Lee’s Summit West completes comeback against Glendale

When Glendale High School’s football players look back on Monday night’s Class 5 sectional loss to Lee’s Summit West, they’ll remember they took the defending Class 5 champions to overtime. They’ll remember they made the Titans play catchup in a way they’ve never seen. They’ll remember how the Titans were so desperate they asked the officials to investigate the length of their spikes coming out of halftime.

One day, it will be a story worth telling, and one they’ll dish out to friends and family with pride. It will be one told with their heads held high.

But the near future isn’t going to feel good.

Lee’s Summit West erased a 28-0 second half deficit to beat Glendale 35-28 in overtime Monday night with a gutsy and clutch performance. For two-and-a-half quarters, The Class 5 District 7 champion Falcons (8-3) outplayed Lee’s Summit West. The Falcons stopped the run, made nice defensive plays down the field and took advantage of an offensive and defensive line that featured future Missouri Tiger recruit Evan Boehm (6-foot-4, 305 pounds). And when they had the ball, Trevor Vaughn treated Lee’s Summit West (11-1) as he did most teams this season.

Vaughn finished with 31 carries for 273 yards and two TDs, including a 78-yard run on the game’s third offensive play, and broke another 68-yard run in the second quarter, but fumbled at the 1-yard line. It was recovered by Omar Wijahat for a TD. Two TDs later — one on a 18-yard play-action pass from Will Rogers to Cameron Johnson — Glendale had a 28-0 lead with 7:50 left in the second half.

But what followed was unbelievable. Lee’s Summit West, which couldn’t move the ball in the first half, came alive. Senior quarterback — and Iowa State commit – Luke Knott may have started the game 3-of-14 passing for 34 yards and two interceptions, but he finished 13-of-28 for 208 — that’s right, he was 10-of-14 passing for 174 yards in the second half. He also rushed for 145 yards and two TDs, mostly coming off of QB draws from a 5 wide receiver set.

LSW slowly chipped away at the Glendale lead, remarkably moving the ball at lightning speed, scoring all four TDs on drives less than two minutes. Meanwhile, the Titan defense smothered Glendale, not allowing Vaughn to get loose on the perimeter or Johnson to break free in the secondary.

With 6:11 left on the clock and leading 28-21, Glendale converted two third downs, including a third-and-13 on a 37-yard reverse by Vaughn. But the drive stalled and Glendale punted the ball to the LSW 20 with 2:15 left. It turns out, Glendale left the Titans too much time. With a mix of runs and passes — all by Knott – LSW punched a TD in on a 1-yard Knott sneak with 41 seconds left.

Glendale couldn’t answer, getting the ball to the LSW 43 before time expired.

In overtime, it looked like Glendale’s defense might have made a stand. LSW faced a fourth-and-9 from the Glendale 24 and Knott found senior receiver Shaq Harrison on a post route in the end zone with a beautiful sliding catch. Glendale moved the ball to the 14, but a fade pass from Falcons QB Will Rogers to WR Jared Hood was intercepted.

The hundreds of LSW players and fans celebrated. The Glendale team and fan base was shocked. Sure, they knew they were huge underdogs against the defending state champs, but they were so close. Still, Glendale coach Joel Heman urged his kids to be proud.

“They played their hearts out against the defending state champs,” Heman said. “We were close, but that’s a state-championship caliber football team. I couldn’t be more proud of our kids.”

Lee’s Summit West will host Nixa in a Class 5 quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Lessons learned

• Let’s be honest, Glendale was a huge underdog coming into this game. But as they have done all season, the Falcons found a way to score. The offensive line played well and so did Trevor Vaughn, finding wrinkles in the defense and making players miss. On his 68-yard run where he fumbled heading in to the end zone, he juked and jumped at the same time, seeming jumping over a defender, and turned a hit into a 360 spin. Very impressive. Still, Glendale didn’t blow this game, LSW took it. They figured it out and were able to score at will, scoring 4 TDs in 17 minutes.
• LSW was grasping at straws coming out of halftime. You’ll probably read about this elsewhere, too, and it was really a non-issue. But it made for one of my favorite crowd moments of all time. After a first half of watching his players slip on a muddy Lowe Stadium field repeatedly, LSW coach Royce Boehm approached the officials and asked them to check Glendale’s spikes. According to my friend Justin McMillin, who was covering the game for the News-Leader, the beef was over a quarter-inch. MSHSAA made a few Falcons — including Trevor Vaughn — change their spikes, missing the opening kickoff. Once Glendale fans figured out what was going on, they started yelling at the LSW sidelines and chanting, “Check. Their. Cleats.” In the moment, it was hilarious. But once LSW made its charge, it lost its steam.
• LSW offensive lineman Evan Boehm is a beast. 6-foot-4, 305 pounds? He’s headed to Mizzou.
• Many question how many of these Glendale players will be differencemakers at the college level. Lee’s Summit West has 7 kids who will likely be Division I.
• Glendale didn’t blow it. LSW took it. Glendale has nothing to be ashamed of.

Stat geekage

Glendale

• Senior tailback Trevor Vaughn carried 31 times for 273 yards and 2 TDs.
• Junior quarterback Will Rogers was 5-for-9 passing for 78 yards, a TD and an interception.
• Senior wide receiver Cameron Johnson had 3 catches for 50 yards and a TD

Lee’s Summit West

• Senior QB Luke Knott was 13-of-28 passing for 208 and rushed for 145 yards and 2 TDs
• Senior tailback Marcus Strickland had 11 carries for 53 yards and 2 TDs.
• Lee’s Summit West scored 28 points in 17 second-half minutes