ST. LOUIS – Trailing 10-6 at halftime, Jefferson City head coach Ted LePage said his defense felt pretty good about limiting the high-powered DeSmet offense in the first half. But all those good feelings evaporated in the first 13 seconds of the second half on the Spartans first play of the half when junior tailback Malcolm Agnew skirted past the line of scrimmage, bounced outside, and ran untouched 80 yards down the sideline for a touchdown and a 17-6 DeSmet lead.
DeSmet RB Malcolm Agnew looks to turn the corner.
“They came out and hit that one, and that really took the wind out of our sails,” LePage said after the game. “It was just a misplay at the point of attack, we had made that play all night long, but they’re so fast, you can’t make that mistake.”
On a night when the DeSmet offense didn’t put up an the kind of obscene numbers that folks around Missouri high school football are used to seeing from Pat Mahoney’s group, the Spartans made big plays throughout the night to earn a trip to Kansas City next Friday where they’ll meet up with 11-1 Blue Springs with a trip to the Class 6 Show-Me Bowl on the line.
“Big games call for big plays,” said DeSmet junior wide receiver Stephen Pace, who caught three passes for 46 yards and made a diving interception in the fourth quarter. “You got to step up.”
“We’ve got playmakers, and they made plays when they had to,” Mahoney said. In what was his team’s toughest test of the season, one in which the Spartans were forced to punt on its first three possessions of the game before finally cracking the scoreboard in the second quarter on a one-yard Steve Kaiser plunge, the Spartans showed on Friday night that they can score and smack you back if necessary.
“I’ll never question our kids toughness, that’s not even an issue with me. We’ve got tough-nose smart kids that don’t back down from anybody,” Mahoney said.
DeSmet WR Stephen Pace makes an excellent catch in the fourth quarter.
The Jays struck first Friday night when junior running back Kody Walker busted through the line and ran 44 yards for a touchdown with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter. At that point, the Jays looked like the more physical team, having already forced the Spartans into two three-and-outs to start the game. But a missed extra point after a missed field goal on the Jays first possession of the game gave the Jays only a 6-0 lead despite controlling the first quarter.
DeSmet finally got its offense rolling in the second quarter when after a Duron Neal punt return ignited the crowd with some video-game like moves and put the Spartans at the Jeff City 39-yard line. The Spartans would drive 61 yards on nine plays with Kaiser going 4-4 on the drive for 54 yards, including a 22-yard strike to Neal that put the ball at the Jeff City three-yard line. Kaiser would score two plays later and with a made extra point, the Spartans would take a lead they never relinquished.
Given that DeSmet has been such a quick-strike offense all season, Mahoney was glad to see his team put together long drives Friday night.
Jeff City RB Kody Walker cuts back against DeSmet.
“We can play a tough game, (and) find our identity when we’ve got to go the long field,” Mahoney said. “For so many weeks we’ve had short fields and quick scores, that I wasn’t 100 percent sure what our identity was, but I think we may have found it from what I saw tonight.”
After the touchdown from Agnew, who finished with 122 yards rushing on 21 carries, the Spartans defense clamped down on the Jeff City running attack, limiting the Jays to only 54 yards in the second half.
" We made some subtle adjustments on the line in the second half," Mahoney said, " we didn’t want to give him a great read on the inside veer." While the Spartans scored 17 second half points, they were helped out by not turning the ball over while the Jays had fumbles in the first and second half that led to DeSmet field goals both times.
"In a tight ballgame, that’s the difference right there," Mahoney said of the turnovers.
Now the Spartans turn their attention towards Blue Springs, a team that as of Friday night, Mahoney knew nothing about. "I know they're a good team, but I couldn't tell you a player on their team. But I'll know a whole lot more about them Sunday night."
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