Despite falling behind early, and their offense having the ball for only a minute- and-a-half in the 1st quarter, the Gardner Edgerton High School football team found their offensive and defensive momentum and rumbled to a 42-21 victory over Shawnee Mission East in the first round of the Kansas 6A Football State Championship Playoff Friday night at Gardner Edgerton District Activities Center.

After the game, Trailblazer head coach Jesse Owen spoke about how his team responded to East’s opening salvo and, eventually, controlled the contest.

“We just had to settle in and kind of just weather storm,” said Owen. “They had a good first drive and then an onside, and then they had a big kick return. So, we just had to get possession of the ball a couple of times, and then settle in and give our defense a break. Once our kids settled in, we did much better.”

The Blazers received an epic performance from junior tailback Dylan Butash, who carried the ball 6 times for 134 yards – a whopping 22.3 yards per carry average – and 3 touchdowns. He was part of a GEHS offensive attack that piled up 385 total rushing yards and 451 yards of offense in total.

However, the game started decidedly in the visitors’ favor. Shawnee Mission East took the opening kickoff and – starting from their own 14 – drove 86 yards in 15 plays for the game’s opening score. East senior running back Brandon Roupsouay took a counter carry to the right, found his way impeded by a host of Gardner Edgerton defensive players, then cut back all the way to his left to score a touchdown from 5 yards out. After the Lancers’ junior kicker Sam Ables notched the point-after-touchdown, Shawnee Mission East had a 7-0 lead with 5:03 left in the 1st quarter. The Lancers had two successful 4th down conversions on the drive, including a 4thand- 25. East then jumped on their momentum and successfully executed an onside kick to keep the ball in their hands, taking their 2nd possession of the game at the Trailblazer 48. The Lancers eventually drove to the Blazer 17, but the Gardner Edgerton defense forced an incomplete pass on 4th-and-3, and the GEHS offense took over for the first time with just 1:35 left in the opening period.

The Trailblazer offense took advantage of their long rest and marched straight down the field going 83 yards in 10 plays for the home squad’s first score. GEHS junior fullback Dawson Kindler capped off the drive by punching the ball in from 1-yard out on a dive carry for the Blazers’ first TD. Gardner Edgerton senior kicker Ashton Adrian converted the extra point, and the score was tied at 7-7 with 10:50 left to play in the 2nd quarter.

However, on the ensuing kickoff, Roupsouay took the ball at the Shawnee Mission East 7-yard line and dashed 91 yards down the right sideline, before being tackled at the Trailblazer 2. On the game’s next play, East junior quarterback Elijah Hakim took a QB follow carry around the right end of his offensive 2 yards for a touchdown. Following the Ables’ extra point, the Lancers once again claimed a 7-point lead at 14-7 just 21 seconds after the Blazers had tied it up.

GEHS then flashed their own quick strike capabilities on their next possession. After taking over on their own 31-yard line, Gardner Edgerton needed just 3 plays to even the score. On 3rd-and-5 from the Trailblazer 36, Blazer sophomore quarterback Bravin Powell took a carry around the left end of his offense, toted the ball 5 yards, and then executed a perfect option pitch to Butash, who sprinted down the left sideline 59 yards for the 2nd GEHS touchdown of the night. Adrian successfully kicked the conversion, and the score was tied again at 14-14 with 9:29 left in the half. That was where the score would remain going into the break.

Gardner Edgerton received the first kickoff of the 2nd half and took possession on their own 33. Sticking to the ground game, the Trailblazers traveled 67 yards in 10 plays for a go-ahead score. The drive received its exclamation point from Powell, who took a quarterback follow carry around the right end of his offensive line and hustled 13 yards in for the touchdown. After Adrian’s next successful PAT, the Blazers had their first lead at 21-14 with 7:14 left in the 3rd quarter.

The GEHS defense then forced a 3-and-out on the next Lancer possession and gave their offense the ball at the Gardner Edgerton 46. From there, it again took just three plays to score their fourth touchdown of the evening. On 1st-and-10 from the Shawnee Mission East 38, Butash took a pitch to the left and scrambled all the way into the end zone for his second touchdown. Another Adrian conversion kick made the tally 28-14 with 4:59 still to play in the 3rd.

The Trailblazer defense then gave their offense another opportunity almost immediately. On Shawnee Mission East’s second play of their next possession, Blazer junior safety Eli Porter intercepted a Hakim pass at the GEHS 45 and returned it 43 yards to the East 12-yard line. Three plays later, Powell scored his second touchdown of the evening when he took another quarterback follow carry around the right side of his offensive line, powering 3 yards in for the score. Adrian’s fifth PAT of the night made the score 3514; Gardner Edgerton. It was the Trailblazers’ third touchdown in less than five minutes of play.

The Trailblazer offense wasn’t done. After stopping the next Lancer drive, the Blazers took over on their own 18 toward the end of the third quarter. On the drive’s first play, Powell connected with junior wide receiver Colton Hawkinson on a deep pass down the middle for 51 yards to the Shawnee Mission East 31. Five plays later, Butash dashed in for his third touchdown of the night when he took a pitch from Powell from 11 yards out and glided into the end zone. Adrian’s final PAT of the night made the score 42-14 with 10:35 left to play in the game. East would score one more time to make the final score 42-21; Blazers.?Besides Butash’s mammoth night, GEHS also received significant offensive contributions from Powell – who carried the ball 14 times for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns and was also -2-for-6 passing for 66 yards, Kindler – who had 13 totes for 66 yards and 1 TD, senior tailback Kyle Oatman – 6 carries for 50 yards (8.3 yards per carry), senior tailback Zaine Mayfield – 6 carries for 31 yards, and junior tailback Grant Ellis – 3 carries for 16 yards.

?Gardner Edgerton received several star performances on defense as well, led by senior linebacker Therron Meade who had 3 tackles-for-loss (-25 yards), including 2 sacks (-21 yards) and Eli Porter who hauled in 2 interceptions (+43 yards in returns) and collected 1 pass breakup. Major contributions also came in from junior cornerback Randy Singleton – who piled up 4 pass breakups, junior cornerback Cameron Porter – 3 pass breakups, senior linebacker Conor Ellis – 2 tacklesfor- loss, including 1 sack, senior linebacker Kaleb Green – 1 ½ tackles-forloss (-5 yards), and sophomore defensive back Chase Bojanski – 1 interception (+20 return yards) and 1 pass breakup.

The 4th-seeded (Eastern Division) Trailblazers will next host defending 6A State Champion and 5th-seeded Blue Valley Northwest at Gardner Edgerton District Activities Center at 7:00 P.M. on Friday night in the Regional Championship game.