With homecoming providing a world of opportunities to distract his football team, Blue Springs High School coach Kelly Donohoe wanted to make sure his team was focused heading into its Suburban Big Seven contest Friday night against Raymore-Peculiar.
“I think this is a focused as we have ever been,” quarterback Jared Lanpher said after completing 9 of 12 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of action as the Wildcats crushed the Panthers 56-14.
“This is the team we all thought we could be. We were so disappointed two weeks ago (following a 17-3 home loss to Rockhurst), but maybe that loss helped us. Maybe some guys thought that all we had to do was show up to win.
“Well, we’re going to show up for every game. But we’re going to show up with the focus and intensity you saw tonight. This was fun – a lot of fun.”
The Wildcats improved to 4-1 overall and 3-2 in league play while the shellshocked Panthers fell to 2-3 and 1-3.
Blue Springs had the ball 10 times in the first half and scored on its first nine possessions. Lanpher took a knee to close out the last offensive series as time clicked off the clock and the Wildcats took a 49-7 lead into the locker room.
“I think tonight proved we don’t need to get caught up in all the hype surrounding the team, and we just need to stay focused and go out and play,” said wide receiver Keeston Terry, who caught seven passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, which gave him 10 touchdowns for the season.
“Jared had a great night and our defense was ridiculous. Did Ray-Pec get any yards the first half?”
The Panthers totaled 26 yards of offense the first half and had two first downs – and both were the result of Wildcat penalties.
“Their offensive line is huge and the kid I was playing against was great,” Wildcats defensive end Jordan Chrisman said, “but we were able to blow up just about anything they tried to do.
“We were so well prepared, it was like we had their playbook. They’d call a play and we’d be ready before they ran it. As down and disappointed in ourselves as we were two weeks ago following that loss to Rockhurst, we’re that confident and ready to take on anyone now.
“A lot of us expected a great season and it can still be a great season if we stay focused and play like we did tonight.”
Darrian Miller was the marquee offensive star on a night when the Wildcats had a galaxy full of standouts. He scored on runs of 1 and 12 yards and caught a 5-yard pass to push his touchdown total to 11 on the season.
Miller carried the ball 14 times for 170 yards (a 12.1-yard-per-carry average) and didn’t touch the field the second half.
Donohoe yanked all his starters the second half, yet backup quarterback Ty Butler led the Wildcats to their eighth score when he dove in from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Nick Halterman caught a 36-yard touchdown pass the first quarter and blocking fullback Alex Shoemaker capped a 59-yard drive with a 1-yard carry in the first quarter.
“We wanted to stress to the kids that if they stay focused and work hard in practice, we can have a game like this,” Donohoe said. “It’s just great to have this kind of a game before a big crowd on homecoming.
“Most of the guys in the (homecoming) deal at halftime were football players, but we took care of business and didn’t really miss them in the locker room. I know the guys have a lot of confidence after a win like this. Now, we just have to stay focused and build on this win the rest of the season.”
Blue Springs had 425 yards of total offense and the Panthers totaled 119.
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With homecoming providing a world of opportunities to distract his football team, Blue Springs High School coach Kelly Donohoe wanted to make sure his team was focused heading into its Suburban Big Seven contest Friday night against Raymore-Peculiar.
“I think this is a focused as we have ever been,” quarterback Jared Lanpher said after completing 9 of 12 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of action as the Wildcats crushed the Panthers 56-14.
“This is the team we all thought we could be. We were so disappointed two weeks ago (following a 17-3 home loss to Rockhurst), but maybe that loss helped us. Maybe some guys thought that all we had to do was show up to win.
“Well, we’re going to show up for every game. But we’re going to show up with the focus and intensity you saw tonight. This was fun – a lot of fun.”
The Wildcats improved to 4-1 overall and 3-2 in league play while the shellshocked Panthers fell to 2-3 and 1-3.
Blue Springs had the ball 10 times in the first half and scored on its first nine possessions. Lanpher took a knee to close out the last offensive series as time clicked off the clock and the Wildcats took a 49-7 lead into the locker room.
“I think tonight proved we don’t need to get caught up in all the hype surrounding the team, and we just need to stay focused and go out and play,” said wide receiver Keeston Terry, who caught seven passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, which gave him 10 touchdowns for the season.
“Jared had a great night and our defense was ridiculous. Did Ray-Pec get any yards the first half?”
The Panthers totaled 26 yards of offense the first half and had two first downs – and both were the result of Wildcat penalties.
“Their offensive line is huge and the kid I was playing against was great,” Wildcats defensive end Jordan Chrisman said, “but we were able to blow up just about anything they tried to do.
“We were so well prepared, it was like we had their playbook. They’d call a play and we’d be ready before they ran it. As down and disappointed in ourselves as we were two weeks ago following that loss to Rockhurst, we’re that confident and ready to take on anyone now.
“A lot of us expected a great season and it can still be a great season if we stay focused and play like we did tonight.”
Darrian Miller was the marquee offensive star on a night when the Wildcats had a galaxy full of standouts. He scored on runs of 1 and 12 yards and caught a 5-yard pass to push his touchdown total to 11 on the season.
Miller carried the ball 14 times for 170 yards (a 12.1-yard-per-carry average) and didn’t touch the field the second half.
Donohoe yanked all his starters the second half, yet backup quarterback Ty Butler led the Wildcats to their eighth score when he dove in from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Nick Halterman caught a 36-yard touchdown pass the first quarter and blocking fullback Alex Shoemaker capped a 59-yard drive with a 1-yard carry in the first quarter.
“We wanted to stress to the kids that if they stay focused and work hard in practice, we can have a game like this,” Donohoe said. “It’s just great to have this kind of a game before a big crowd on homecoming.
“Most of the guys in the (homecoming) deal at halftime were football players, but we took care of business and didn’t really miss them in the locker room. I know the guys have a lot of confidence after a win like this. Now, we just have to stay focused and build on this win the rest of the season.”
Blue Springs had 425 yards of total offense and the Panthers totaled 119.
