After a week off, Liberty North returned to action and rolled to a 42-7 win against Blue Springs at Peve Stadium.
While the final score was a 35-point margin, there was a time in the game where things were looking more up for the home Wildcats than the visitors.
The Eagles weathered a pair of special teams miscues and used a turnover to flip the script to score 35 unanswered to win the Suburban Conference Gold Division game.
Up 7-0 heading into the second, the Eagles (3-1, 3-0) muffed a punt and Blue Springs’ Preston Miehl recovered it at the 18-yard line.
Three plays later, Manu Tapusoa scored on a 7-yard run. Caden Hoehns’ point after attempt tied the game at 7-7 with 9:45 left in the second quarter.
Then, things got even better for the Wildcats (1-4, 0-4).
Hoehn’s pooch kick fell in between Eagles and Blue Springs recovered at the Liberty North 29-yard line.
The Wildcats started to move the ball and the proverbial ‘mighty mo’ had shifted to the purple-and-yellow.
“We muffed the punt and they scored and they had momentum and then they get the onside kick and they really had momentum,” Liberty North coach Greg Jones said.
On 1st and goal from the 9, Kaden Lutjen-Williams was stopped for no gain, but a horse collar penalty looked to have moved the ball to the 4 1/2 yard line. As the officials went to discuss it, something was said by a Blue Springs player and a different official threw a flag.
The half-the-distance penalty was marked off and then the Wildcats penalty was walked back. On the very next play, Blue Springs fumbles from the 19-yard line and Javon Smith, called for the horse collar play, recovers.
“Our defense got the takeaway and our offense went down and scored,” Jones said.
Van Dyne, who passed for 185 on 10 of 13 passing, hit Dell Rice for 23-yard gain and running Cayden Arzola hauled in a screen pass and went 28 yards, inside the Blue Springs’ red zone.
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