Matt Daugherty/Sun NewsTurnovers cost Staley High in its first football game, a 52-9 loss to Raytown South.
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FOOTBALL: Staley roughed up in opener
By Kevin M. Smith
Staley High’s opening kickoff of its first varsity football game could have been like looking through a crystal ball at things to come for the game.
The Falcons began the game against Raytown South with an onside kick that they recovered. But that didn’t matter as the Falcons were called for being offsides on the play.
On the re-kick, Falcons junior Black Owens boomed it inside the 5-yard line, where it bounced into the end zone for a touchback.
What ensued was not Falcons head coach Fred Bouchard’s worst nightmare, but he wished the new team with no seniors could have done a little better.
“We’ll kind of go back to the drawing board,” Bouchard said after a 52-9 loss to Raytown South.
Bouchard said his team played a very good Raytown South team.
“We knew going into this they might be one of the top two teams we play this year,” Bouchard said. “It was a pretty tall order.”
The Falcons stayed competitive in the first quarter with a defense struggle leaving the game scoreless.
Raytown South’s DeJuan Beard broke the stalemate on a 25-yard run that ended with him diving to get the ball into the end zone at the conclusion of the first quarter. That made it 6-0 after the Cardinals failed on a two-point conversion.
From there, Raytown South showed dominance on defense. The third play on the Falcons’ drive following the Cardinal touchdown was a reverse pass that ended in a fumble that was recovered by Raytown South’s Sheybeon Wyatt and returned 20 yards for another touchdown. Another failed two-point conversion left it at 12-0.
Then it was like Déjà vu. On the first play after the kickoff, a run turned into a fumble and was recovered by Wyatt again and returned 26 yards for a touchdown. A successful kick on the extra point made it 19-0 with 10:54 remaining in the second quarter.
While the game didn’t turn out to be Bouchard’s worse nightmare, he said he was worried about it going that direction at this point.
“That sequence of plays that happened real quick — that was pretty close,” Bouchard said.
The Falcons went three-and-out on their next series, and six plays into the Cardinals’ next series they were on the board again with an 9-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Turner. A successful extra-point kick made the score 26-0 with 5:42 remaining in the second quarter.
The Falcons’ initial first down came off a Cardinal pass interference penalty with a few minutes remaining before halftime. That series fizzled out a few plays later after a false start, then an illegal block in the back, by the Falcons. What was once a second-and-10 situation at the Cardinals’ 46-yard line became a fourth-and-34, forcing the Falcons to punt.
The Cardinals managed to score one more time before the half on a first-and-goal pass from Dennis Tanner to Beard with 24 ticks left.
Going into the locker room the Falcons were down 33-0.
Coming back to the field for the second half, Staley, for a while, didn’t look like a team playing its first-ever game. On the first play of the second half, sophomore quarterback Michael Rich hit junior tight end Joey Quigley for 10 yards and the team’s third first down of the game. Six plays later sophomore quarterback Ian McDonald ran two yards for a touchdown with 9:35 remaining in the third quarter, making the score 33-7 after the extra point.
A kickoff and four plays later it looked like the tables were turning as the Cardinals were backed up to their own 6-yard line on third down. A pitch was fumbled in the end zone. The Cardinals recovered, but the Falcons made the tackle there for a safety.
Bouchard said he didn’t say anything in the locker during halftime to inspire the Falcons to play that way.
“They just decided, ‘Let’s go compete and go do some things,’” Bouchard said.
But those two scores were it for the Falcons.
“I just know it’s going to take a little process, a little time,” Bouchard said. “I see a little sliver of hope.”
Kearney editor Kevin M. Smith can be reached at 628-6010 or kevinsmith@npgco.com.
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The Falcons began the game against Raytown South with an onside kick that they recovered. But that didn’t matter as the Falcons were called for being offsides on the play.
On the re-kick, Falcons junior Black Owens boomed it inside the 5-yard line, where it bounced into the end zone for a touchback.
What ensued was not Falcons head coach Fred Bouchard’s worst nightmare, but he wished the new team with no seniors could have done a little better.
“We’ll kind of go back to the drawing board,” Bouchard said after a 52-9 loss to Raytown South.
Bouchard said his team played a very good Raytown South team.
“We knew going into this they might be one of the top two teams we play this year,” Bouchard said. “It was a pretty tall order.”
The Falcons stayed competitive in the first quarter with a defense struggle leaving the game scoreless.
Raytown South’s DeJuan Beard broke the stalemate on a 25-yard run that ended with him diving to get the ball into the end zone at the conclusion of the first quarter. That made it 6-0 after the Cardinals failed on a two-point conversion.
From there, Raytown South showed dominance on defense. The third play on the Falcons’ drive following the Cardinal touchdown was a reverse pass that ended in a fumble that was recovered by Raytown South’s Sheybeon Wyatt and returned 20 yards for another touchdown. Another failed two-point conversion left it at 12-0.
Then it was like Déjà vu. On the first play after the kickoff, a run turned into a fumble and was recovered by Wyatt again and returned 26 yards for a touchdown. A successful kick on the extra point made it 19-0 with 10:54 remaining in the second quarter.
While the game didn’t turn out to be Bouchard’s worse nightmare, he said he was worried about it going that direction at this point.
“That sequence of plays that happened real quick — that was pretty close,” Bouchard said.
The Falcons went three-and-out on their next series, and six plays into the Cardinals’ next series they were on the board again with an 9-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Turner. A successful extra-point kick made the score 26-0 with 5:42 remaining in the second quarter.
The Falcons’ initial first down came off a Cardinal pass interference penalty with a few minutes remaining before halftime. That series fizzled out a few plays later after a false start, then an illegal block in the back, by the Falcons. What was once a second-and-10 situation at the Cardinals’ 46-yard line became a fourth-and-34, forcing the Falcons to punt.
The Cardinals managed to score one more time before the half on a first-and-goal pass from Dennis Tanner to Beard with 24 ticks left.
Going into the locker room the Falcons were down 33-0.
Coming back to the field for the second half, Staley, for a while, didn’t look like a team playing its first-ever game. On the first play of the second half, sophomore quarterback Michael Rich hit junior tight end Joey Quigley for 10 yards and the team’s third first down of the game. Six plays later sophomore quarterback Ian McDonald ran two yards for a touchdown with 9:35 remaining in the third quarter, making the score 33-7 after the extra point.
A kickoff and four plays later it looked like the tables were turning as the Cardinals were backed up to their own 6-yard line on third down. A pitch was fumbled in the end zone. The Cardinals recovered, but the Falcons made the tackle there for a safety.
Bouchard said he didn’t say anything in the locker during halftime to inspire the Falcons to play that way.
“They just decided, ‘Let’s go compete and go do some things,’” Bouchard said.
But those two scores were it for the Falcons.
“I just know it’s going to take a little process, a little time,” Bouchard said. “I see a little sliver of hope.”
Kearney editor Kevin M. Smith can be reached at 628-6010 or kevinsmith@npgco.com.