Cats’ Chrisman delivers big on promise

Before each game, Blue Springs defensive end Jordan Chrisman and Wildcats ballboy Chase Donohoe have a little ritual.
“I always tell Chase I’m going to get a big hit on the quarterback, and that it’s just for him,” Chrisman said, grinning. “Tonight, I got him five big hits.”
And the son of coach Kelly Donohoe was almost as excited as his dad.
“This is the game we’ve been waiting for Jordan to have all season,” Donohoe said after the Wildcats held Liberty to just 71 yards on the ground and 160 through the air in a 51-21 Class 6 District 8 victory Friday night at William Jewell College.
“Because our offense is so explosive, and we have guys like Keeston Terry and Darrian Miller and Jared Lanpher, our defense gets overlooked. But you can’t overlook what the defense did tonight.”
Chrisman had a career-high five sacks (he had four against Lee’s Summit in 2008), the Wildcats had seven total sacks and a Terry interception that led to a 40-yard Lanpher-to-Terry touchdown.
“I think the guys on defense really understand that when we play as a team, we’re capable of some pretty outstanding things,” Wildcats defensive coordinator Tim Dade said.
“I think we need to mention Coach (Eric) Neff’s attack (scout) team that did such an outstanding job all week of showing us what to expect when we played Liberty. The guys really bought into our game plan and worked extremely hard this week. They were ready for anything Liberty threw at them, and their coach said earlier in the week that they were going to throw the kitchen sink at us.
“Well, they threw the kitchen sink and some other things at us, and we were ready. Jordan Chrisman had a great game – all the guys on defense really played well.
“With this defense, it seems like it’s a different guy every week who rises to the occasion. Last week (in a 42-0 win over Blue Springs South), it was Josh Padley. This week, it’s Jordan and really, the entire defensive line.
“They kept their quarterback (Kevin VanEgdom) running for his life most of the game.”
Following one massive Chrisman sack, Chase Donohoe high-fived a fellow ballboy and made sure to get a high-five from Chrisman as he walked off the field.
“Everyone on the line, our linebackers, our secondary – everyone played a part in this win,” Chrisman said.
“It’s a huge win. Everyone was saying how we’d be flat after the big win over our crosstown rival last week, and I think that just fired us up. We came up here ready to play, and we played our rear ends off.”
Now, the Wildcats must find a way to generate the same intensity next Friday when they host Columbia Rock Bridge hoping to finish off an undefeated district championship.
“Did you see the way we played tonight?” asked Lanpher, the Wildcats’ low-key quarterback. “We played with a purpose. We played a great game following that big win over South. And we’re going to come out with the same intensity next week at home. I promise you that.”