ShawneeDispatch.com

Overland Park — In the 2007 Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association All-Star Game, the Kansas All-Stars ended four long years of frustrating losses to their Missouri counterparts by capturing a 6-3 win.

In 2008 the Kansas All-Stars looked like they may be on their way to starting a streak of their own as, once again, a dominating defensive performance paved the way for a 20-9 victory Thursday night at the Blue Valley District Activities Center.

The Kansas defense recorded seven tackles for losses and forced three turnovers in playing a disciplined brand of football, never letting the Missouri offense get on track. Offensively, Olathe South's Kyson Ginivan came up huge for the Kansans as he nailed two field goals, kicked two extra points, walloped four kickoffs for touchbacks and received a 25-yard touchdown pass for a touchdown from quarterback and Olathe South teammate Mike Keese. For his efforts, Ginivan was named the Kansas side's Most Outstanding Player.

Kansas defensive coordinator and Shawnee Mission Northwest coach Aaron Barnett, serving with Kansas head coach Scott Wright - of Kansas 6A state champion Blue Valley West - put the success of the Kansas team down to two key factors: chemistry and selflessness.

"Coaching's always fun," Barnett said, "but it's really fun when you get to work with the best players out there. Sometimes in all-star games you kind of get a couple of guys who put themselves in front of the team, and, boy, we just didn't have any of that. This was a really good group of kids to work with."

Barnett had the good fortune of being able to coach three of his own Northwest players on the Kansas defensive unit. Cornerback Josh Douglas, linebacker Tyler McKee and defensive end Bryce Murray all started the game for the Kansas side, and it wasn't long before a Cougar player set the tone defensively.

After the Missouri side began to show a steady diet of combo quarterback/running back Donte Strickland (Blue Springs South) in the game's early minutes, Barnett and the Kansas side responded by sending McKee blazing in from the outside on a Missouri pitch to the left. McKee drilled Strickland for a two-yard loss, and the defense began to play more aggressively. The Kansans stopped the Missouri side for two more losses on the possession, establishing a recurring theme.

The Missouri defense countered by being just as good as the Kansas unit in the early going, forcing the Kansans to turn the ball over on downs in their first possession. However, with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter, the Kansas offense took over for their first scoring drive.

Featuring the rushing of Louisburg tailback Jason Spradling, Kansas engaged on a nine-play, 52-yard drive that culminated in a Ginivan 42-yard field goal with 9:30 left in the second quarter, giving Kansas an early 3-0 lead. On the drive, Spradling carried the ball five times for 30 yards.

The Kansans didn't wait long to score again, this time from the defensive side of the ball. On a third-and-10 from the Missouri 37-yard line, Missouri quarterback Andrew Schnell (Lee's Summit) was crushed by linebacker Nick Williams of Olathe Northwest. Williams' hit jarred the ball loose to the right side of the field. There it was scooped up by Schlagle defensive end Eric Coulter, who ran into the end zone from 23 yards out for the game's first touchdown. A Ginivan extra point then made the Kansas lead 10-0 with 5:48 remaining in the half.

Behind St. Joseph Central running back Michael Hill, the Missouri offense drove to the Kansas 34 and looked poised to do some damage with a first-and-10 from that spot. However, a deep Schnell pass along the left side was intercepted by a leaping Jared Vinoverski (Lawrence) nullifying the threat and preserving the lead into halftime.

The second half started fitfully for the Kansas side as it turned the ball over twice in the first six minutes of the third quarter and a Missouri field goal made the score 10-3. Finally, after a missed Missouri field goal attempt, Kansas got going offensively with a nine-play, 69-yard drive that featured a 19-yard Spradling run and a 33-yard completion to Ginivan from Keese. After the drive stalled out at the Missouri 11, Ginivan connected on his second field goal of the night - a 28-yarder - to make the score 13-3.

The Kansans put the game away in the fourth quarter with a five-play, 39-yard scoring drive early in the period.

After a Douglas punt return gave Kansas the ball at the Missouri 39 and a Missouri personal foul penalty moved the ball to the 24, Keese found Ginivan again - this time over the top of the Missouri defense - for an over-the-shoulder touchdown catch with 6:07 remaining. Ginivan's ensuing extra point gave Kansas a 20-3 lead.

Joining Ginivan to celebrate in the endzone was Shawnee Mission North's Aaron Sawyer, a receiver on the Kansas squad. Sawyer served primarily as a blocker during the game and didn't catch a pass, but he said he enjoyed playing with the area's top players.

"It's good to see the best of the best and come out and play with them and learn from them," Sawyer said.

A late touchdown from the Missouri side made the final 20-9, but the game was primarily a one-sided affair with a dominating performance by the Kansas defense.

"This is an awesome feeling," Murray said, "because the group really pulled together, everybody did their job, and it just worked out for us. This is a great group of guys. We're all really close. We all just jelled perfectly and were able to make it happen out there tonight."

McKee, who had been designated by his teammates with the honor of being one of the Kansas co-captains for the game, echoed Murray's sentiments.

"Tonight I feel like we really stepped it up," McKee said. "We did everything. We were in the right spots every time. We didn't make stupid penalties. We weren't late-hitting anybody. Everybody listened at practice and I think that's a big reason we did well tonight."