In the first varsity game for several players, THS found itself in a 20-20 tie entering the final period, but couldn’t keep up late in a 45-20 loss in the season opener for both teams at Beatty Field.

The Kaws (1-0) took the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Austin Kurtz early in the fourth quarter. The Chieftains (0-1) failed to respond, and Kurtz made it a two-possession game with a 19-yard score on the next PLHS drive.

The Chieftains’ next drive reached the red zone, but stalled on fourth down at the 16. Kaw quarterback Seth Surface, who missed last year’s district meeting with the Chieftains with an injury, took the next snap 84 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the game, making it 38-20 with 5:10 left. Following a Tonganoxie fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Bowen Cunningham punched it in from one yard out for the game’s final points.

The Chieftains fumbled again on the next kickoff, but the Kaws weren’t able to turn the short field into any more points in the game’s final minutes.

Surface, who finished with a game-high 170 rushing yards, gave PLHS an early lead with a 60-yard scoring run on the team’s first offensive play. THS went three-and-out after the score, but Grant Swearngin got the Chieftains on the board when he intercepted a Surface pass and took it 42 yards for a touchdown.

“That was perfect timing,” THS coach Al Troyer said. “You couldn’t ask for a better transition. It was definitely a swing of momentum at that time.”

A Kendall Parsons extra point gave THS a 7-6 advantage, but the lead was short-lived, as Cody Williams put PLHS back in front on a 33-yard run midway through the quarter.

The seesaw battle continued as Tonganoxie’s Jared Sommers added a four-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

The Chieftains stopped a Perry drive in their own territory shortly before halftime and took a 14-12 lead into the break.

“Going into halftime with the lead, especially after they scored on their first play from scrimmage, I thought our kids fought hard,” Troyer said. “We shut them down several times. We’ve got some young kids that have got to learn under fire, and they’ll get there.”

Surface opened second-half scoring when he connected with Caleb Daniels on a seven-yard touchdown pass with 7:06 left in the third, but THS drew even on a two-yard score by Conner Brown with a minute left in the period.

Kurtz complemented Surface’s big night on the ground with 127 rushing yards of his own. Tonganoxie struggled offensively, managing just 215 total yards. Carl Hecht threw for 129 yards, while Sommers and Brown led the ground attack with 33 and 23 yards, respectively.

Defensively, Parsons led the way with nine total tackles. Fellow senior Greg DeVeau added seven stops, including two behind the line of scrimmage.

THS will open its Kaw Valley League schedule next week at Class 5A Turner, which opened its season with a 26-14 victory at KC Washington. The Chieftains won last season’s meeting at home, 43-22.

“I think we’ve got a lot of young kids that need to grow up and get ready early,” said Troyer, who must replace nearly every starter off last year’s team. “We even put several freshmen in there at the end to let them get some time. It’s just one week, so we’ve got eight weeks left.”

Score by quarters

PLHS 12 0 8 25 — 45

THS 7 7 6 0 — 20

First quarter

PLHS — Seth Surface 60 run (run failed), 11:15

THS — Grant Swearngin 42 interception return (Kendall Parsons kick), 8:47

PLHS — Cody Williams 33 run (run failed), 7:40

Second quarter

THS — Jared Sommers 4 run (Parsons kick), 11:43

Third quarter

PLHS — Caleb Daniels 2 pass from Surface (Austin Kurtz run), 7:06

THS — Conner Brown 2 run (pass failed), 1:00

Fourth quarter

PLHS — Kurtz 10 run (pass failed), 11:21

PLHS — Kurtz 19 run (run failed), 9:14

PLHS — Surface 84 run (pass failed), 5:10

PLHS — Bowen Cunningham 1 run (Aaron Chenhall kick), 3:18

Passing

PLHS: Seth Surface 7-17-1 53; THS: Carl Hecht 14-27-0 129.

Rushing

PLHS: Seth Surface 13-170, Austin Kurtz 14-127, Cody Williams 1-33, Bowen Cunningham 5-19, Cole Kellum 2-6, Jordan Spreer 1-3; THS: Jared Sommers 11-33, Conner Brown 6-23, Ryan Musick 3-21, Kendall Parsons 7-12, Marcus Barnes 1-10, Zac Morgan 1-9, Kyle Fain 2-1, Carl Hecht 4-(-23).

Receiving

PLHS: Caleb Daniels 2-12, Landon Jamison 1-15, Mitchell Bond 1-8, Aaron Chenhall 1-8, Austin Kurtz 1-7, Cody Williams 1-3; THS: Jared Sommers 4-41, Kyle Burge 3-49, Kendall Parsons 2-9, Ryan Musick 2-5, Greg DeVeau 1-23, Kyle Fain 1-2, Grant Swearngin 1-0.