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Sports: Eagles Dominant In Win Over Patriots
Sports
Eagles Dominant In Win Over Patriots
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by John Unrein Both Grain Valley Eagles Head Football Coach David Allie and his quarterback Cole Keller had their own positive perspective on being undefeated a month into the season. “The best thing about being 4-0 is that we are still playing (amid the COVID -19 pandemic),” Allie said. Keller reflected briefly prior to adding, “The best thing about being 4-0, is it allows us the opportunity to be 5-0.” Both Allie’s coaching as well as Keller’s right arm and legs were instrumental in Grain Valley’s 38-0 win against the Truman Patriots on September 18th. Truman was determined to slow down the game and limit Grain Valley’s possessions by being methodical with their offense and running time off the play clock prior to each offensive snap. Truman Head Coach Charlie Pugh found temporary success in his strategy through the end of the first quarter, with zeroes for both teams on the scoreboard. Pugh leaned on junior running back Patrick Martin throughout the game. Martin would compile 109 yards on 20 carries. Allie would respond by pressing the tempo of the game for the Eagles offensively. Examples of this can be found in Grain Valley’s 28 point explosion during the second quarter. The Eagles would use consecutive running plays off tackle to junior running back Jaxon Wyatt, along with touchdown play action and fade passes respectively from Keller to senior tight end Ryan Summerlin and senior wide receiver Carter Vrienich for three quick scores. Grain Valley rarely huddled and stayed near the line of scrimmage. The Eagles would snap the football as soon as it was marked ready by the official and the play was received from the sideline. Allie did not relent as he called three consecutive timeouts on Truman’s final possession of the first half with less than two minutes left on the clock. The resulting stop by Grain Valley’s defense and punt by Truman would pay dividends for the Eagles and Allie’s clock management. The Eagles would secure a four touchdown lead with Keller’s 21 yard touchdown run on a scramble out of the pocket with :56 seconds left in the second quarter. The result for the Eagles was wearing down their opponent heading into halftime. Keller was able to shake off an interception on the Eagle’s first possession of the game. The Eagles senior signal caller would bounce back by going 6 for 9 passing, good for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. Keller would also finish as the Eagles leading rusher with 91 yards on four attempts and 2 touchdowns. “I had a lot of time in the pocket tonight. When I was flushed from it, that was more for my comfort. That’s a credit to our guys up front. Our receivers did a good job getting open and catching the football. We were prepared and did a good job taking care of business tonight,” Keller said. The Eagles black shirt defense, under the leadership of defensive coordinator Pete Carpino, would match the intensity of their offensive counterparts. Sophomore defensive back Keegan Hart and senior linebacker Zach Kirk were Grain Valley’s leading tacklers. Hart’s 6.5 tackles along with Kirk’s 5 tackles helped secure the Eagle’s shutout. Senior defensive lineman Donovan McBride would turn in the biggest defensive play of game for Grain Valley. McBride’s sack of Truman quarterback John Chapin with 2:33 left in the first quarter stopped the Patriots offensive momentum. McBride is playing both ways along the line of scrimmage this year for the Eagles. Center is McBride’s offensive home. Making line calls for blocking schemes and executing a shotgun snap consistently is a tall order for the 6’ 4”, 270 pound McBride, something he has excelled at as a first year starter on the offensive line for the Eagles. Left to right: Seniors Donovan McBride and Cole Keller celebrate a 4-0 record. Photo credit: Valley News staff
Providing a strong pass rush and keeping control of his gap is how he spends his time as a defensive end. McBride also provides levity for his team. Mocking an official who repeatedly insisted in a loud manner that the play was over on a kickoff, due to the football landing in the end zone is usually not advisable for a player. However, McBride’s mimic, done with a smile on his face, was such a spot on impersonation that it drew a chuckle from the line judge. McBride’s follow up of “Thanks for keeping us safe” also went over well with the official and eased tension along the Eagles sideline. “We knew that Truman was going to pass in third and long situations. Coach (Carpino) put me in a good position. I was in a ‘five technique’ over the offensive tackle, and I have to win those one on one battles. A shout out to Coach
(Carpino) on that,” McBride said. “I had to work on my stamina in the offseason knowing there was a chance I would be playing both ways. Coaches on both sides of the football have done a good job of getting after me and making me work. We knew nothing was going to come easy.” McBride closed with his sense of humor on display by saying, “Having a six-five quarterback makes it easier to execute the shotgun snap.” Allie smiled and took a deep breath leaving the field after the Eagles victory. Grain Valley avoided a letdown against a hungry Truman football team. The execution of a strong game plan permitted the Eagles to come out on top in a convincing manner. “Truman came out tonight strong and wanted to eat as much clock as they could to keep the ball out of our hands.
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EAGLES continued from page 9
Hats off to Coach Pugh and the job he’s doing at Truman. (Donovan) McBride’s sack was a momentum changer and boosted us into the second quarter,” Allie said. “Cole (Keller) was good at reading the variety of fronts and techniques they were throwing against us. He got us in the right play tonight at the line (of scrimmage). We were going to step on the gas to try and maximize our possessions by hurrying up once we saw they were trying to slow down the by John Unrein Ten is a good number for the Grain Valley Lady Eagles Softball team. On the same day the team pushed their record to 10-0, they won 10-0 against the visiting Raytown Blue Jays. The game on September 22 nd was completed in six innings as the Lady Eagles met the ten run spread rule with the two they put across the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hailey Hemme pitched a gem of a game for Grain Valley. Hemme’s shutout against Raytown was fueled by her 13 strikeouts on the mound. The sophomore hurler is demonstrating improved velocity and movement on her pitches to either side of the plate. This growth in Hemme’s repertoire allows her to keep hitters guessing with her ability to place the softball in all four quadrants of the strike zone. Grain Valley backed Hemme with a strong team effort at the plate in producing ten runs. Sophomore Left Fielder Cameryn Bown fueled the Eagles offense by hitting for the cycle. The left handed leadoff hitter for the Eagles used a level swing and hustle on the base paths to power her successful game at the plate. Bown stretched a double into a triple game.” “We had faith in our defense to get stops. We work on our two minute offense all the time in practice. We were ready for this situation tonight and things worked.” Grain Valley will host the Kearney Bulldogs on Friday, September 25 th at Moody Murray Stadium. Kearney’s 2-2 record on the season includes a notable 27-21 overtime victory against the Fort Osage Indians in week one. in the first inning, followed by a single she extended into a double in the second inning. The aggressiveness on the base paths continued for Bown with taking second base in the fourth inning on a passed ball after she landed on first base with a single. The home run to complete the cycle for Bown came fittingly enough with an inside the park home run during the sixth inning. Grain Valley Lady Eagles Head Softball Coach Garrett Ogle spent a decent portion of the game whirling his right arm signaling Bown to keep going after she contacted the baseball at the plate. Ogle was pleased with his team’s effort as they approach the September Slam Tournament the weekend of September 25 th -26 th . “There are always things to improve on, but right now we are starting to do a lot of things well as a team. This team is starting to mesh and embrace their individual roles. Offensively, we’ve been able to hit all season long. The key has been getting all nine in the lineup to do it in the same game. Pitching has been fun to watch so far this season with the arms we have in our program,” Ogle said. “(Hailey) Hemme has improved her
Eagles Cross Country Continue To Improve At Kris Solsberg Invite
With 20 season best 5K performances, 9 personal best 5K times, and 15 course personal best times, the Grain Valley Cross Country team continues to progress this season. The team competed in the Kris Solsberg Invite at Liberty North High School on September 19th. The boys team placed location and how fast she sends the ball to the plate. It’s fun to watch her compete. She was matched today by (Cameryn) Bown, who leads by example. Cameryn takes off to first as fast as she can anytime she hits the ball because she wants to peek at seeing if it’s possible to get an extra base. Her hustle is on point.” Ogle concluded, “We are going to see a lot of good teams this weekend, and the competition will be tough. We look forward to seeing where we land.” Hemme and Bown were showered with praise by their teammates during their postgame meeting. Both returned the favor in celebrating their win with their post-game comments. “I thought I pitched well today, but I couldn’t have done it without my team behind me. Both their fielding and hitting allowed this win to be possible. I have been working on my spin pitches to either side of the plate,” Hemme said. Hemme continued, “We respect each other and are kind. That makes this win that much more fun.” Bown added, “My team’s enthusiasm pushes me to play hard. It also helps us at the plate. I tried to make contact with ball in the center of the plate today.” 14th with an average time of 19:01. The girls placed 8th with an average time of 21:21. Mason McCain placed 27th at the invite with a time of 17:11.40. Ella Casey placed 20th with a time of 20:37.40. The team next heads to Rock Bridge
Lady Eagles Continue Their Roll With Win Over Raytown
on September 26th.
Left to right: Hailey Hemme and Cameryn Bown celebrate their victory. Photo credit: Valley News staff
Thursday, September 24, 2020 Great Horned Owls: Hiding in Plain Sight 7:00pm—8:00pm Explore the world of the great horned owl through stories, photos, and videos with award-winning naturalist Mark H.X. Glenshaw. Don’t be surprised if you start looking for owls everywhere. www.mymcpl.org/events
Friday, September 25, 2020 Kissick Classic Golf Tournament www.growgrainvalley.org
Saturday, September 26, 2020 City Wide Clean Up Event 8:00am—2:00pm Public Works Maintenance Facility, 405 James Rollo Drive Proof of residency in the form of a utility bill or driver’s license is required. Residents are asked to remain in their vehicles at all times and wear masks when face-to-face with City staff. www.cityofgrainvalley.org
Monday, September 28, 2020 Board of Aldermen Meeting 7:00pm Grain Valley City Hall, 711 S Main
Thursday, September 29, 2020 Rockin’ the Library with Mr. Stinky Feet 10:00am—10:45am www.mymcpl.org/events Saturday, October 10, 2020 Household Hazardous Waste Event 8:00am—Noon Jackson County Public Works Facility 34900 E Old US Highway 40 Oak Grove MO 64075
Monday, October 12, 2020 Board of Aldermen Meeting 7:00pm Grain Valley City Hall, 711 S Main
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 Planning & Zoning Commission 6:30pm Visit www.cityofgrainvalley.org for meeting location/dial-in information.
Monday, October 26, 2020 Board of Aldermen Meeting 7:00pm Grain Valley City Hall, 711 S Main
Friday, October 30, 2020 Monday, November 2, 2020 Tuesday, November 3, 2020 No School—Grain Valley Schools
Tuesday, November 3, 2020 General Election Polls open 6:00am—7:00pm Visit www.jcebmo.org to request a mail-in or absentee ballot.
Add your community event at www.grainvalleynews.com.
Trucks scheduled for August 7th:
