Photo Credit: Roman Puno/PrepsKC 
Keep it boring. That was Coach Allen Terrell's game plan going into a matchup with St. James, and Blue Valley did just that, stopping big plays and rolling to a 20-10 win with an overpowering defense and rushing attack.
The Blue Valley offense needed a quarter to form its attack. Head Coach Allen Terrell said nothing went according to plan on offense in the first half. The defense locked in and was relentless in making plays against a typically efficient St. James offense.
“We weren’t going to run a lot of pressures because they’re so good at what they do and just tried to keep the ball in front of us and make the snap it again and tackle well, and they did that,” Terrell said.
Despite a fumble by wide receiver Jackson Hopper on the game's second play in Blue Valley territory, the Tigers defense stopped St. James on downs thanks to a third-down sack by senior lineman Lincoln Stueve. By the time St. James picked up a first down, it was halfway through the second quarter, and Blue Valley held a 14-0 lead after two short touchdown runs by senior running back Charlie Stachowiak. Blue Valley never trailed.
St. James managed a 46-yard field goal by Ben Johnson after a favorable starting field position, making it 14-3 at halftime. Blue Valley star defensive linebacker Dawson Merritt exited the game at halftime as his ankle was taped. Even without Merritt on the field, Blue Valley controlled the game through its defense, giving up one touchdown drive as St. James quarterback Tyson Beashore ran for a third-quarter touchdown to make it a 17-10 game.
Charlie Stachowiak ran for his biggest gain of the night on the first play of the fourth quarter as he picked up 38 yards to Blue Valley drain any attempt for St. James to come back. He took six handoffs for 55 yards on the drive leading up to a field goal by senior Maguire Richman. In total, Stachowiak had 34 carries for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
“Charlie is who he always is. He’s that on a Tuesday in practice,” Terrell said. “He’s going to run behind his pads, he’s going to do exactly what he’s supposed to do, he’s going to protect the ball. That kid is the epitome of our program. He’s waited bided his time behind a division one running back when he easily could have been the starter on many teams.”
When St. James got the ball back, they replaced Tyson Beashore at quarterback with Frankie Maghini and were forced to punt after three and out. Blue Valley got the ball back with just over five minutes left and handed it off to Stachowiak eight more times as Blue Valley drove down the field and ran out the clock.
“To our kids' credit, they cleaned some things up at halftime, and to our offensive coaches' credit, they cleaned some things up. It was nobody in particular’s fault it was all of our faults,” Terrell said. “They fixed it and we won the game driving down the field to finish it.”
