Bobcats put on clinic against Piper

Talking to those around the high school football scene, there’s questions on whether or not the Basehor-Linwood Bobcats football team can win the 4A state title.

If Friday was any indication, it’s time to take the Bobcats seriously.

Basehor jumped all over Piper, winning an early Kaw Valley League showdown game 39-13 at Piper High School.

Basehor quarterback Colin Murphy led an aerial assault on the Piper secondary, completing 16 of 25 passes for 317 yards and three scores. Murphy had no interceptions.

Murphy was the key to Basehor’s four touchdown drives in the first half of the game. He hit Ben Johnson on a 54-yard touchdown pass to end Basehor’s second drive. Basehor scored again on the third drive of the game.

Murphy also scored a touchdown with his legs, scoring the final points of a 23-0 stretch to open the game.

Piper made a bit of a comeback in the second quarter.

Tanner Eikenbary connected on a 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Beau Soucie. The kick made it 23-7.

That’s as close as it got for Piper.

Murphy again found Johnson in the end zone, this time from 15 yards out nearing halftime. Basehor took a 30-7 lead into halftime, later expanding it to 36-7

Colin’s twin brother Ryan Murphy had eight receptions for 134 yards in the game.

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Hawks overcome nine-point second half deficit to beat Wildcats

Two weeks ago, Washington Wildcats head coach Brandon Corbin tabbed the Harmon Hawks senior group of quarterback Terrance Simmons, wideout Darrin Hawkins and running back Isaiah Ming as “The Big 3."

Down 29-20 in the fourth quarter, it was the big three that bailed Harmon out.

The Hawks defeated Washington 36-29 on the road tonight.

Simmons, Hawkins and Ming were instrumental in the comeback.

Following a DeAnte Ambler touchdown on a kickoff return for the Wildcats that put Washington up 29-20, it was Simmons who led the initial comeback.

He connected on an out pass with a Harmon wide receiver streaking up the sideline to put the Hawks deep into Washington territory. Simmons later capped off the drive with a touchdown and hit Darrin Hawkins on a two-point conversion to cut the Hawks deficit to one.

“Winning is always a great start,” Hawkins said. “But we have a lot to work on this week. We showed character in coming back. But we have to remember it’s only the first game.”

Harmon’s comeback was not finished just yet.

Following a shanked Wildcats punt, Ming put the Hawks on his back.

He scored on a 54-yard option play following a pitch from Simmons. Ming got the perfectly-timed pitch, found a hole and discovered the football promised land in the end zone.

“It was a designed option,” Ming said. “It would not have happened without our offensive line. Terrance pitched it to me, I saw an alley and cutback for the score.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair.

Harmon jumped out to a 6-0 lead, only to see Washington take the lead. The teams swapped the lead multiple times, culminating in a 21-20 halftime lead for the Wildcats.

With the Wildcats out of the way, Harmon faces league rival Sumner Academy next week.

This year’s senior class is looking to beat Sumner Academy for the first time ever.

“We’ve been preparing for Sumner Academy all summer,” Hawkins said. “We have Miege and Mill Valley on our schedule. But we are focusing on Sumner Academy."

Harmon will visit the 0-1 Sabres next week.

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PICKS: Challenges face KCK teams in Week 1

Week one is a tough start for some of the best team's in Kansas City, Kan., from last year.

Piper hosts Basehor-Linwood, who's regarded as the favorite in the Kaw Valley League and also a contender for a 4A state title.

Turner hosts the defending 5A champions from Blue Valley High School, a team that thumped them by over 40 points from last year.

Sumner Academy begins on the road against a Jefferson West team that battled them to the wire last year.

Who to like?

Here are my picks for all the games -

Blue Valley over TURNER: The game will be closer than last year's blowout, which saw quarterback Nick Bloomer get injured on the first drive of the game. But I think Blue Valley will show why they are the favorites again to repeat in 5A.

Harmon over WASHINGTON: I think the Wildcats will improve from last year, but it'll be over the season. The more experienced Hawks will begin the season with a road victory.

Sumner Academy over JEFFERSON WEST: This might be the game of the week. Too bad it's outside of KCK. While they start a new quarterback, I think the Sabres still have enough weapons and an improved defense should help matters. Expect a close one, but I like Sumner here.

Schlagle over LINCOLN PREP: Another close one. I think Schlagle will be the most improved team in KCK this year, so I'm going with them. They have some nice players coming back and they'll do enough to earn the victory here.

WYANDOTTE over Van Horn: Van Horn defeated the Bulldogs 6-0 at home last year to begin the year. I think Wyandotte, under second-year head coach Eddie Brown, will improve and start the year 1-0.

Tonganoxie over BISHOP WARD: There's been turmoil this week at Tonganoxie with their head coach resigning, but they'll still edge out Ward in a closer game from last year.

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And now, the big one: Basehor-Linwood at Piper. I'll be covering this game.

Here are my keys:

1. Piper needs to get their athletes going. Paul Jones, for one, could present problems for Basehor. Julian Cole and Caleb King will provide the Pirates a great one-two punch on defense. Piper has the same athletic ability Sumner Academy did last year when the Sabres beat Basehor in the playoffs. Will it be enough?

2. Tanner Eikenbary will start at quarterback as a sophomore and he'll have to grow up pretty quickly tonight. Basehor's defense struggled at points last year, but mostly against teams with experienced quarterbacks. If Eikenbary plays well, Piper has a chance.

3. The key battle will be Piper's defense against Basehor's offense. The Bobcats were an incredible offense last year. Piper's defense was one of the best in the metro area last year. The "King-Cole Show" will have to be on display early and often tonight.

Who wins?

While I'll be supporting the KCK team at heart, my brain tells me Basehor. And I hope that I'm wrong. I absolutely do.

But Basehor is an experienced bunch on offense and I think they'll show why they are a favorite to win the title in 4A.

Basehor by 10.

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