ShawneeDispatch.com

Leavenworth — Demonstrating its ability to score points in a hurry, the Shawnee Mission Northwest football team fought back from a brief first-half deficit and reeled off 36 consecutive points through the second and third quarters on its way to a convincing 49-14 victory over Leavenworth at the Pioneers’ home turf of Abeles Field.

Senior tailback Bryce Atagi rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while junior quarterback Matt Nowak completed five of nine passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns.

A pair of huge Cougar kick returns — one on a kickoff and the other on a punt — helped shift the momentum to the Cougars’ side after the Pioneers had pulled on top 7-6 halfway through the second quarter.

After the game, Northwest coach Aaron Barnett spoke about the importance of regaining momentum.

“They kind of kept us off balance a little bit,” Barnett said of Leavenworth’s early success, “but we corrected some mistakes in the second half and got some turnovers. In high school football, when you create turnovers and get the momentum on your side you can get things rolling.”

Initially, it looked as if it might take a while before things began rolling for the Cougars. After a Pioneer first drive in which Leavenworth was able to run the ball successfully several times, the Cougar defense finally stiffened and forced the Pioneers to punt from the Cougar 49. A fine kick and a poor return pinned Northwest at its own 2 on its opening possession.

That’s when Atagi went to work. The Cougar tailback rambled for double-digit gains on his first four carries of the game, bringing Northwest into Leavenworth territory. On a third-and-10 from the Leavenworth 45, Nowak rolled out slightly to his right, sucked in the Pioneer defense, then launched a bomb to senior wideout Mark Fancher who caught the ball in stride down the left sideline for a 45-yard Northwest touchdown. Nowak pushed the ensuing extra point attempt wide to the left, however, making the score just 6-0.

Neither team could sustain their next drives through the end of the first quarter and into the second, but Leavenworth would post its first score on the Pioneers’ first possession of the second quarter.

Combining the passing of junior quarterback Byron Hadfield and the running of junior tailback Warren Brown, the Pioneers took advantage of good field position and marched 47 yards in six plays. On third-and-3 from the Northwest 13, Hadfield found a cutting Bruce Adams on a slip screen pass and the senior wide receiver sped into the endzone for the score that put Leavenworth up 7-6.

On the Pioneers’ following kickoff, Leavenworth junior kicker Frankie Washington made a concerted effort to keep the ball away from Fancher — one of the Sunflower League’s most feared speedsters. However, the man the Pioneers ended up kicking to — Atagi — proved he was just as dangerous.

Playing the upback position, Atagi fielded the ball on the Northwest 25 and then rambled, cut, and twisted his way down to the Pioneer 29. Four plays later, on a fourth-and-11 from the Leavenworth 30, Nowak rolled out to his left and launched the ball to a crossing Schuyler Jackson who raced to the front corner of the endzone. An Atagi conversion run later, and the Cougars were back up, 14-7.

Thanks to strong defensive play led by junior linebacker Trey Jacobson, the Cougars held the Pioneers on a three-and-out and prepared to get the ball back in good field position.

Fancher made sure that field position was even better than Northwest had first anticipated.

The senior wideout’s return of 34 yards gave the Cougars a first down on the Leavenworth 17. On the very next play, Nowak rolled out to his right and found senior wide receiver Nick Kolega for a 17-yard toss and touchdown, putting the Cougars up 21-7 with 5:22 left in the first half. That score would stand up through halftime.

After having deferred the game’s opening coin toss, Northwest received the ball to start the second half. Right away the Cougars went to work with Atagi. The first three carries of the third quarter went to the Northwest star and he responded with 37 yards, including a 29-yard scamper on a pitch sweep to the left. On the fifth play of the drive, Atagi again received the pitch sweep to the left, but this time cut it back all the way across the field for a 9-yard touchdown jaunt. The ensuing Nowak PAT made it 28-7 Northwest.

After a Northwest onside kick gave the Pioneers the ball in excellent field position at their own 45, Hadfield looked to capitalize. Looking downfield, the Leavenworth quarterback failed to spy the Cougars’ Jackson, who had cut under the wide receiver route from his defensive back position, and who picked off the Pioneer pass at the Leavenworth 30, returning it 5 yards to the 35.

With Atagi sitting out a drive on the sidelines, the Cougars turned to a running attack keyed by Jacobson and Nowak. On a six-play, 65-yard drive, the pair combined for 50 of those yards on the ground with Jacobson sealing the deal with a 2-yard scoring run at 7:04 left in the third quarter. In less than 5 minutes, the Cougars had extended a 14-point lead to 28 points.

And the Cougars weren’t done. After another Pioneer three-and-out, Northwest took over on its own 33 with 5:36 left in the frame. The Cougars stayed on the ground this time. Nowak began the drive with an 11-yard pickup on a quarterback counter and was then followed by a 25-yard rumbling by Atagi. Three plays later, Nowak handed the ball to senior fullback Ethan Elmer who plowed for 8 yards before finding the ball jarred loose. However, luck was on the side of the Cougars when Kolega spotted the ball coming out of the pile, scooped it up at the 15, and sprinted it to the end zone for his second touchdown. Nowak’s PAT made the score 42-7 Northwest.

Leavenworth answered with a seven-play, 89-yard drive that Brown punctuated with a 15-yard touchdown run to cut the margin to 42-14. However, the Cougars answered four possessions later.

Northwest senior running back Marcus Hamilton carried the ball nine times for 49 yards and a touchdown on a 13-play, 59-yard drive that capped off the Cougar scoring. Hamilton’s 13-yard counter run and junior Adam Giacalone’s PAT made the final score 49-14, Northwest.

Afterward, Barnett was pleased that many of his younger and less experienced players were able to get some valuable experience in the win.

“They work hard in practice,” Barnett said of some of his juniors and sophomores who saw action Friday night, “and even though they get to play sophomore games and JV games, there’s nothing like getting out on Friday night. That’s important to them. It helps everybody else. It helps morale out at practice and helps the kids go a little harder. It gets some enthusiasm on the sideline. It’s just good for the whole team.”

Hamilton collected 53 yards rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries while Jacobson added 33 yards and a touchdown on five carries. The Cougars rushed for 296 yards and gained over 400 yards in total offense.

The win moves the Cougars to 2-0 in the Sunflower League and 4-1 overall. Northwest next plays at 7 p.m. Friday against Olathe Northwest at the College Boulevard Activity Center.

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