Kentucky, MoKan Roll in Opening Round Victories in the FBU NC

<p dir="ltr">The MoKan seventh-grade team made it two-for-two early Saturday afternoon in the first round of the FBU National Championship tournament at St. Pius X high school in Kansas City, Missouri.</p> <p dir="ltr">MoKan repeated the feats of its sixth-grade team earlier in the day, defeating Wisconsin 38-6 to advance to Sunday’s second round. Kentucky then found its first win of the day, steamrolling Indiana 46-0 and causing a running clock for the whole second half.</p> <p dir="ltr">MoKan and Kentucky will play in Sunday’s second round game, with the winner going on to Naples, Florida to compete for the national championship.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>MoKan vs Wisconsin</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Not many teams can turn the ball over four times in the first half and still win the game by 32 points.  <img class="alignleft wp-image-245333 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/12/moKan7th-150x150.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></p> <p dir="ltr">MoKan’s seventh-grade team is one of the few teams who <i>can </i>pull it off.</p> <p dir="ltr">Between two fumbles and two interceptions, MoKan turned the ball over to Wisconsin on four occasions by the halftime break yet still entered halftime with a narrow 8-6 lead.</p> <p dir="ltr">The first of those came just a minute into the game when MoKan fumbled the ball in the midfield on one of the first plays of the game. But just a minute later Wisconsin quarterback <strong>AJ Pheifer</strong> was hit from both front and back, popping out the ball and and allowing MoKan’s <strong>Peyton West</strong> to jump on top of it.</p> <p dir="ltr">Running back <strong>Justyn Lindsay</strong> soon after carried the ball in for a short touchdown run and the following two-point conversion put MoKan 8-0 up.</p> <p dir="ltr">But that was all the luck the tournament host’s would have in the first half, giving up a long touchdown run to Wisconsin’s <strong>Demariay Duncan</strong> after the running back was chased back to almost the halfway line before bursting free.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then the second half started, and MoKan exploded.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We just needed to wake up some,” MoKan team director <strong>Eric Hughlon</strong> said.</p> <p dir="ltr">MoKan exploded for 30 second-half unanswered points, switching out quarterback <strong>Max Wilson</strong> for <strong>Landen Harden</strong>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Harden looked good for two touchdowns while scrambling throughout the second half but both were pulled back for flags on MoKan. He finally got his breakthrough in the final minutes of the game on a short keeper to extend the score to 38-6 and make any thoughts of the first-half turnovers a distant memory.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We always have a motto here that the most important play is the next play. You've got to shake that and get ready to go the next play,” Hughlon said. “That's how we kind of look at it here and that's the motto that we live by.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Indiana vs Kentucky</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">If the game wasn’t already over by the time Indiana quarterback <strong>Woodrow Corey</strong> was backed into his own endzone halfway<img class="alignright wp-image-245328 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/12/CarloChicko-150x150.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> through the second quarter, it was by the time he was decked by the Kentucky defensive line for a safety.</p> <p dir="ltr">The play handed Kentucky an easy two points and a 16-0 lead not even half way through the second quarter. Less than a minute later, Kentucky quarterback Boone Godby lobbed a deep pass over the top that wide receiver <strong>Carlo Chicko</strong> reeled in for a 27-yard touchdown and 23-0 lead.</p> <p dir="ltr">The game was definitely over now.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Those kids right there, that Kentucky team, is a tough, physical team,” Indiana offensive coordinator <strong>Leroy Owens</strong> said. “That team overpowered (us) and just kept going and didn't give up and I applaud them heavily.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Saturday’s fourth game of the day at St. Pius X High School was the most lopsided game of the day; the ball rarely entered Kentucky’s half unless Kentucky was kicking off after a touchdown or returning a punt.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kentucky got the party started within four minutes of kickoff when <strong>Evan Lockridge</strong> ran the ball in from 20 yards out. A third-and-goal push doubled the lead before the safety and subsequent Chicko touchdown was capped off by a 32-yard pick-six by Kentucky’s <strong>Kade Goodin</strong> to bring the score to 30-0 by the halfway mark.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kentucky’s offense continued to pound Indiana to reach the eventual 46-0 scoreline, but the cherry on top was a fake punt from fourth-and-a-mile that saw punter <strong>Kasen Brock</strong> tuck the ball and sprint for 60 yards into the endzone.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kentucky will go on to face MoKan in tomorrow’s final while Indiana will look for some consolation in playing a good game against Wisconsin.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We've got to tell them to have some pride,” Owens said. “Pick it up, have some pride about themselves, and fight like hell tomorrow and try to at least get a win out of here.”</p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Contributed special to PRZ Next by Shaun Goodwin</em></p>