Football: Balanced attack leads to win over Staley
P.A.T. Preparing to kick, sophomore kicker Xander Shepherd (96) lines himself up with junior place holder Greg Menne. Shepherd was 3-4 on PATs and 3-3 on field goals.
September 9, 2021
The varsity football team won their second game of the 21-22 season 36-21 over Staley High School. The last time our varsity team won against Staley was in 2018 at the Class 5 State Tournament.
The team’s success was dependent on the offensive lineman’s ability to protect junior quarterback Greg Menne and his most successful running back, senior Javen Hall, who led the team with a total of 96 rushing yards. Junior offensive lineman Jayce Kern believes his energy helped the Indians beat the Falcons.
“I feel like my energy coming into the game and continuing throughout the whole game, even with our 55 minute delay is what helped me,” Kern said in a Snapchat interview. “I remembered how I felt when they ended our season last year and I played with that chip on my shoulder all game.”
The defense put the pressure on the Falcons offense, keeping them down to only 45 rushing yards. They compiled a total of 37 tackles throughout the game, as well as recovering three fumbles from Staley. Senior middle linebacker Daniel Tapusoa recovered two of those fumbles. Tapusoa feels very happy his team won against a difficult opponent.
“It felt like the greatest thing ever in the moment, as does every win, but especially this one because it was against an always tough and resilient Staley team,” Tapusoa said in a snapchat interview.
The team fought hard to get a total of 333 well balanced offensive yards (184 yards passing, 149 yards rushing). Junior Christen Penamon led the team with 75 receiving yards and gave the Indians their first touchdown of the game. Penamon thinks his momentum led the Indians to a win.
“After being down one touchdown and seeing heads go down I knew it was time to step up and make a play,” Christen Penamon said. “After that we were focused from there forward no matter what obstacles came in our way and we started to play Indians football.”
The special teams once again brought the heat by kicker sophomore Xander Shepherd making three PATS and three field goals, totaling 12 points to help secure the win for the Indians. The football team will take on North Kansas City High School at 7 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2021 at the North Kansas City Stadium.
