Larson's big day leads to Eagles 35-14 win over Oak Park

by Michael Smith

     The Grain Valley offense struggled mightily during a Week 1 loss to Smithville last Friday.
     The Eagles only mustered three points, a field goal from kicker Austin Schmidt. It appeared those struggles may have carried over in Friday’s road contest against Oak Park.
     They sputtered in the first quarter against the Northmen, but their defense also didn’t allow any points to keep the game deadlocked in the second period.
     That’s when the offense woke up.
     Led by quarterback Caleb Larson, who rushed for 149 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns, Grain Valley rebounded from last week’s lopsided loss to top Oak Park 35-14.
      “That first half we are like, ‘Holy moly.’ We’re killing ourselves offensively and we are not making the right reads,” Grain Valley head coach David Allie said. “(The defense) turned the page for us, then the offense got going in the second. Hats off to the defense. They were tremendous.”
     In the second quarter, the Grain Valley offense started making the right reads.
     Larson took advantage of an Oak Park defense that was focused on stopping runs up the middle. He broke big runs by faking a handoff to the running back and running to the outside on the left and right.
     “They were loading up the box and trying to take away our B gap runs, the dive and the read,” Allie said. “When they do that, that opens up the quarterback sweep that Caleb ran to perfection tonight.”
     After the scoreless first period, Larson scored on a designed quarterback keeper from nine yards out to put his team up 7-0 at the 11:38 mark. Twenty-two seconds later, junior defensive back Keegan Hart intercepted a pass from Oak Park signal caller Ty Clemens along the right sideline.
     “I read the quarterback’s eyes,” Hart said, “but also Gage Forkner had a huge hit on the wide receiver to give me time to get me where I needed to be. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn’t have had that interception.”
     Hart returned the ball to the Oak Park 17 before the ball was marked at the 32 following a penalty. It didn’t end up hurting the Eagles as shortly after, Larson scored on a read option run up the middle to make it 14-0 at the 10:11 mark.
     Oak Park muffed a punt on the ensuing drive which set up the Eagles at the Northmen 20. A few plays later, Pratt later scored on a 5-yard run on a reverse handoff to make it 21-0 with 7:21 left in the first half, a score that held until halftime thanks to a huge assist from the Grain Valley defense.
     Larson capped his big night with 4:01 left in the third period. He faked a handoff to running back Jaxon Wyatt, paused for a second, then took off running along the right sideline and scored from 45 yards out to balloon the Eagles’ lead to 28-0.
     “We saw their defensive ends and linebackers were crashing really hard because we were running a dive play,” Larson said. “So we believed we could pull the ball for a waggle or roll out. Instead of throwing the football, I just took off and ran.”
     “I turned around and had three guys in my face. I just turned and run and got what I could get and it turned out to be a touchdown.”
     On Oak Park’s next drive, the Grain Valley defense came up big again. Junior Linebacker Cole Elliott intercepted Clemons on a diving catch at the Northmen 44.
     “I thought we played well up front,” said Allie, whose team had two sacks. “The secondary did a good job of keeping the pass down. We had two picks and could have had a third. The secondary did a great job rolling their coverages and disguising it, which possibly made the quarterback rethink.”
     Freshman running back DJ Harris, who had a strong day with 65 yards on eight carries, broke a few tackles on a run up the middle and scored from 35 yards out to cap the scoring for his team 2:05 left in the third quarter.
     “It felt amazing,” Harris said. “It was crazy because I really didn’t really think I had that many yards left to go. I just broke free, took what I got, and I have to thank my line for that.”
     The score was Harris’ first varsity touchdown.
     “I love that guy so much. He’s going to be such a weapon,” Larson said of Harris. “I will get to play with him my senior year. He is just special.
     “It’s weird. He is just a monster. He’s a freshman and he’s a little small, but he has some meat on his bones.”
     The Grain Valley defense didn’t give up any point until the game was virtually over. Clemens had two late touchdown passes, one for 38 yards to Bubba Bogart and another for 40 yards to Marlon Gant.
     Wyatt added 59 yards rushing on 18 carries for the Eagles. Gage Forkner and Brody Baker each led the team with one sack each.
     “He had a great day,” Hart said of Forkner. “He is the one always staying late and working hard. He’s that team leader that is keeping us together.”
 
 

Grain Valley senior wide receiver Logan Pratt runs toward the end zone and scores on a 5-yard run. 
Photo credit: Michael Smith

Senior running back Jaxon Wyatt, ball carrier, runs behind junior offensive lineman Conn Heitman after catching a screen pass.
Photo credit: Michael Smith

Caleb Larson had a big night with 149 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns in a 35-14 win over Oak Park.
Photo credit: Michael Smith