MORAN — Cooper Scharff set the tone early Friday, corralling the opening kickoff, wrestling free of a swarm of would-be tacklers and scampering 70-plus yards for a touchdown.
Scharff and his Marmaton Valley High teammates didn’t let up from there, scoring on every possession in a 58-6 romp over visiting Pleasanton.
The Wildcats (2-1) return home in Week 4 for a Homecoming tilt against St. Paul.
They’ll be hard-pressed to equal Friday’s dominance. Marmaton Valley led 36-0 before either team even took a snap on the Wildcats’ side of the field.
Scharff tacked on scoring runs of 3, 10 and 5 yards, while quarterback Kaden McVey scored on an 11-yard keeper en route to that 36-0 lead just seconds into the second quarter.
Pleasanton found a spark in the second quarter, when Brayden Hutchison connected with Antonio Bustillos on a 51-yard bomb to set up a 4-yard scoring run from Ryker Carpenter two plays later.
But the Wildcats brushed off the big play with one of their own when Mcvey found Ethan Lawson deep for a 47-yard touchdown.
The Blu-Jays turned the ball over on downs, leading to another McVey touchdown, this one covering 6 yards, for a 50-6 advantage.
By then, the only drama boiled down to whether the game would end at halftime.
Pleasanton picked up a first down before Lawson blasted Hutchison to force a fumble. Dagan Barney recovered, paving the way for McVey’s fourth touchdown of the night, a 13-yard pass to Lane Lord with 40 seconds left.
Matthew Pilcher snared an interception on Pleasanton’s final drive of the half, and the game, because the spread was in excess of 46 points at halftime.
Unofficially, McVey completed 4 of 5 passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 36 yards and two more touchdowns. Scharff rushed for 89 yards and had two catches for 18 yards. Lawson and Lord each had touchdowns on their sole receptions of the game.
Hutchison was 5 of 11 for 94 yards. Bustillos had four receptions for 73 yards. Aaron Cook rushed for 22 yards.
Pleasanton 0-6-x-x—6
MV 28-30-x-x—58
MV — Scharff 72 yd kickoff return (Lawson pass from McVey)
