Sophomore runs wild for Wildcats

Standing out in Blue Springs’ talent-laden offense isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
Darrian Miller didn’t seem to have a problem Friday night.
Against St. Joseph Central, the powerful sophomore running back seized the most of his opportunities and bullied his way to 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns during the Wildcats’ 32-3 drubbing of the Indians at Noyes Field.
“I knew I was going to have to step up my game against a good-looking team out there,” Miller said. “I didn’t think I was going to rack up that many yards, though.”
Despite a slow start, Miller quickly built upon a handful of strong, tackle-breaking runs. By the second quarter, he was spinning off linebackers, stiff-arming safties and pacing a balanced Wildcat attack.
With more than 300 yards rushing through his first two games, he has eased concerns over the loss of all-state back Carlos Anderson.
“I thought he ran hard, ran tough,” Blue Springs coach Kelly Donohoe said. “We really wanted for him to have a big night.”
After a productive first half that saw him rush for 129 yards, Miller broke off a 50-yard touchdown run on his first touch of the second half.
“I’ve got to give credit to that young man,” Central coach Tony Dudik said of Miller. “We had three guys hit him, and not complete the play.”
Blue Springs (2-0, 1-0 Suburban Big Seven) also moved the ball with relative ease through the air, as quarterback Jared Lanpher completed 12 of 22 passes for 180 yards and a pair of scoring strikes – a 55-yarder to Keeston Terry in the first quarter and a 35-yard to Ricky Ortiz in the second quarter.
“We played well at times, but it’s hard to get too happy with this performance when you don’t play up to your potential,” Donohoe said.
The defense looked as if it were firing on all cylinders at times against a dangerous Central (1-1, 0-2 Big Seven) backfield featuring brothers Ghaali and Malkaam Muhammad. The Wildcats held the sibling duo to just 110 combined yards with seemingly constant pressure behind the line of scrimmage.
A strong pass rush keyed by Gus Toca limited a pair of Central quarterbacks to just four completions for 15 yards and an interception during Central’s first game against Big Seven competition.
“They just came off the line so fast, and they looked like there were shot out of a cannon,” Dudik said.
The final total would have been more impressive for the Wildcats if not for 17 penalties, which totaled 140 yards.
“It’s a good test for us now,” Donohoe said. “When we play Rockhurst next Friday, we cannot have those kinds of mistakes.”