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Tonganoxie football staves off Perry-Lecompton rally for first victory

By Evan Riggs - | Sep 8, 2015

After jumping out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter, it looked as though the Tonganoxie High football team would cruise to an easy season-opening victory against Perry-Lecompton.

But it took two late interceptions from THS senior safety Ryan Musick and sophomore safety Zac Morgan to help secure a 32-28 victory after the Kaws put together a furious second-half rally.

“We persevered in the end,” said THS coach Al Troyer. “We’ve got a young team that needs to grow up quickly and they played well tonight as a group of young guys.”

Te Chieftains struck early with junior quarterback Jordan Brown’s 63-yard touchdown run just three minutes into the game. Brown then threw two touchdowns, one to Morgan and another to sophomore tight end Kyle Burge, helping THS to an 18-0 lead.

Moments later, the Chieftains recovered an onside kick and it appeared they had a stranglehold on the game. But junior linebacker Michael Vellum gave the Kaws’ their first sign of life with an interception. Still, the PLHS offense couldn’t capitalize on the miscue,

The Chieftains found the endzone shortly after, this time behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Mason Beach. Beach, who shared snaps with Brown throughout the game, hooked up with Burge for a 63-yard touchdown, helping the Chieftains to a 24-0 lead after four missed two-point conversions. Burge finished with 124 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

“Until one of them (quarterbacks) stands out, they’re both going to play,” Troyer said. “They both played well, and they both moved the ball. They’re making it tough on us.”

Like Brown, Beach also threw two touchdowns, but Beach had the slight edge in yards with 129, compared to 101 for Brown. However, Brown did add 98 yards rushing on 13 carries.

As halftime neared, the Kaws began to assert themselves. It started with a touchdown and failed two-point conversion as time ran out as the Kaws pulled to within 18 at 24-6.

After a quick three-and-out by Tonganoxie, Perry-Lecompton’s rushing attack began to make an impact. The Kaws had 254 yards rushing on the night, 70 of which came on a touchdown run by senior quarterback Cole Kellum and then a two-point conversion for a score of 24-14.

“They found something that worked for them, which was running off the tackle, and made that adjustment,” Troyer said.

The Chieftains answered with another touchdown pass from Beach and a two-point conversion, which put them up 32-14.

After pulling to within 32-20, the Kaws were up against it with a fourth-and-goal from the 13-yard-line. Head coach Mike Paramore opted for a reverse, and it worked like a charm, which brought them within four points, and the home crowd to its feet.

After an interception by Musick, the Cheftains had an opportunity to run the clock out and seal the road victory. But they weren’t able to get enough first downs and conceded possession with just under a minute left in the game.

“We didn’t make the first downs we needed to,” Troyer said. “We had some penalties that put us in third- and fourth-and-long situations.”

After the Kaws were the beneficiaries of defensive pass interference, Morgan made the play of the night with an interception that finally clinched the road victory for the Chieftains.

“Zac’s (Morgan) interception was icing on the cake,” Troyer said. “It was a good win for us, the program, and for the season.”

Tonganoxie will play its home and Kaw Valley League opener at 7 p.m. Friday against Turner at Beatty Field.