Rain, Turnovers, and Mistakes Lead to Eagles First Loss of the Year

by John Unrein

Both Grain Valley and Smithville headed into their Blue Division Suburban Conference debuts undefeated at 2-0, but Smithville’s 29-0 win does not tell the whole story of the evening.

The Eagles were plagued by turnovers throughout the night as well as miscommunication in their offensive backfield that led to negative yardage plays. However, there were bright spots to build on from the game that Grain Valley can use moving forward.

Just as the skies opened and the rain came down, the 1 st quarter ended in a 0-0 tie. Both teams struggled to move the ball consistently. Grain Valley’s defense was stingy, coming up with key stops at times, including Smithville turning the ball over on downs early in the game.

The defensive line was consistently able to get pressure on Smithville’s quarterback during the first half. This was apparent on Smithville’s opening score during the second quarter when quarterback Kellen Simoncic, narrowly escaping a Grain Valley rusher, threw a long scoring pass to tight end Jake Fisher. The ensuing extra point was good, and as Smithville staked the early lead 7-0.

Smithville later added a 35-yard field goal to lead 10-0. Grain Valley’s defense stopped Smithville on three consecutive downs with 4 minutes left to go in the second quarter. The Warriors went to a toss sweep on 4 th down that led to a 36-yard touchdown run by running back Isaac Miller. A botched extra point snap kept Smithville’s lead at 16-0.

The first half ended with Grain Valley unable to build momentum. Quarterback Cole Keller completed a pass to running back Ethan Gasher prior to a backside screen to running back Trent Flake that went for a first down. The drive ultimately stalled as Keller’s pass went incomplete on 4 th and 7 prior to halftime.

The second half for the Eagles was defined by Flake’s offensive efforts. He opened the 3 rd quarter with a 29-yard run. The junior running back went on to add offensive gains throughout the second half on toss sweeps, a swing pass, and isolation runs.

Flake was consistently tough to bring down gaining yards after contact. He also completed his only pass of the night in the 4 th quarter on a toss pass to wide receiver Gavin Oyler. The completion was good for 51 yards through the air and moved Grain Valley to the Warriors’ 18-yard line before the drive stalled on an interception.

Grain Valley came to close to breaking up the shutout on the next to last play of the game when a touchdown reception from Keller to Oyler was called back due to penalty. The Eagles battled all night trying to overcome the rain, turnovers, and mistakes to no avail.

Grain Valley will look to bounce back as they host their next conference opponent in the Platte County Pirates. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Friday, September 14 at Grain Valley.