Shawnee Dispatch

The Shawnee Mission Northwest High School football team began its playoff run Friday night, as it hosted Shawnee Mission North High School at Shawnee Mission North High School in Shawnee. After trailing by a score of 0-21, Shawnee Mission Northwest (5-4) used a four-touchdown comeback to defeat Shawnee Mission North (4-5) by a score of 35-28.

Shawnee Mission Northwest got the ball to open the game. It went on a 12-play drive, but turned the ball over on downs to give Shawnee Mission North its first possession of the night.

Junior running back De'Aric Quinn opened Shawnee Mission North's first possession with a 14-yard run. Shawnee Mission North drove the ball for seven more plays, but punted the ball to give a possession back to Shawnee Mission Northwest.

After three punts by both teams, Shawnee Mission North got a successful possession. On its first offensive possession of the second quarter, senior wide receiver Billy Conaway ran the ball 15 yards for a first down. Conaway added a 15-yard catch to get his team into the red zone.

Six plays later, Conaway scored on a two-yard rushing touchdown to give Shawnee Mission North a 0-7 lead with 8:06 left in the half.

After a Shawnee Mission Northwest three-and-out, Shawnee Mission North got the ball back. Conaway scored on a 39-yard touchdown run to cap a six-play drive to give Shawnee Mission North a 0-14 lead with 5:03 remaining in the half.

After another Shawnee Mission Northwest punt, Shawnee Mission North got another possession. It went on a five-play drive that was capped by a 56-yard rushing touchdown by Quinn to give Shawnee Mission North a 0-21 lead over Shawnee Mission Northwest with 1:28 left in the half.

After a drive-opening sack by Shawnee Mission North junior Rylan Miller, Shawnee Mission Northwest got into the red zone on a 20-yard catch by junior Ty Lindenman. Two plays later, Shawnee Mission Northwest added its first score of the night.

Sophomore wide receiver Justin Mitchell threw a two-yard touchdown to sophomore quarterback Ty Black on a double-reverse play. The score came as the clock expired, and Shawnee Mission Northwest trailed Shawnee Mission North by a score of 7-21 at halftime.

Shawnee Mission North went three-and-out on its first possession of the second half.

Shawnee Mission Northwest went on a 12-play drive on its first possession of the second half. The drive ended on a one-yard rushing touchdown from Black to make it a 14-21 ballgame with 7:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Shawnee Mission Northwest got the ball back on the next possession. Senior defensive lineman Donte Beasley recovered a fumble by Shawnee Mission North senior quarterback Zach Bush to get a possession with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

Shawnee Mission Northwest completed its comeback on its possession following the forced turnover. On the seventh play of the possession, Black crossed the end zone on a two-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

Shawnee Mission North went on a nine-play drive on its next possession. It elected to try a 22-yard field goal to attempt to take the lead with 11:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. The field goal missed wide left. Shawnee Mission Northwest got the ball back.

Shawnee Mission Northwest went on an 11-play drive on its next possession. Black hit Mitchell on a seven-yard touchdown pass to give Shawnee Mission Northwest its first lead of the game. It led Shawnee Mission North by a score of 28-21 with 8:06 remaining in regulation.

Shawnee Mission North tied the game in two plays. Conaway scored on a 60-yard touchdown run to make it a 28-28 game with 7:41 remaining in regulation.

Shawnee Mission Northwest went on a 15-play drive on its next possession. It took a 35-28 lead after Black hit senior wide receiver Dale Talley III in the back of the end zone on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:08 remaining in the game.

"We had a choice to (go to Lindenman). I just didn't have very much time. That's not discrediting our offensive line. They were awesome. I saw (Talley) in the back of the end zone. I know he's a great player. I threw it up to him and he made the catch," Black said.

On Shawnee Mission North's first play following the touchdown, Bush hit Conaway for a 33-yard gain. Two plays later, Shawnee Mission Northwest senior defensive back Spencer Gruwell intercepted Bush to give his team the ball back with 37.2 seconds remaining in the game.

Shawnee Mission Northwest ran the clock out to take the 35-28 victory.

"We showed a lot of gumption, being down by 21 points and finding a way to come back. It wasn't easy. (His team) fought and scraped and never quit. They did all the things that coaches talk about. It was an exciting way to win," Shawnee Mission Northwest head coach Bo Black said.

Black completed 30-of-41 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 21 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns. He caught one pass for two yards and one touchdown.

"We asked (Black) to do a lot of things. He had some success. He did a really good job of checking us into the right plays. He checked his runs into the right place. All of that was really good," Bo said.

Quinn led Shawnee Mission North with 142 yards rushing on 20 carries while scoring one touchdown. Conaway ran the ball five times for 124 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He caught three passes for 57 yards.

Shawnee Mission North ended its season with a 4-5 record.

"We left it all out on the field. I don't think anyone is going to be able to question their heart or their drive. They did a lot of stuff this year that a lot of people thought they couldn't do. I'm so proud of them. They never quit," Shawnee Mission North head coach Zach Rampy said.

Shawnee Mission Northwest will be back in action Nov. 2, when it will face top-seeded Gardner-Edgerton High School in the Regional round.

Gardner-Edgerton defeated Shawnee Mission Northwest on the road by a score of 27-41 Oct. 11. The game will be played at Gardner-Edgerton High School at 7 p.m.

"We know (Gardner-Edgerton) is the No. 1 seed. We know that we're going to give everything that we've got. We know that we can make adjustments from the other game. We'll see what happens," Black said.