The Lee's Summit Titans found themselves in a tight game, down the stretch, against Ray-Pec.
However, the Titans controlled the ball and the clock and was able to hold off the Panthers 20-13 in the Missouri 2nd Round playoff game.
"It's always a battle with Ray-Pec," Head Coach Vincent Careswell succinctly said after the game. "We wanted to make sure that nothing got behind us. You know, our defense played stout that whole entire fourth quarter. Our offense really controlled the ball, gave us a chance to win there at the end. I'm extremely proud of these guys."
Lee's Summit West scored first on a Phillip Brooks 70-yard touchdown run in the first half to go up 7-0. The score stayed the same through the end of the first quarter and the early part of the second quarter. The Panthers reasserted themselves with a rushing attack of their own. Ray-Pec's Chris McKinzy scored on a 40-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at seven. Both sides played very well on defense throughout the first half. However, it was the Panthers who took a 10-7 halftime lead on a 22-yard field goal by Freshman Kicker Gabe Sappington.
The home crowd was stunned and it looked as if an upset was brewing. Lee's Summit wasn't used to being down very much this past year and in the previous years. The Titans have won state championships in 2007, 2010 and 2013. Thoughts of playoff failure quickly dissipated.
Senior Quarterback Cole Taylor threw a perfect pass to Senior Wide Receiver Zach Shanholtzer for a 68-yard touchdown. That gave Lee's Summit West a 14-10 lead in the third quarter. The Titans would march down the field once more and score another touchdown. This time it was a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Phillip Brooks. It was his second rushing TD of the day. Lee's Summit West would miss the two-point conversion. However, the two third-quarter scores extended the lead to 20-10. The Titans were using the ground-and-pound game to control the clock and the defense kept Ray-Pec out of the end zone, in the quarter, following halftime.
"[The] running game was good. Phillip Brooks was good tonight," said Coach Careswell. "Cole Taylor ran well. Mario [Goodrich] got a few carries in there."
Ray-Pec cut their deficit to seven after hitting a field goal with 4:48 left in the fourth quarter. Head Coach Tom Kruse and company left it up to the Panthers defense to get the ball back and stop Lee's Summit West. They were able to do so, when the defense stopped the Titans on a critical 4th down play with 1:13 left on the clock.
The Panthers drove the ball down to Lee's Summit West's 44-yard-line. However, Ray-Pec only gained four yards in four downs and was stopped on 4th down at the Panthers' 40-yard-line. That gave the ball back to the Titans and ensured them that they would advance to Missouri Class 6 State Quarterfinals. Lee's Sumit West to face Rockhurst - they beat Kickapoo 26-3 - a team they've never faced ever.
"Haven't seen anything on them. We've never played them. Our program, this is a first for Lee's Summit West to play Rockhurst," Careswell said. "[I'm] extremely proud [and] ready to face Rockhurst."
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Ryan Marshall can be reached at Ryan.Marshall@KSHB.com.
