Photo Credit: Toriano Porter/PrepsKCFor most of its season-opening contest against Lincoln College Prep, visiting University Academy's defense refused to break. The Gryphons forced multiple turnovers on downs, recorded timely sacks and used a second-quarter pick-6 from a sophomore defensive back to control the flow of the game.
It wasn't always pretty, but thanks to Marquise Turner’s interception return for a touchdown, UA escaped Lincoln Prep with a scintillating 6-0 win.
“I was reading the quarterback’s eyes,” Turner said. “I saw the ball and I just had to go get it.”
The chippiness between these two teams was on display early. And for good reason. The tilt, billed the Battle of the City, had all the ingredients of a budding if not simmering rivalry. It was also the DM Injury Law/Preps KC Metro Game of the Week.
Twice in the first quarter, the host Blue Tigers were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike behavior. The Gryphons weren’t innocent bystanders but kept their collective cool most of the contest.
That level headedness paid off as UA took the lead in the second quarter and held on. A third quarter facemask penalty against UA almost proved costly. The mishap set up Lincoln Prep with a first and goal late in the third. But as was the case most of the evening, the Gryphons’ defense kept the Blue Tigers out of the end zone.
“Our defense is definitely what leads us right now,” UA head coach Andrew Blakemore said.
Lincoln Prep’s offense never got on track. There were spurts but the Blue Tigers never found paydirt. Repeated penalties doomed the host, a young team that played a few players down due to off-the-field issues, according to head coach Marcus Cosdale.
“Our squad is young,” Crosdale said. “That don’t give us no excuse for lacking that much discipline.”
The hype surrounding this game was evident from the start. An overflow crowd at Lincoln Prep forced some late arriving guests to watch the action from outside the stadium.
Despite the low score, both teams showed a level of toughness and spirit that should serve them well over the next few weeks.
On its first possession, Lincoln Prep faced a fourth down and 3 from its own 46-yard line. Crosdale elected to go for a first down. After a timeout, Blue Tigers wide receiver Jayden Smith 30 yard-reception for a first down was an early highlight.
But a dead ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Smith after the play — he threw the ball onto Lincoln Prep’s blue turf and high stepped in celebration a bit too much for the side judge’s liking — moved the ball back to the 39.
On a first and 10 from the Lincoln Prep 18-yard line, the Gryphons went backwards on an errand snap and lost possession on a fumble the very next play. JaCobi Hill was credited with the fumble recovery.
The Blue Tigers started the next drive from their opponents’ 27 but the Gryphons held on another fourth down conversion attempt from the host.
UA took over at its 39 and promptly moved into Lincoln Prep territory thanks to the Blue Tigers’ second 15-yard penalty of the quarter.
Smith’s second quarter interception gave Lincoln Prep the ball at the 20. But the Gryphons’ defense stopped the Blue Tigers on fourth down again.
Later in the quarter, Turner worked his magic and returned the errant pass for a touchdown. The pick-six put UA up for good.
With a little less than seven minutes to play, UA’s Julian Wilson not only forced a fumble but recovered the ball without the pigskin touching the ground.
“I just took it,” Wilson, a junior defensive back/wide receiver, said. “I didn’t even know I had it.”
A late fumble recovered by Lincoln Prep at its own 10 gave them hope. But the Blue Tigers’ plodding offense had to move the ball 90 yards with 4:22 remaining but couldn’t.
UA sealed the deal with an interception with 2:22 left in the game and ran out the clock, setting off a raucous celebration from the UA contingent on hand.
