The Valley Falls Dragons’ 2009 football playoff run consisted of a big win and a frustrating defeat, as the Dragons got past Troy in the bi-district round but got stifled by St. Marys, 42-8, in Saturday’s 2-1A regional round.
Valley Falls faced league foe Troy in the bi-district round Nov. 3 and came away with a 40-8 home win. That set up a home game Saturday with St. Marys, which trounced Wabaunsee, 50-16, in the opening round.
It wouldn’t take long for St. Marys to establish command in the game and Valley Falls’ best efforts to answer the Bears offense fizzled. The Dragons took the opening kickoff, but on the first play from scrimmage senior running back Tyler Wynkoop took a hard hit and fumbled with the Bears recovering at the Dragons 29.
A holding penalty backed St. Marys up on their first play but, two plays later, junior quarterback Mitch Baumchen connected with junior wideout Dorian Sills-Berry for a 33-yard touchdown pass. Baumchen ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 Bears with 10:52 left in the opening quarter.
The Dragon offense responded as senior running back Chance Gier had what would be his longest run of the night for a 32-yard gain on the next offensive play. Junior quarterback Alex Lederer then found senior Mitchell Streeter deep down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown strike but the Dragons were flagged for a chop block to nullify the score. The Dragon drive stalled there and Valley Falls was forced to punt.
St. Marys chipped away at the Dragon defense by mounting a 67-yard drive in 13 plays highlighted by a 16-yard run by senior back Luke Olsen, a 13-yard Baumchen run and a 7-yard touchdown pass from Baumchen to senior Derik Flerlage. Baumchen added the 2-point conversion again to make it 16-0 Bears with 1:44 left in the opening quarter.
The Dragons were flagged for another chop block, which is otherwise known as a block below the knees, usually, but not always, when the defensive player is dealing with another offensive player at the time of the block. The call helped stall the next drive and, after a punt, St. Marys got a 51-yard gain from Olsen to take the ball past the Dragons 15. Penalties backed the Bears up but the Dragons were flagged for a horse collar tackle to help the Bears’ cause. Olsen cashed in the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 22-0 Bears with 6:30 left in the first half.
The Dragons went three-and-out on the next possession and Lederer’s punt went off the side of his foot and out of bounds for a 4-yard loss on the play to give the Bears another dose of good fortune. Baumchen scored from 2 yards out and senior Chris Fiedler added the 2-point run to make it 30-0 St. Marys with 3:46 left in the half.
Valley Falls used the short pass to effectiveness on the ensuing drive as Lederer found four different receivers to take the ball to the St. Marys 25. The Bears were flagged for pass interference to give the Dragons first down at the 12 with 1:06 left in the half. On third down at the 12, Lederer’s pass was picked off in stride by senior Josh Decker inside the 10, and Decker returned the ball to the Dragons 16 to kill the momentum for the home side. Baumchen scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak three plays later to make the halftime score 36-0 Bears.
The Dragons defense stiffened somewhat in the second half as the Bears turned the ball over on downs at the Dragons 25 on their first possession of the second half. The short passing game worked for the Dragons again to take the ball to the St. Marys 18, but once again the drive stalled and the Bears took over on downs at their own 23. St. Marys had one more big play as Baumchen and Sills-Berry connected for a 55-yard pass play on the last play of the third quarter. Olsen scored from 1 yard out on the third play of the fourth quarter to make it 42-0 St. Marys.
The Dragons once again drove into Bears territory but stalled out at the 29 and the Bears ground down the clock before turning the ball over at the Dragons 30 with 1:18 to play. Lederer and senior tight end Riley Bunde connected for a 55-yard pass play and then a 15-yard scoring strike to deny the Bears the shutout. Gier added the 2-point conversion run to make it 42-8 with 56 seconds to play. From there, it was a matter of Bears backup quarterback freshman Kasey Clark kneeling out the clock.
The Bears amassed 418 yards of offense, including 291 rushing yards, compared to 247 total for the Dragons. Of the Dragons’ total, 210 yards came through the air. Lederer was 14-for-30 passing for 210 yards and a score and Bunde had 6 catches for 136 yards and a score in the loss.
St. Marys was led by 20 carries for 158 yards and two scores from Olsen and 13 carries for 61 yards and two scores from Baumchen. Baumchen also was 6-for-9 passing for 127 yards and two scores. Sills-Berry had 3 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. The Dragons were unable to take advantage of 10 St. Marys penalties for 93 total yards. The Dragons were flagged for 5 penalties for 50 yards.
The Dragons finished the season at 6-5 and were one of only two teams in the county to advance past the first playoff round along with Jefferson West, which also lost Saturday to Eudora in a 4A regional playoff.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
High school football playoff wrapup
Tuesday’s games (Nov. 3)
4A bi-district playoffs
at Basehor
Jefferson West 41. Basehor-Linwood 27
• West picked up its first playoff win since 1998 by taking down Basehor-Linwood on the road to improve to 7-3. Senior Austin Siess scored on a 7-yard run and a 22-yard pass from senior quarterback Alex Baker, junior Ethan Mumaw scored on runs of 1, 9, and 60 yards and junior Grady Tichenor scored on an 11-yard pass from Baker, who added five extra points.
3A bi-district playoffs
at Rossville
Rossville 51, Oskaloosa 8
• The Bears got rolled on the road to finish the season 7-3.
2A bi-district playoffs
at Valley Falls
Valley Falls 40, Troy 8
• The Dragons improved to 6-4 on the season by rolling to a 32-0 halftime lead and holding on for the win. Junior quarterback Alex Lederer scored on runs of 64 and 45 yards and connected with senior Riley Bunde on a 12-yard scoring strike. Senior Chance Gier scored on an 8-yard run and added two 2-point conversion runs and senior Tyler Wynkoop scored on a 4-yard run with senior Logan Wynkoop scoring two 2-point conversions. Lederer ran 9 times for 168 yards and Gier ran 21 times for 83 yards. Bunde had 2 catches for 48 yards and Lederer and Tyler Wynkoop had interceptions on defense.
Saturday’s games (Nov. 7)
4A regional playoffs
at Meriden
Eudora 23, Jefferson West 16
• The Tigers couldn’t generate a second-half comeback as Eudora ended their season at 7-4. Siess scored on a 7-yard pass from Baker and Mumaw ran for a 16-yard touchdown. Baker also added a 31-yard field goal and an extra point.
St. Marys 42, Valley Falls 8
• The Dragons were down, 36-0, at the half en route to the loss to finish the season 6-5. A report on the game can be found elsewhere on the blog.
4A bi-district playoffs
at Basehor
Jefferson West 41. Basehor-Linwood 27
• West picked up its first playoff win since 1998 by taking down Basehor-Linwood on the road to improve to 7-3. Senior Austin Siess scored on a 7-yard run and a 22-yard pass from senior quarterback Alex Baker, junior Ethan Mumaw scored on runs of 1, 9, and 60 yards and junior Grady Tichenor scored on an 11-yard pass from Baker, who added five extra points.
3A bi-district playoffs
at Rossville
Rossville 51, Oskaloosa 8
• The Bears got rolled on the road to finish the season 7-3.
2A bi-district playoffs
at Valley Falls
Valley Falls 40, Troy 8
• The Dragons improved to 6-4 on the season by rolling to a 32-0 halftime lead and holding on for the win. Junior quarterback Alex Lederer scored on runs of 64 and 45 yards and connected with senior Riley Bunde on a 12-yard scoring strike. Senior Chance Gier scored on an 8-yard run and added two 2-point conversion runs and senior Tyler Wynkoop scored on a 4-yard run with senior Logan Wynkoop scoring two 2-point conversions. Lederer ran 9 times for 168 yards and Gier ran 21 times for 83 yards. Bunde had 2 catches for 48 yards and Lederer and Tyler Wynkoop had interceptions on defense.
Saturday’s games (Nov. 7)
4A regional playoffs
at Meriden
Eudora 23, Jefferson West 16
• The Tigers couldn’t generate a second-half comeback as Eudora ended their season at 7-4. Siess scored on a 7-yard pass from Baker and Mumaw ran for a 16-yard touchdown. Baker also added a 31-yard field goal and an extra point.
St. Marys 42, Valley Falls 8
• The Dragons were down, 36-0, at the half en route to the loss to finish the season 6-5. A report on the game can be found elsewhere on the blog.
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