Darrian Miller celebrated his 16th birthday a few hours early.
The sensational sophomore carried the ball 10 times for 180 yards and four touchdowns Friday night at Columbia Rock Bridge to lead Blue Springs to a 49-7 Class 6 District 8 victory.
The win puts the 9-1 Wildcats into postseason play as Blue Springs South downed Liberty 28-21 to assure Blue Springs of a postseason appearance. Had Liberty downed the Jaguars by 12 or more points, the Blue Jays and South would have been in postseason action.
“Man, it seems weird to be cheering for South,” said Miller, who turns 16 on Saturday. “But go Jags.”
Blue Springs will travel to Rockhurst next Friday for the first round of the playoffs. The Wildcats downed the Hawklets 28-21 in overtime earlier this season.
“Coach (Tim) Dade and I each brought penlight flashlights to begin preparing for Rockhurst on the bus ride back to Blue Springs,” Blue Springs coach Kelly Donohoe said. “You can’t waste that hour and 45 minutes when you’re getting ready for a team like Rockhurst.”
The Wildcats, who have been battling the injury bug this season, were able to take most starters out of the game at the 10:45 mark of the second quarter.
The coaches in the press box joined Donohoe and the rest of the staff on the sidelines minutes into the third quarter.
“This one caught us off guard,” Donohoe said. “We were hoping for the running clock, but I didn’t think we’d get it so quick.”
On the second play of the game, Miller broke free for a 53-yard touchdown.
Two minutes later, he capped a five-play drive with a four-yard score after Aerre-Oen Tomlin picked off Bruins quarterback Mark Pickerel at the 28-yard line.
After a three-and-out Rock Bridge Series, Miller scored on a 49-yard run and the Wildcats capped the 28-point first quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jared Lanpher to Brady Letchworth.
On his lone carry of the second quarter, Miller scored on a 45-yard run and then joined the other offensive starters on the bench as Donohoe let the reserves play the rest of the game.
“This is a good way to celebrate my birthday a day early,” said Miller, who has 1,453 rushing yards this season. “Getting into the playoffs is the best present (at the time of that comment, South led Liberty 28-21 early in the fourth quarter). We came to Columbia Rock Bridge on a mission.
“Coach D said to knock them down, put our foot on their throats and not let them up. And that’s what we did. And to be honest with you, when we walked in and saw how big they were, we thought this was going to be a lot tougher game.”
Defensive lineman Jordan Chrisman agreed.
“They looked so good warming up,” said Chrisman, who ripped the ball away from reserve quarterback Darryn Hill’s hands to set up the seventh Wildcat score. “When I stripped that ball, I was going for the sack. Then, I noticed the ball right on my elbow so I just grabbed it and took off running.
“A big ol’ offensive lineman was on my back and I carried him as far as I could. It really bugs me, though, that I didn’t score. That’s a defensive player’s dream.”
Chrisman returned the ball to the 19. Zach Brady then scored on a 7-yard run.
Earlier in the quarter, Derek Prado – all 5-foot-4 of him – scored on a 25-yard run.
“This was the perfect game at the perfect time,” Donohoe said. “We didn’t play (all-state wide receiver) Keeston (Terry) that much tonight because he’s dinged up. It just makes me feel great to get big Gus (Toca, who had two sacks and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage) out of the game early so he can be healthy and well rested for Rockhurst.
“The guys came to Columbia Rock Bridge and just took care of business.”
Blue Springs held the 1-9 Bruins to just 92 total yards of offense – 20 on the ground and 72 in the air.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Chrisman said. “Our only goal was to make it to the playoffs. It looks like that’s going to happen. It’s going to be a fun bus ride home, then it’s down to business.”
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Darrian Miller celebrated his 16th birthday a few hours early.
The sensational sophomore carried the ball 10 times for 180 yards and four touchdowns Friday night at Columbia Rock Bridge to lead Blue Springs to a 49-7 Class 6 District 8 victory.
The win puts the 9-1 Wildcats into postseason play as Blue Springs South downed Liberty 28-21 to assure Blue Springs of a postseason appearance. Had Liberty downed the Jaguars by 12 or more points, the Blue Jays and South would have been in postseason action.
“Man, it seems weird to be cheering for South,” said Miller, who turns 16 on Saturday. “But go Jags.”
Blue Springs will travel to Rockhurst next Friday for the first round of the playoffs. The Wildcats downed the Hawklets 28-21 in overtime earlier this season.
“Coach (Tim) Dade and I each brought penlight flashlights to begin preparing for Rockhurst on the bus ride back to Blue Springs,” Blue Springs coach Kelly Donohoe said. “You can’t waste that hour and 45 minutes when you’re getting ready for a team like Rockhurst.”
The Wildcats, who have been battling the injury bug this season, were able to take most starters out of the game at the 10:45 mark of the second quarter.
The coaches in the press box joined Donohoe and the rest of the staff on the sidelines minutes into the third quarter.
“This one caught us off guard,” Donohoe said. “We were hoping for the running clock, but I didn’t think we’d get it so quick.”
On the second play of the game, Miller broke free for a 53-yard touchdown.
Two minutes later, he capped a five-play drive with a four-yard score after Aerre-Oen Tomlin picked off Bruins quarterback Mark Pickerel at the 28-yard line.
After a three-and-out Rock Bridge Series, Miller scored on a 49-yard run and the Wildcats capped the 28-point first quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jared Lanpher to Brady Letchworth.
On his lone carry of the second quarter, Miller scored on a 45-yard run and then joined the other offensive starters on the bench as Donohoe let the reserves play the rest of the game.
“This is a good way to celebrate my birthday a day early,” said Miller, who has 1,453 rushing yards this season. “Getting into the playoffs is the best present (at the time of that comment, South led Liberty 28-21 early in the fourth quarter). We came to Columbia Rock Bridge on a mission.
“Coach D said to knock them down, put our foot on their throats and not let them up. And that’s what we did. And to be honest with you, when we walked in and saw how big they were, we thought this was going to be a lot tougher game.”
Defensive lineman Jordan Chrisman agreed.
“They looked so good warming up,” said Chrisman, who ripped the ball away from reserve quarterback Darryn Hill’s hands to set up the seventh Wildcat score. “When I stripped that ball, I was going for the sack. Then, I noticed the ball right on my elbow so I just grabbed it and took off running.
“A big ol’ offensive lineman was on my back and I carried him as far as I could. It really bugs me, though, that I didn’t score. That’s a defensive player’s dream.”
Chrisman returned the ball to the 19. Zach Brady then scored on a 7-yard run.
Earlier in the quarter, Derek Prado – all 5-foot-4 of him – scored on a 25-yard run.
“This was the perfect game at the perfect time,” Donohoe said. “We didn’t play (all-state wide receiver) Keeston (Terry) that much tonight because he’s dinged up. It just makes me feel great to get big Gus (Toca, who had two sacks and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage) out of the game early so he can be healthy and well rested for Rockhurst.
“The guys came to Columbia Rock Bridge and just took care of business.”
Blue Springs held the 1-9 Bruins to just 92 total yards of offense – 20 on the ground and 72 in the air.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Chrisman said. “Our only goal was to make it to the playoffs. It looks like that’s going to happen. It’s going to be a fun bus ride home, then it’s down to business.”
