Tonganoxie was eyeing a shutout when Louisburg put together a late touchdown and another after a successful onside kick.

THS held on for a 24-14 for its first Frontier League victory of the season against the visiting Wildcats.

Tonganoxie High coach Al Troyer said he was pleased with a big game from the defense.

“It was just another hard-nosed game,” Troyer said.

He also noted that offensively the team did pretty well aside from turnovers. The Chieftains had two turnovers in the first half but still had a 10-0 lead.

Tyler Bowden led THS in the rushing attack with 202 yards on 27 carries. Sam Kleidosty had 40 yards on five carries and Gabe Bailey 1 yard on two carries.

Bowden accounted for two rushing touchdowns and Kleidosty a third. That Kleidosty run fit into Troyer’s description of a hard-nosed game, as Kleidosty fought through defenders at different points before pushing his way into the end zone for the score.

Kleidosty also had 33 yards receiving on four catches. Dallas Bond had two catches for three yards, Heston Robbins one catch for 10 yards and Bowden one catch for 6 yards.

Brandon Martin led THS defensively with 20 tackles (12 solo), while Robbins added 12 (nine solo). Andrew Colvert tallied eight tackles (seven solo) for the Chieftains and had a big interception. Colvert’s pick happened in Tonganoxie territory after Jackson Stevens hit Louisburg quarterback Weston Guetterman as he threw the ball.

At quarterback, Gabe Bailey went 8-for-15 for 52 yards.

Troyer praised Bailey at quarterback and Kleidosty in the Wildcat as the Chieftains’ signal-callers Friday.

THS had six players affected by a quarantine with the high school’s first positive COVID-19 case. That include starting quarterback Blake Poje.

Troyer said the Chieftains move ahead day-to-day as they navigate, like other teams across the state, player availability due to the ongoing pandemic and quarantine regulations.

The Chieftains (2-0 overall and 1-0 in Frontier League play) now prepare for a big conference clash against Paola (2-0 and 2-0) next Friday on the road.

The Chieftains and Panthers have fielded the two of the top teams in the Frontier League the last three years, but have only faced each other once — in the playoffs. The teams haven’t met in the regular season until now.

Paola slipped past Spring Hill, 41-38, for the Panthers’ first road win of the season. Spring Hill scored 26 unanswered points in that game.