Lee’s Summit North & West, Rockhurst, Grain Valley among Friday’s prep football winners

It was a wild opening night for Missouri high school football around Kansas City.

Here’s a recap of some key games:

Lee’s Summit North 27, Liberty North 20

A battle of the top two teams in the city certainly lived up to the hype.

Lee’s Summit North, No. 1 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, outlasted No. 2 Liberty North 27-20 in a game that approached midnight before a packed house of 3,000-plus.

The Eagles looked to carry a 10-7 lead into halftime, but Lee’s Summit North used its timeouts and then hit the jackpot when quarterback Elijah Leonard connected with junior Isaiah Mozee.

Mozee broke numerous tackles and jetted for a 59-yard touchdown that made it 14-10 Lee’s Summit North at halftime.

Leonard worked more magic after an Eagles turnover — an errant pitch in the backfield gave the ball to the Broncos at the Eagles’ 3. Three plays later, Leonard scrambled around, eluded a tackler, stepped up and lofted a touchdown pass for a 21-10 lead.

Liberty North came right back on a Jacory Love 94-yard kickoff return, but Leonard capped a nine-play, 93-yard drive with a one-yard plunge and a 27-17 advantage. Leonard finished with 169 passing yards and three touchdowns by air and another score on the ground.

Rockhurst 31, Raymore-Peculiar 0

Rockhurst’s tried and true formula — defense and running game — looks to be back in 2023.

The Hawklets blitzed Raymore-Peculiar 31-0 in both teams’ season opener at Dasta Stadium. Rockhurst (1-0) relied on the legs of Ethan Hansen and Aidan Ryan and a senior-laden lineup to blank the Panthers.

Hansen, Rockhurst’s senior quarterback, capped a first-quarter drive with a 30-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 2:45 left. Ryan got into the end zone on a three-yard plunge with 6:05 left before halftime.

Senior linebacker Tommy Coppinger then picked off Ray-Pec to set up a short-field drive, highlighted by another 3-yard Ryan TD for a 21-0 halftime lead.

Rockhurst sealed the game when Hansen scampered up the middle, broke through the Ray-Pec defenders and outraced the defense for a 72-yard touchdown that made it 28-0.

Lee’s Summit West 17, Liberty 10 (OT)

Lee’s Summit West snapped its losing streak against Liberty in style.

The Titans, who had lost to the Blue Jays four years in a row, rallied from two scores down to topple Liberty 17-10 in overtime.

West, which trailed 10-0 at halftime, fought back with a field goal and 12-play, 65-yard drive to tie the game. Caden Carter threw a 10-yard touchdown strike to Adam Woolridge.

In overtime, the Titans (1-0) found the end zone after Quincy Torry’s runs of 9 and 8 yards. Amari Perkins scored a 3-yard TD on the ground to put West ahead for good. On the ensuing play, West recovered a fumble by Liberty quarterback Christian Kuchta to end the game.

Carter (96 yards) and Torry (88 yards) led the Titans in rushing, while Liberty’s Jaxon Hicks had a game-high 112 rushing yards.

Platte County 21, Kearney 18

Platte County opened the season with a 21-18 win over Kearney in a Highway 92 Showdown.

The Pirates (1-0) took advantage of four Bulldog turnovers for their fourth win in five tries against rival Kearney.

Platte County’s first lead came on a pass from quarterback Rocco Marriott to Tres Baskerville. An interception set it up.

Kearney, 10-1 last year, answered and regained the lead on Tristan Williams’ 14-yard touchdown run with 11:08. And the next two series determined the winner.

Marriott threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Braiden Stevens with 10 minutes left, restoring the Pirates’ lead at 14-10.

Kearney quarterback Grant Noland then appeared to score a touchdown on the run, but a penalty negated the play and the Bulldogs couldn’t regain command.

Instead, a 44-yard touchdown run by Platte County’s Adam Gisler put the Pirates up 21-10 with 7:38 to go. Gisler finished with 115 yards.

Kearney pulled within a possession with two minutes left on a TD pass from Noland to Bryce Page. But the Pirates recovered the onside-kick attempt to ice their victory.

Grain Valley 46, Fort Osage 42

Grain Valley overcame a 10-point deficit with less than 6 minutes to play and beat Fort Osage 46-42.

Blue Springs transfer quarterback Sal Calderella hit Aaron Barr for a 22-yard touchdown with 37.2 seconds left to cement the Eagles’ win.

Ryver Peppers scored a trio of touchdowns for the Indians. His last one made it 42-32 in favor of the visitors with 5:47 to play. Peppers rushed for a team-high 171 yards.

Fost Osage built a 28-13 lead midway in the third quarter, but Caldarella hit Noah Olah for a 50-yard scoring strike and Ty Williams added his second TD to help the Eagles pull within two, 28-26. Williams, a senior running back for Grain Valley, finished with a game-high 228 rushing yards and four TDs.

Fort Osage built a 42-32 lead on Peppers’ final touchdown, but Grain Valley came back on another big scoring pass from Caldarella to Olah, this time for 43 yards. The Eagles’ defense then stepped up with a three-and-out, resulting in a scoring drive capped by Caldarella’s third TD pass (to Barr).

For more scores, stats, rankings and features, visit 810Varsity.com.