Down seven points late in the fourth quarter, Shawnee Mission South head coach Brett Oberzan’s mind was made up: The Raiders were going for a win if they found the endzone.
“We were down there, and I wanted to win the thing,” Oberzan said.
A mishandled exchange on the potential game-winning two-point conversion run spoiled any hopes of a season-opening victory over cross-town and Sunflower League rival Shawnee Mission West.
The miscue was just enough for the Vikings to eke out an entertaining 21-20 win.
“The decision was pretty easy,” Oberzan continued. “We knew what we were going to do. I wouldn’t change that again.”
For West, to knock off a school district and conference rival was a great way to start a delayed season.
“We’re both in the same boat,” Vikings head coach Tim Callaghan said. “It’s tough to get a team ready. I’m proud of our guys.”
The Saturday morning tilt featured a bit of everything: bone-crushing hits, electrifying plays, costly turnovers, untimely mistakes and missed opportunities.
Throw in a bit of controversy and questionable calls, and it was a football purists’ dream.
Ultimately, the game came down to toughness and grit. The Vikings, 1-0, made more plays down the stretch than the Raiders.
“I haven’t seen our defense make two goal-line stands like that in years,” Callaghan said of a unit that stymied the Raiders’ offense time and time again.
After a scoreless first quarter, things picked up in the second. The Vikings were quick to answer the Raiders’ first score.
Down 6-0 after a Raider touchdown run, the Vikings called on a familiar tandem: quarterback Weston Moore and twin brother, Peyton.
Weston, the quarterback, double-faked on the play, and the defense bit. Peyton found himself in the endzone after an over-the-shoulder grab to tie the score. A successful extra point kick gave West a 7-6 lead.
The Moore to Moore connection gave the Raiders fits all game.
Midway through the second quarter, West’s wide receiver and defensive back Earl McDowell was essentially knocked out of the game following a punishing hit on a punt return.
The lanky, skilled two-way player snagged a line drive punt on the run but paid a big price for the effort. After a couple of more plays from scrimmage, McDowell was sidelined the rest of the game.
“Earl’s a tough kid,” Callaghan said. “He’ll be back.”
Moore to Moore struck again for another big gain right before halftime. The over-the-shoulder catch-and-run from Weston to Peyton came on the heels of a South touchdown from quarterback Max Close and successful two-point conversion run from Brett Connor.
The Raiders’ 14-7 lead was short lived, though. Weston Moore’s touchdown pass to Huston Rotich brought the visitors within one.
A successful extra point enabled the Vikings to gain momentum heading into halftime.
The Moore twins were not done. This time, Peyton’s acrobatic, tumbling snag in the endzone helped give the Vikings a 21-14 lead with 9:23 left in the game.
South pulled to within one point when Conner bruised his way into the endzone with less than 3 minutes left in the game. The Raiders rolled the dice on the two-point conversion try but Conner mishandled the exchange from Close and the play was whistled dead.
A fumble recovery with 30 seconds left on the clock sealed the deal for the Vikings.
“We haven’t won the first game in about three years, so to win this game is going to give us a lot of motivation to keep working hard going forward,” Weston Moore said.
