Aaron Peola was part of one of those memorable plays he’ll be telling his grandkids about someday.
With his Blue Springs High School football team leading visiting DeSmet 14-0 Friday night in a Class 6 state semifinal contest, he picked up a fumble and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown that served as the knockout punch for the previously undefeated Spartans.
“After Aaron’s touchdown, you could just see that all the fight was gone from DeSmet,” said defensive lineman Drew Kerber, who also starred on the offensive line Friday. “That was it. That was when I knew we were going to win. They weren’t going to come back from that score. We all knew it.”
The Spartans, who came to Blue Springs with a swagger and an unblemished record, were attempting to score their first touchdown early in the second quarter.
They had the ball first-and-goal from the 5, but Kerber recorded one of his three tackles behind the line of scrimmage to push them back to the 10.
A pass interference call then gave the Spartans first down on the 5 and quarterback Steve Kaiser found a receiver on the 4-yard line.
“The kid caught the ball, and just as he caught it, Josh (Padley) drilled him,” Peola said. “I got all the credit because I scored the touchdown – but it doesn’t happen without Josh making the tackle.”
The Wildcats went on to take a 28-0 lead into halftime and claimed a 35-5 victory that puts them in next Friday’s 7:30 p.m. Class 6 championship game at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
“I can’t say enough good things about our defense,” Wildcats coach Kelly Donohoe said after his team improved to 12-1. “We thought we could play a physical game and just smash them in the mouth – and we did. I don’t think DeSmet has seen a team like ours all season.”
Padley, an undersized outside linebacker who recorded 4 1/2 sacks in last week’s 23-21 last-second win over Rockhurst, downplayed his role in the biggest defensive play of the game.
“I saw he had the ball and I hit him,” Padley said. “It was great that Aaron was able to pick it up and score. It was huge. We’re all just smiling and cheering as he ran down the field.”
When asked what it was like to see nothing but clear sailing and Spartan end zone in front of him, Peola said, “It was the greatest feeling in the world.”
DeSmet came to Peve Stadium averaging 46 points a game. They left trying to get the license number of the semi that steamrolled them.
“I know some people thought we might be overconfident after we beat Rockhurst last week,” said Jordan Chrisman, who had two sacks and several tackles behind the line of scrimmage, “but our goal this year wasn’t to beat Rockhurst in the playoffs.
“Our goal is to win state. Now, we have the chance to get that done.”
Kerber teamed with Chrisman and Garrett Bunch to make life miserable for the overmatched Spartan offensive line.
“We punched them in the mouth early, and we kept punching them in the mouth all night long,” said Kerber, who helped open the holes for three Darrian Miller scored and one Keeston Terry touchdown run.
“I love going both ways – offensively and defensively. Back in the summer, when we were running 40/40s – that’s when we were preparing to win this game tonight. The team that worked the hardest and wanted it the most won this game, and I’m so proud to be a part of this team.”
The man who orchestrated the defensive scheme that sent Padley and Jon Trocosso from the outside, which created huge openings for the interior lineman, is defensive coordinator Tim Dade.
“Tim had a plan that was amazing,” Donohoe said. “From the first time we saw it, we knew it was going to work if the kids just bought into it.”
They did. And it did.
“It’s all the kids,” the low-key Dade said. “We wanted to lock up their receivers, which we did, get that pressure from the outside and get after their quarterback.”
Six sacks, five tackles of running backs for losses and just over 200 yards of total offense for DeSmet would indicate the plan worked to perfection – and punched the Wildcats’ ticket to the Dome.
Blue Springs, MO —
