Photo Credit: Nick Smith/PrepsKC 
After outlasting Eudora for a 15-point win in the sectional round of the 2021 Class 4A playoffs, the Bishop Miege football team knew it would get all it wanted and them some from the Cardinals in Friday’s second-round matchup. That was certainly the case again on Friday, but the Stags were able weather the storm figuratively and literally to edge Eudora, 33-26.
“We knew it was going to be tough. The weather was tough and they’re a really good football team,” Miege coach Jon Holmes said. “They had a lot of the same guys that we went up against last year, so we knew we were going to have to bring it. Our guys were able to do that.”
Despite cold, windy and rainy conditions that weren’t favorable for Miege’s high-powered passing attack, Stags quarterback Mac Armstrong still made a couple of big passes when he needed to to power Miege to a 21-12 halftime lead. Armstrong was only 3 for 10 for 45 yards in the first half, but two of those completions went for two touchdowns to Isaiah Coppage. Armstrong’s first touchdown strike to Coppage was on a 4th and 6 on the Eudora 29-yard line. His second was a 7-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds to go in the half.
“Mac Armstrong is special,” Holmes said. “Isaiah Coppage, Teryn Jackson, Tommy Wright, Daegen Jensen and Hollis Moeller—our wide receiver crew is pretty special too.”
The second touchdown connection between Armstrong and Coppage came after the Stags got a short field from a blocked punt in Eudora territory. The Stags also had a special teams edge with Stephan Neenan making all three of his first half PATs while Eudora was forced to go for two due to their kicker not being at full strength.
“In games like this and especially against an offense like Eudora’s, you need to get up possession by possession,” Holmes said. “We were able to do that and keep them chasing us all night.”
The Stags leaned even more on their ground game in the second half. The one-two punch of DeAndre Beasley and David Garcia combined for nearly 300 rushing yards and three touchdowns. After finding pay dirt on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, Beasley scored again from 9 yards out to account for the third quarter’s only points. He finished with 121 yards on 17 carries.
Garcia’s 1-yard touchdown run pushed Miege’s lead to 33-20 with more than nine minutes left to give the Stags just enough of a cushion. He paced the Miege backfield by racking up 176 yards on 24 totes.
“I think that (our run game) was the difference between winning and losing. When you get in a game like this where you’re struggling to throw it, David Garcia and Dre Beasley gave us everything they had,” Holmes said. “The offensive line up front created big hole after big hole. Daegen Jensen and Hollis Moeller were used in the role as well. We felt like we were going to be able to wear them down a little bit up front because a lot of those guys had to play both ways. We were able to do that.”
Eudora’s backfield was also a force to be reckoned with. Shortly after Armstrong tossed his first touchdown pass to Coppage, Eudora running back Octavius Lyles gave the Cardinals a quick answer with a 49-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, though, so Miege held a 7-6 lead.
Lyles was just getting started with his long touchdown run. He rumbled for 236 yards on 25 carries and added a 26-yard touchdown run with 11:45 to go in the second quarter.
“What I love about Octavius and what people probably don’t know is that he is the best teammate. He is constantly hyping up our O-line, full backs, and slot receivers,” Eudora coach Drew Steffen said. “His hard work in the weight room and in track and dedication to football combined with being a great teammate has led to his success that he saw this year. He’s an all-state and all-league running back in my mind.”
Errol Siemon also showed off his big play-making ability with seven carries for 62 yards and quarterback Kole Manley added 11 rushes for 54 yards.
While Eudora did a bulk of its damage on the ground, Manley matched Armstrong’s two touchdown passes. Both of them came in the fourth quarter and went to his top target, Adrion Seals. Manley threw a 19-yard touchdown strike to Seals with 11:50 to go and then found Jaden Hamm for the 2-point conversion.
“The beauty is that he (Seals) is only a junior, so we’ll get to see that for another year next year. He had two huge plays with unbelievable effort and we had great protection up front,” Steffen said. “And they were great balls by our quarterback. Those two big plays kept us in the game. We were right there. If the ball bounces a different way on an onside kick, we have a chance to tie it up or go for two and try to get the win.”
