumbled just before the ball broke the plane, but junior Justin Smith recovered it for the score to put Grain Valley head 21-14 with 8L39 left in the half.

Belton took its final lead on the next possession as junior Abraham Lofton got a direct snap and he got the edge on the right side for a 23-yard TD on fourth-and-5 as the Pirates went up 22-21 after Davincci Johnson crossed the goal line on a two-point try.

From there, it was all Eagles as their offense shredded the Pirates and the defense tightened things up. The offense was powered by Palmer and Aumua as the former carried the ball 18 times for 172 yards and three scores. He scored on a 2-yard run after Neer couldn’t catch the snap from center Will Chrisman at the 3:14 mark as he picked up the fumble and scored, which put the Eagles up for good at 29-22. In the third period and the senior got the team’s final score at the 3:10 mark in the third as he broke one tackle and stiff armed another defender for a 7-yard scoring run.

“Coach (Kevin Page) always gets on me in practice and says, ‘You’re too big to not use that stiff arm,’” Palmer said. “I had come out and show him I have that stiff arm in me.”

Aumua played well in a complimentary role to Palmer as he had 92 yards and a score on seven totes. He showed off his agility as he zig-zagged around a defender and coasted into the end zone after for a 26-yard TD rush late in the second period.

“I saw the blocks and watching film helped with that,” Aumua said. “I kept making cuts and made it into the end zone.”

Senior running back DJ Harris scored on a 1-yard run in the third and Neer floated a pass to senior tight end Eli Monrian for a 33-yard score in the third period. The Eagles had a great all-around offensive effort, accumulated 428 yards from scrimmage.

On defense and special teams, Barr chipped in with an interception of Belton quarterback Cooper Schrum and senior Ta’Ron King recovered a fumble on a kickoff from Brownwell, which set up Palmer’s 7-yard score.

Grain Valley senior running back Robert Palmer, left, and sophomore running back Sjoeren Aumua combined for 264 yards rushing and four touchdowns to help Grain Valley take down Belton 57-22 Friday on the road. Photo credit: Michael Smith