Top Performers from SMW vs. BVW

It was the battle of the west side in this matchup, with the Shawnee Mission West Vikings taking on the Blue Valley West Jaguars in the opening road of the playoffs. The No. 10 seed Vikings (3-5) came into the contest as the underdog looking to knock off the No. 7 seed Jaguars (4-4). Blue Valley West jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in this one, but the Vikings wouldn’t go away. Both squads scored twice in the second quarter making it an interesting game heading into the second half. However, the deciding factor of the game would come down to big plays, and the Vikings couldn’t match the Jaguars’ explosiveness. The Vikings gave BVW all they could handle, but the Jaguars move on after winning 38-18. Here’s a quick recap of seven prospects that made plays throughout this opening round matchup<strong> (Unofficial Stats)</strong>. <em>Offense: </em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="209265" first="Gage" last="Roach"]</strong> – Blue Valley West, QB, <em>Class of ’22</em> The Jaguars’ signal caller comes away with <em>Player of the Game</em> after his strong performance. Roach did a good job of moving around in the pocket and keeping plays alive against a pesky Vikings defense. The senior came just shy of 250 yards passing, as he went 13 of 25 for 240 yards with three touchdowns and rushed for 55 yards on 12 carries. <strong>Mehki Knight</strong> – Shawnee Mission West, ATH, <em>Class of ’22</em> Knight was the heart and soul for SMW. The senior provided a spark on both sides of the ball, and his teammates fed off his energy, showing no quit until the final whistle. The Jaguars’ defensive front made things difficult for him, but he still managed to put together a gritty performance. Knight accounted for 220 yards of total offense with three total touchdowns, and he racked up 11 total tackles on defense. <strong>Sage Huffman</strong> – Blue Valley West, RB, <em>Class of ’24</em> Huffman has been phenomenal during his first season as the lead back for the Jaguars. This game may have been his first playoff appearance, but he looked like an upperclassman that’s been in this position before. The sophomore toted the rock 24 times and reeled off 183 yards with two scores. He’s a prospect with a bright future. <strong>Noah Gunion</strong> – Shawnee Mission West, RB, <em>Class of ’24</em> Gunion was another sophomore that impressed during this matchup. BVW didn’t allow many running lanes to open up, but Gunion was able to beat defenders to the edge a few times. He went on to rush for 56 yards on 17 carries and hauled in two receptions for 14 yards, with one catch being a 12-yard touchdown. Gunion will be a player to watch going forward for the Vikings’ program. <em>Defense: </em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="126738" first="Zach" last="Darche"]</strong> – Blue Valley West, LB, <em>Class of ’23</em> Darche is one of the top linebackers in the Class of ’23 rankings for a reason, and he was at his best against the Vikings. It seemed as if Darche had a clone out there with him, because he was all over the field. He was key in limiting SMW’s offense as he piled up 14 total tackles on the night. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="35543" first="Haiden" last="Berndt"]</strong> – Shawnee Mission West, DL, <em>Class of ’22</em> Berndt was another defender for the Vikings that stood out. He was able to find his way into the Jaguars’ backfield to limit Huffman and make Roach uncomfortable in the pocket a few times. Berndt finished the game second behind Knight in total tackles with seven and he had a sack as well. He also came up with a nice 21-yard catch that helped setup the Vikings’ first score. <strong>Brooks Lowe</strong> – Blue Valley West, DL, <em>Class of ’22</em> The Jaguars’ whole defense line caused problems in the trenches throughout the game, but Lowe came away with the top performance from the group. Lowe ended the night third on the team in total tackles with eight and came up with two huge sacks that shifted momentum on separate occasions.