Game Balls From the KC Metro: Week 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Postseason football is officially upon us. If the playoffs are anything like what we saw during the regular season, then folks are going to be in for a nice treat. But before we dive deep into playoff previews, I wanted to wrap up the regular season with one last game ball report. Here are the eight recipients from Week 8's slate of games in the Kansas City metro and surrounding counties.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Offense</span></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='945017' first='Traimyre' last='Woodruff'] - Shawnee Mission Northwest, 5'11”, 180, ATH, Class of ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting us off first is one of the few prospects in the metro that has received a third game ball this season. That just speaks to the type of senior campaign Woodruff has put together. In the regular season finale he rushed for nearly 250 yards and found the end zone multiple times.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='780477' first='Blaise' last='Adger'] - Olathe North, 5'10”, 190, RB, Class of ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adger's first appearance in the game ball series unfortunately comes after a tough loss in Week 8. However, that doesn't diminish his standout performance. The Olathe North product rushed for 118 yards on 15 carries and caught two passes for 28 yards. He also managed to hit pay dirt once.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1229094' first='Josh' last='Foland'] - Olathe West, 6'0”, 200, RB, Class of ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Foland of Olathe West earns his first game ball of the season after helping the Owls cap off their impressive regular season with a <em>Sunflower League</em> title. In Olathe West's win over Olathe Northwest Foland carried the ball 17 times for 149 yards with two scores.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Max Piva</strong> - Mill Valley, 6'0”, 205, RB, Class of ‘27, Unranked</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This next prospect has been on absolute fire this season. Especially the past two weeks. But in this report I'm highlighting Piva's most recent performance. For a fourth time this fall Piva rushed for more than 170 yards, as he accumulated 172 yards on just 16 carries. Look for Piva to be a highly ranked newcomer in the next Class of ‘27 rankings update. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1341050' first='Jacob' last='Lockett'] - Blue Valley, 6'0”, 170, WR, Class of ‘27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lockett of Blue Valley is the final offensive prospect from this game ball report. Blue Valley ultimately came up short against Bishop Miege in Week 8, but Lockett played a big role in the 41-34 shootout. He hauled in a season-high 10 catches and went on to rack up 115 yards and hit pay dirt twice&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Defense</span></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alex Bart</strong> - Lawrence, 6'5”, 225, DL, Class of ‘27, Unranked</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a down year for the Lawrence High Chesty Lions, but their win in Week 8 was surely satisfying for the program. The Chesty Lions picked up their first victory of the season against bitter rival Lawrence Free State. Lawrence's defense was dominant during the contest, and junior <strong>Alex Bart</strong> helped shut down Free State's offense. Bart recorded 12 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He's another strong candidate for the next Class of ‘27 update. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1394779' first='Jacob' last='Sharp'] - Basehor-Linwood, 5'11”, 195, LB, Class of ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sharp of Basehor-Linwood put together yet another strong defensive performance in the final week of the regular season. The senior tallied more than 10 total tackles for the fifth time this season, as he piled up 12 total in Basehor's dominating win over Lansing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Special Teams</span></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1542943' first='Dylan' last='Wiman'] - Olathe West, 6'1”, 205, K, Class of ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wiman was another prospect that came up big in Olathe West's Week 8 victory. He was automatic as he connected on all four of his PAT's, and drilled his lone field goal attempt which was a 47 yarder.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->