Eagles push defending champions to the brink, but fall 46-33 in season ending loss

by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News
 
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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.