BonnerSprings.com

On a rain-free night when arguably the three fastest guys in the Kaw Valley League squared off on a turf field, it was the defenses that stole the show.

A pair of second-half interceptions set up two Mill Valley touchdowns as the Jaguars and tailback Nick Woods — the reigning KVL rushing champ — held off Bonner Springs and the state champion sprinters Jonathan and Jeremy Walker, 12-7, on Friday night at David Jaynes Stadium.

“The defense pursued so well; they hustled,” Mill Valley coach George Radell said. “You know, 1 (Jonathan Walker) and 4 (Jeremy Walker) would break their runs, but the pursuit was so good. We could catch up with them and pursue to them. There was a lot of effort on the defense’s part for sure.”

Neither team makes it a surprise that they primarily give the ball to their speedy backs on offense, but it didn’t matter. Both defenses were well prepared for it.

Mill Valley used its trademark rushing attack. The Jaguars used a variety of misdirection plays with Woods receiving the bulk of the carries but Taylor Brown, Justin Muldoon, Shawn Stene and Kellen Kinnamon rushing to mix it up.

Nothing seemed to work.

Woods ran hard and barreled over numerous tacklers, and Stene had a couple hard-nosed carries, but the Braves’ defense wouldn’t budge. Jordan Chaney, Brandon Mills, Garron Wayne, Jake Barren, Max Barren, Korey Sanborn and the Walker twins routinely heard their names over the public address system after dragging down Jaguar runners.

“Our coaches scouted them out real well and broke apart film,” Jake Barren said. “I give them (coaches) that gratitude because they prepared us real well for all their running plays.”

Of course, the same scenario played out the other way around. Bonner Springs completed just two passes for 22 yards in the first half, and the ground game was equally immobile. Jonathan Walker had 44 yards on six carries before intermission, but only one was for double-digit yardage. Any time he appeared to have room to move, Matt Acree, Chris Mayer, Josh Van Holland, Slobodan Kanatzar, Kinnamon, Woods or another Jaguar was there to knock him down.

“Their defense did a good job on us,” BSHS coach Lew Kasselman said. “We just couldn’t seem to handle their front very well. We ended up moving the ball some, but it was a good game. Whoever was going to make a mistake wasn’t going to win this game, and we made some mistakes that cost us.”

The tackles came in bunches, and both teams looked a bit fatigued as they headed to the locker rooms at halftime — despite the lack of long runs to show for it.

The third quarter was more of the same. Fast guys were tackled by swarming defenses, and zeros remained on the board until late in the quarter. BSHS quarterback Brandon Eastland fired a pass toward the sideline, but Mill Valley cornerback Tanner Rainbolt jumped the route, picked off the pass and raced 45 yards before Jonathan Walker dragged him to the ground at the 5-yard line. One play later, Woods trotted into the endzone. Mark Biesma’s extra point try sailed wide to the right, but with 4:00 left in the quarter the Jaguars led 6-0.

Both teams punted on their next possessions, but midway through the fourth quarter Bonner Springs was driving again. After three straight carries by Jonathan Walker, an 18-yard completion to Jeremy Walker was called back for an illegal block in the back. No worries. Jonathan Walker ran for 14 yards on the next play for a first down. Three plays later the Braves returned to the air, but this time Jamie Roth read the play, picked off the pass and returned it 42 yards before Chris Smith stopped him at the 28-yard line. Four plays later — and aided by two BSHS penalties — Woods scored on a 9-yard run. The 2-point conversion try was no good, but Mill Valley led 12-0 with 4:43 left.

Woods intercepted an Eastland pass on the ensuing possession, but he coughed up the ball on the next play and gave Bonner Springs new life. This time the Braves used a 25-yard run by Jonathan Walker and a 23-yard run by Jeremy Walker to push the ball into the red zone. Jonathan Walker scored on a 10-yard toss play, and Chance Crawford’s extra point was good. That brought the Braves within 12-7, but only 45 seconds remained. Mill Valley recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock on the victory.

It was a defensive grind,” Rainbolt said of the victory. “Both of these teams are powerful offenses. Our game plan was to go out there, shut down the two fast guys and make everyone else beat us. It ended up working for us tonight.”

Woods finished with 122 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, despite not having a single double-digit yardage run all night. Jonathan Walker led BSHS with 137 yards rushing and a touchdown on 19 carries. Seventy-seven of those yards came in the fourth quarter.

Mill Valley improved to 3-1 with the victory. Bonner Springs fell to 2-2 overall after winning its first two games of the season.

Kasselman said that despite the losses, he expected his team to bounce back.

“We’ll have to work,” he said. “I told them the losses hurt and stuff, and we can’t let it steamroll. We’re going to have to light a fire, but it’s still a young season. I just felt we were a little flat tonight. I guess maybe that loss last week took some spunk out of us, but that’s no excuse.”