Photo Credit: Justin Flor/PrepsKC 
The 42-21 beatdown that Blue Valley delivered Olathe North caught even Blue Valley coach Allen Terrell in what was expected to be a grinding defensive game.
“I didn’t expect that,” he said in a postgame speech to the team as he pointed to the scoreboard.
“But I did expect this,” Terrell said, holding up the 6A Quarterfinals plaque.
Blue Valley started with a flash as junior quarterback Chris Aiello hit junior receiver Grady Westphal on a slant for a 66-yard touchdown. The play was an RPO that gave Aiello a good look to take advantage of the defense with a quick slant route by Westphal.
Aiello said after the game that he watched the safety load toward the middle of the field and knew what was coming next. It was a recreation of a play that worked with the same success in the season's first game.
“I was like alright we’re just going to recreate that play from the first game of the season,” Aiello said. “He did. He took it to the house. I trust him on the slants.”
The play set the tone for the rest of the game as Blue Valley rolled to a comfortable win. Blue Valley had to rely on its passing attack against an Olathe North defense adept at stopping the run.
Olathe North’s running back TJ Porter has been in the discussion for the Simone Award with impressive performances since returning from a high-ankle sprain mid-season. Blue Valley mostly shut down Olathe North’s running game. Porter scored two touchdowns, one late in the fourth quarter, but never significantly impacted the game.
Blue Valley kept Olathe North in passing situations on 2nd and 3rd down throughout the night.
“I challenged the kids to make Olathe North deal with us instead of waiting and seeing how fast they are, how hard they hit,” Terrell said. “Our kids brought it to them quickly and answered the challenge.”
Blue Valley held a 24-7 lead going into the half with touchdowns on a run by Martell Buchannon and a scoop and score by Maguire Richmond on a blocked field goal.
Next up for Blue Valley in the semifinal round is Gardner-Edgerton, the only other team to beat Olathe North this season. It will be challenging, but Blue Valley is a team built around hard work and effort. That can make for a hard team to beat in the playoffs, especially as Blue Valley is playing its best at the right time.
