G-Great performances by Austin Gouldsmith and Trace Goade helped the Grain Valley Eagles claim the first Class 4 postseason win in school history.
Gouldsmith ran for two scores, added three more in the air and Goade punished the Hickman Mills defense from his fullback position and intercepted a pass to lead the 9-2 Eagles to a wild 51-34 Class 4 regional playoff victory Wednesday night at Ruskin High School.
“When I started at Grain Valley 17 years ago we were Class 2A,” Eagles coach Forrest Rovello said, “so moving up a couple of classes and getting the first Class 4 postseason win is pretty special.
“The guys did what they had to do to win tonight. We got off to a slow start and made some costly mistakes, but we were able to overcome those mistakes tonight. I don’t know if we can play like we did tonight and beat Harrisonville in the next round.”
Harrisonville defeated Grain Valley 37-12 in the final regular-season game and will be the Eagles’ opponent at 7 p.m. next Monday in state sectional action at Harrisonville.
Gouldsmith, the senior quarterback, carried the ball 16 times for 77 yards and scores of 1 and 5 yards and threw touchdown passes of 22, 34 and 49 yards, including two to Zach Hoover.
When the Cougars were making a late comeback in the offensive-minded contest, Rovello turned the offense over to Goade, a battering-ram fullback who supplied most of the yards on a 54-yard drive that he capped with a second-effort 1-yard plunge that gave the Eagles a 35-26 lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
“Everyone in the stadium knew Trace was going to get the ball on that drive and he still gets seven or eight yards a carry,” offensive lineman Drew Liddle said. “It makes you so proud to block for someone like Trace, or Austin or D’Marco (Davis) – or any of our backs.
“We all gave it everything we had tonight because they’re a great team. They pretty much matched us score for score until we wore them down late in the game.”
Goade finished the night with 18 carries for 104 yards and one score.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this team,” said Goade, whose interception on the Eagles’ 21-yard line put an end to a Cougar drive that could have potentially knotted the score at 21-all.
“That’s my second interception of the year,” Goade said. “I had a tipped pass interception earlier this season, but this one meant a lot more.”
The Eagles struck first as Gouldsmith hit Hoover for a 22-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Both teams scored twice in the second quarter as the Eagles scored on a 34-yard pass from Gouldsmith to Riley Williams and a Ryan Nace 18-yard run.
Cougars quarterback Jerrin Walton found Zach Watkins all alone for a 10-yard touchdown pass and Walton then scored on a 34-yard run to make the score 21-14 at halftime.
“We knew we were going to need a lot more points the second half,” Gouldsmith said, “because it seemed like every time we scored, they came right back and scored.”
Hoover and Gouldsmith hooked up again on a 49-yard scoring play to kick off the third quarter, but Walton followed with an 8-yard run and a 22-yard fumble recovery for a score.
Goade scored on his 1-yard run to set the stage for an explosive fourth quarter.
Because Hickman Mills’ had problems with its special teams play, the Cougars attempted to go for a pair of two-point conversions. They made one of the two and the score stood at 35-26 going into the final period.
Gouldsmith scored on 5- and 1-yard runs and followed each with a two-point conversion run.
“I wish I could take credit for knowing when to go for the two-point plays,” Rovello said, “but in the heat of battle, I’m not that smart.”
He then pulled a point conversion guide from his jacket pocket.
“It says when you lead by 15, you go for two points – and that’s what we did,” he said, grinning. “It worked pretty well tonight.”
The Eagles finished with 163 yards through the air and 357 on the ground for a total of 520 yards combined offense.
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G-Great performances by Austin Gouldsmith and Trace Goade helped the Grain Valley Eagles claim the first Class 4 postseason win in school history.
Gouldsmith ran for two scores, added three more in the air and Goade punished the Hickman Mills defense from his fullback position and intercepted a pass to lead the 9-2 Eagles to a wild 51-34 Class 4 regional playoff victory Wednesday night at Ruskin High School.
“When I started at Grain Valley 17 years ago we were Class 2A,” Eagles coach Forrest Rovello said, “so moving up a couple of classes and getting the first Class 4 postseason win is pretty special.
“The guys did what they had to do to win tonight. We got off to a slow start and made some costly mistakes, but we were able to overcome those mistakes tonight. I don’t know if we can play like we did tonight and beat Harrisonville in the next round.”
Harrisonville defeated Grain Valley 37-12 in the final regular-season game and will be the Eagles’ opponent at 7 p.m. next Monday in state sectional action at Harrisonville.
Gouldsmith, the senior quarterback, carried the ball 16 times for 77 yards and scores of 1 and 5 yards and threw touchdown passes of 22, 34 and 49 yards, including two to Zach Hoover.
When the Cougars were making a late comeback in the offensive-minded contest, Rovello turned the offense over to Goade, a battering-ram fullback who supplied most of the yards on a 54-yard drive that he capped with a second-effort 1-yard plunge that gave the Eagles a 35-26 lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
“Everyone in the stadium knew Trace was going to get the ball on that drive and he still gets seven or eight yards a carry,” offensive lineman Drew Liddle said. “It makes you so proud to block for someone like Trace, or Austin or D’Marco (Davis) – or any of our backs.
“We all gave it everything we had tonight because they’re a great team. They pretty much matched us score for score until we wore them down late in the game.”
Goade finished the night with 18 carries for 104 yards and one score.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this team,” said Goade, whose interception on the Eagles’ 21-yard line put an end to a Cougar drive that could have potentially knotted the score at 21-all.
“That’s my second interception of the year,” Goade said. “I had a tipped pass interception earlier this season, but this one meant a lot more.”
The Eagles struck first as Gouldsmith hit Hoover for a 22-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Both teams scored twice in the second quarter as the Eagles scored on a 34-yard pass from Gouldsmith to Riley Williams and a Ryan Nace 18-yard run.
Cougars quarterback Jerrin Walton found Zach Watkins all alone for a 10-yard touchdown pass and Walton then scored on a 34-yard run to make the score 21-14 at halftime.
“We knew we were going to need a lot more points the second half,” Gouldsmith said, “because it seemed like every time we scored, they came right back and scored.”
Hoover and Gouldsmith hooked up again on a 49-yard scoring play to kick off the third quarter, but Walton followed with an 8-yard run and a 22-yard fumble recovery for a score.
Goade scored on his 1-yard run to set the stage for an explosive fourth quarter.
Because Hickman Mills’ had problems with its special teams play, the Cougars attempted to go for a pair of two-point conversions. They made one of the two and the score stood at 35-26 going into the final period.
Gouldsmith scored on 5- and 1-yard runs and followed each with a two-point conversion run.
“I wish I could take credit for knowing when to go for the two-point plays,” Rovello said, “but in the heat of battle, I’m not that smart.”
He then pulled a point conversion guide from his jacket pocket.
“It says when you lead by 15, you go for two points – and that’s what we did,” he said, grinning. “It worked pretty well tonight.”
The Eagles finished with 163 yards through the air and 357 on the ground for a total of 520 yards combined offense.
CLASS 4 REGIONAL BOX SCORE
GRAIN VALLEY 51, HICKMAN MILLS 34
Grain Valley Hickman Mills
18 First downs 6
66-357 Attempts-Yards Rushing 26-169
163 Yards Passing 84
111 Passes Attempted 21
7 Passes Completed 4
0 Passes Intercepted 2
4-23 Punts-Average 6-32
3-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
3-8 Penalties-Yards 6-75
GRAIN VALLEY 7 14 14 16 — 51
HICKMAN MILLS 0 14 12 8 — 34
Scoring
First Quarter
GV — Zach Hoover 22 pass from Austin Gouldsmith (Alex Velasquez kick), 3:58.
Second Quarter
GV — Riley Williams 34 pass from Gouldsmith (Velasquez kick), 11:21.
HM — Zach Watkins 10 pass from Jerrin Walton (Walton run), 8:10.
HM — Walton 34 run (kick failed), 5:27.
GV — Ryan Nace 18 run (Velasquez kick), 3:17.
Third Quarter
GV — Hoover 49 pass from Gouldsmith (Velasquez kick), 9:47.
HM — Walton 8 run (kick failed), 6:14.
HM — Walton 22 fumble recovery (pass failed), 5:18.
GV — Trace Goade 1 run (Velasquez kick), 1:20.
Fourth Quarter
GV — Gouldsmith 5 run (Gouldsmith run), 7:14.
HM — Walton 9 run (Walton run), 5:39.
GV — Gouldsmith 1 run (Gouldsmith run), :14.
