ShawneeDispatch.com

Shawnee — Mill Valley players walked quietly out of the locker room on Friday.

They carried shoulder pads and helmets.

Parents tried to give them a leftover hamburger for the road, but most just refused.

There was little joy.

Mill Valley had lost to Bonner Springs, 27-10, and now players were looking to regroup.

Their vaunted offense, for a night, had been grounded by injuries, and their defense couldn't contain Bonner Springs' skill position players.

It is the type of game that coach George Radell would just as soon have his team forget.

"We can't be thinking about this game on Monday," Radell said Friday. "We just have to go on."

Injuries played a big role in the game.

A couple of weeks ago, Mill Valley looked like an offensive juggernaut.

Nicholas Woods was picking up more than 150 yards a game and Luke Lawyer was igniting the team's passing game.

Then, the injuries came.

Woods had a few nagging injuries and rushed the football just six times for 14 yards on Friday. The week before he had carried once. Lawyer, who had thrown for four touchdowns and 239 yards last week in the team's win over Tonganoxie, injured his collarbone on the first series of the game.

With his teammates injured, Mill Valley senior Zak King rushed 16 times for 100 yards and scored a touchdown.

He also made a first quarter field goal to give Mill Valley an early lead, which was also the team's only lead of the game.

Bonner Springs' skill position players told the other part of the story.

Braves running back Jonathan Walker rushed 19 times for 162 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

Walker looked like he was going to be tackled for a loss but managed to make the Mill Valley defenders miss.

On his third quarter touchdown run, Walker dodged a would-be tackler and rushed 63 yards for the touchdown, which was his second of the game. The score gave his team a 27-10 lead and was the final score of the game.

Walker scored his first touchdown in the second quarter to give Bonner Springs a 14-3 lead.

Walker credited the team with his success and recalled a morning conversation with his uncle.

"My uncle told me this morning not to stop moving my feet," he said. "I just wanted to keep my feet moving and thought of him when I scored that first touchdown."

Walker and teammate Tyler Jock ran behind an offensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game. The Braves were able to move the ball at will on Mill Valley and played a complete game of football, Bonner Springs coach Lew Kasselman said.

"Four quarters is what it took, you came out, made a statement and got after them," Kasselman said to his team after the game. "They were a good team."

The Braves' first half play set them apart.

King got the Jaguars on the board early in the first quarter by making a field goal just a couple plays after Lawyer was injured.

After the kickoff, a King touchback, Bonner running backs plowed through holes for five yards at a time and the drive ended with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Jock to Byron Williams. Ryan Bush made the extra point.

Mill Valley failed to pick up a first down on its next possession.

Bonner Springs drove the ball 89 yards and Walker scored his first touchdown of the game from eight-yards out. Mill Valley answered with a 60-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the play clock.

It was a steady diet of King running the football and scored the aforementioned touchdown with 2:52 to play in the second quarter.

Bonner concluded the half with another long scoring drive that ended with a Jock touchdown run.

The two teams are now tied for the Kaw Valley League lead along with Lansing who is also 4-1 and Perry Lecompton.

Mill Valley plays Lansing at 7 p.m. Friday. Kickoffs are set for 7 p.m.