Photo Credit: Todd Habiger/Special to PrepsKC 
After jumping out to a 17-point lead, Lee’s Summit North suddenly saw its lead cut to four after Mill Valley scored touchdowns on its final possession of the first half and first drive of the second half. The Broncos buckled down the rest of the way, though, as senior receiver Isaiah Mozee and the LSN defense powered them to a 26-13 victory over the Jaguars.
Mozee was held in check for two catches for 18 yards in the first half, but he was Mickhi Mitchell’s go-to target in the second. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound wideout finished with 10 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown.
“I had to wait my time. When I wasn’t getting the ball, it was Quade’s (Chatmon) time,” Mozee said. “They were loose in the box, so there were open lanes and alleys for him to run the ball. When they stack the box, I feel like I’m better than the other guy (defensive back) and feel like I have a chance. Coach (Jason Rogers) believed in me, and we made it happen as a team.”
While the Mitchell-to-Mozee connection got stronger throughout the third quarter, the Broncos still didn’t have anything to show for it. Momentum quickly swung in favor of the Broncos in the closing seconds of the third and beginning of the fourth, though. With Mill Valley being forced to punt deep in their own territory, the snap sailed high and resulted in a safety for the Broncos.
The Broncos then got possession again at their own 43-yard line and only needed two plays to push their lead to 26-13. Mozee hauled in a 33-yard pass from Mitchell on the final play of the third quarter and then was on the receiving end of a 20-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the fourth.
“I want to shout out Mickhi Mitchell. That’s my guy,” Mozee said. “He’s come a long way and I’m so proud of him. He’s building confidence and it’s his first year as a senior. I love the way he’s carrying the offense right now.”
The Jaguars got their offense rolling by giving the rock to junior running back Reggie Reece. Reece finished with 31 carries for 183 yards, but LSN came up with two stops in the red zone in the second half to thwart Mill Valley’s momentum. Linebacker Chase Pearsall recovered a fumble at the LSN 15-yard line in the third quarter when the Jaguars were threatening to take their first lead. The Broncos were also able to stop Reece one yard short of a first down in the fourth before taking over at their own 5-yard line.
“A guy (Reece) like that can break away on any play. We just needed to get as many helmets on him as we could,” Rogers said. “They have an incredible run game. We knew skill for skill they would match up with us, so for us it was really the level of physicality and grit that we had to bring to the table.”
The Broncos kept Mill Valley off the board until the final minute of the first half. Senior quarterback Connor Bohon tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Blake Jay with 35 seconds to go in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 17-7 at halftime. Bohon then found senior tight end Isaac Sauder for an 11-yard touchdown pass on Mill Valley first drive of the second half.
Mill Valley coach Joel Applebee was proud of his defense for giving the Jaguars a chance to make the comeback. Chatmon had two touchdown runs 75 of his 116 rushing yards in the first half, but the Mill Valley defense held LSN to a Noah Kent 37-yard field goal when the Broncos were driving for a potential third touchdown of the first half.
“It came down to just little mistakes. The kids knew it when we were on the sideline looking at film,” Applebee said. “I was really proud of the effort tonight, but we just need to fix some mistakes. All the credit though to Lee’s Summit North. They’re a very, very good team.”
The Jaguars fell to 1-1 and will try to bounce back at 7 p.m. Friday in a home tilt against Free State. The Broncos moved to 3-0 and will play another out-of-state opponent at 7 p.m. Friday when they host Bentonville (Ark.).
