Even after a pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming performance Friday night, Lee’s Summit North coach Jason Rogers wasn’t surprised about what his Broncos can do.
Everyone knows Rogers’ team is loaded, and the Broncos put all their skills on display in crushing Blue Springs 44-12 on homecoming at the Broncos Activity Complex. Lee’s Summit North’s potent offense ran and threw the ball at will most of the game, and the defense forced five turnovers, three of them in the second quarter alone.
Surprising dominance? Not for Rogers.
“We’re super-fortunate man,” said Rogers, the Broncos’ first-year head man and long-time assistant under former coach Jamar Mozee.. “This team is an incredible team. This is probably the most bonded team we’ve had in a very long time. They support each other, they rally around each other so for me it’s no surprise that we’re able to play the type of football that we play.”
Still, it was shocking to watch Lee’s Summit North (5-0, 3-0 Suburban Gold Conference and ranked No. 3 in Missouri Class 6) take control in the second quarter after a 6-6 stalemate in the first.
Star wide receiver Isaiah Mozee broke that tie with a 2-yard touchdown run that capped a long drive as the quarter got under way. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Broncos senior Kai Reed stepped in front of a pass by Blue Springs quarterback James Fike and ran it back 20 yards for a pick six.
“He tried to cut block me, and I saw him try to throw it so I just jumped it and ran,” said Reid, who also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Blue Springs’ next possession also ended after one play. Wyatt Erickson, who alternated at quarterback with Fike, lofted a deep pass that North defensive back Nolan Spinks grabbed at midfield.
The Broncos couldn’t capitalize on Spinks’ pick and turned the ball over on downs, but they had the ball again soon enough when Spinks picked off Fike on Blue Springs’ next possession. That eventually led to a 14-yard TD pass from quarterback Mickhi Mitchell to a wide-open Mozee and a 27-6 Lee’s Summit North lead.
Blue Springs (3-2, 3-2) ended the half with an 80-yard drive and a 6-yard TD pass from Erickson to Max Toia as time expired, but the Wildcats couldn’t get any closer.
“When you play a good team like that, you’re not going to be able to overcome three turnovers back-to-back-to-back,” Blue Springs coach Jed Paulson said. “The bottom line is, we’ve got to play better. We’ve got to do better as coaches, we’ve got to do better as players, we’ve got to do better as an entire organization if we want to play in these football games against good football teams like that.”
Lee’s Summit North running back Quade Chatmon scored the first of his two touchdowns on the Broncos’ second play from scrimmage, blowing through a big hole for a 20-yard score and a 6-0 lead. Fike’s 2-yard TD run on a reverse tied it 6-6 going into the second quarter.
North took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove downfield for Chatmon’s second score, a 1-yard run that made it 34-12. Noah Kent added a 22-yard field goal shortly after a muffed punt kept the Broncos’ drive alive, and Bryce Thompson capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run shortly after Reid forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.
“That’s been a big emphasis – turnovers,” Rogers said. “We actively practice that in all of our practices, punching the ball out, group tacking and ripping it out, and we’re starting to see the benefits of that.”
Which comes as no surprise to Rogers, or his players.
“It makes it more exciting with the group of guy we’ve got,” Mitchell said. “We’re playing together as a family, and I feel like that’s what’s going to keep us standing out from everybody else.”
