Photo Credit: Justin Flor/PrepsKC 
Gardner-Edgerton senior quarterback Bravin Powell led the Trailblazers to the 6A state title game as a sophomore and a junior and had the chance to do it again in Friday’s 6A semifinal matchup against Blue Valley West. Powell capitalized on that chance, as he rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to power the Trailblazers to a 34-25 victory over the Jaguars.
“It’s unreal. It’s hard to explain, but it’s really special,” Powell said. “Being here three times in a row, it feels familiar, but it’s a very special thing. It feels great and we don’t take it for granted at all.”
The Jaguars (10-2) were in position to take the lead early in the fourth quarter but had a 5-yard touchdown run by Tate Miller negated by a holding penalty. Trailing 20-19, BV West was forced to settle for a 30-yard goal attempt. However, the kick was no good.
Two plays later, Powell went into takeover mode. Powell found a hole and then got a big block downfield by Jake Linden to help spring him free for a 67-yard touchdown run with 9:20 to go.
“He’s our leader. He’s a three-year starter and has led us now to three state championship games,” said Gardner-Edgerton coach Jesse Owen of Powell. “He’s just an ultra-competitor. He’s just a good leader. I tell everyone that he doesn’t have bad days. And when he does, he hides it.”
Owen added, “He’s always bouncing into class and (asking), ‘What are we going to do today, coach?’ He’s just a very positive, optimistic person. I think he makes people around him better and influences them in a positive way. They kind of rally behind him on the field just because of how he treats people on a daily basis in the locker room, hallways and cafeteria. He’s just a stud.”
Owen knew that the game was far from over, especially with the Jaguars having a dynamic quarterback of their own in Tate Nagy. Nagy had a 26-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage to give the Jaguars an early lead and used his legs again to get 16 yards when BV West faced a 4th and 9 on the Gardner-Edgerton 40-yard line with about eight minutes remaining. Miller finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run for his third score, but Nagy’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
The Trailblazers (11-1) got the ball back with 6:01 to go and led 27-25. After a first-down run by Syre Padilla, the Jaguars began using their timeouts. Gardner-Edgerton had a 3rd and 5 on the next set of downs, but Powell bounced off multiple defenders to pick up the first down.
With the Jaguars out of timeouts, the Trailblazers could pretty much seal it with one more first down. They faced a 3rd and 1 with just over two minutes to go and Powell came through again—not just with the 1 yard for the first down, but a 42-yard touchdown run.
“It’s the grind,” Powell said. “Coach Owen instills that in us to get as many extra as we can and don’t be the first one down. (We need to) make sure we keep our feet running and get as many as they’ll let us get.”
Powell had 119 of his 151 rushing yards in the final quarter. He also completed 3 for 4 passes for 51 yards, including a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown pass was a 31-yard strike to Richard Vanlerberg.
The Trailblazers trailed, 19-13, after a first half that featured five lead changes. Nagy’s 26-yard run on the second play from scrimmage put BV West on the board just 28 seconds in, but the PAT was no good.
Gardner-Edgerton took its first lead on the ensuing possession when Porter Swaim scored on an 8-yard run. The 7-6 lead held until Miller punched it in from a yard out with 5:43 to go in the first half, but the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
The Jaguars’ 12-7 lead was short-lived, too. Padilla burst up the middle for an 83-yard run on the first play of the next drive. He matched Powell for the team lead in rushing yards with 151.
BV West then chewed up nearly five minutes of clock on the following possession and retook the lead with a Miller 1-yard TD run with 36 ticks left before the break. The 19-13 edge was the last lead the Jaguars would have.
BV West won 10 straight games going into the matchup with the 6A defending champs. The only two losses for the Jaguars came to the Trailblazers and St. Thomas Aquinas, who is going to the 5A state title game.
Gardner-Edgerton will meet Manhattan (12-0) in a rematch of the 2022 6A state title game, which Manhattan won in double overtime after stopping the Trailblazers on a 2-point conversion attempt. Manhattan topped Derby, 31-21, in the other 6A semifinal. The Trailblazers beat Derby in the 2023 state championship game, so the Trailblazers knew they would see a familiar opponent if they could get past BV West.
“I have a lot of respect for both programs. They’re both perennial powers in the state,” said Owen of Manhattan and Derby. “We’re just going to enjoy tonight and then take what comes next weekend.”
Gardner-Edgerton and Manhattan will kick off at 2 p.m. Friday at Emporia State’s Welch Stadium.
