MORAN — If there was a play that illustrated Marmaton Valley High’s struggles on a wet and miserable Friday evening, it was an early pass between the Wildcats’ senior standouts, Brayden Lawson and Jaedon Granere.
The Wildcats had slogged their way into scoring territory, but faced a second-and-15 when Lawson found Granere open in the right flat, with room to move.
The play had been successful for many long gainers during the season, and Granere sensed an opportunity to make things happen.
But this time, as Granere cut upfield, his legs slid out from under him in the soggy turf, limiting the speedster to a modest six-yard gain.
The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs two plays later.
Visiting Frankfort had no such trouble with muck. Even after a holding penalty negated a long touchdown pass, the visitors had barely broken stride when Lane Loiseau broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown run two plays later.
The sequence set the tone for the rest of the game. Frankfort’s offense was clicking at high gear, while Marmaton Valley remained stuck, literally.
Frankfort scored on every possession but one, and cruised to a 46-0 victory in the Kansas Eight Man-II regional playoff round. Frankfort advances to this week’s round against Burlingame, while Marmaton Valley sees its season end at 8-2.
“We had hoped with the bad weather conditions that we could lean on our running game,” Marmaton Valley head coach Max Mickunas said. “But they had a great plan for that and didn’t let us run. Our guys weren’t able to find much footing, and on top of that, we were playing a really good team.
“More than anything, I tip my hat to Frankfort,” he said. “I’d never been a part of a muddy, rainy game like that.”
Friday’s matchup was played under a persistent drizzle, accentuated by a steady east wind that turned the middle portions of the MVHS football field into a mud pit.
Frankfort’s offense and defense remained impervious to the elements.
Marmaton Valley’s next three possessions all ended up losing yardage, while Frankfort’s next three all ended up with touchdowns.
Quarterback Wes Anderson found Henry Ketter in stride on what became a 27-yard touchdown run. Loiseau capped another extended drive with a 6-yard touchdown run, and then Anderson found Loiseau for a 24-yard touchdown pass — on fourth-and-24 — with 4 minutes left in the half to make it 30-0 in favor of the visitors.
Marmaton Valley had one more shot at denting the scoreboard. Lawson picked up a first down on a pass to Brevyn Campbell to put the ball at midfield, and then promptly broke loose for a 12-yard run.
