Raytown South advanced to the Class 5 District 7 semifinals with a 35-14 home win against Neosho, out of southwest Missouri.

Senior Mylen Simmons did the heavy lifting for the Cardinals, scoring four touchdowns on the ground, as the Cardinals led 21-0 at the break.

It marked the second straight year the Cardinals won a district game on the heels of ending the previous five seasons with a loss in the district opener.

At 8-2 now, the Cardinals have posted their highest win total since 2009 (10-4).

Raytown South hosts Carthage (6-4) next Friday night.

Casey Rooney threw three touchdowns to Manny Linthacum, and Kearney’s defense scored twice in a 56-6 laugher over St. Joseph Benton on Friday in a Class 4 District 8 matchup.

The victory was the seventh in a row for the Bulldogs (8-2), which now faces Savannah (7-3) next week.

Linthacum and Rooney connected on touchdown passes of 49, 29 and 21 yards — all in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs’ defense accounted for a 34-yard pick-six by Conner Reid and a 78-yard fumble return by Carson Shear.

Rooney completed 5-of-8 passes for 155 yards. Kale Tucking, a freshman, paced the Bulldogs’ rushing attack with 120 yards on six carries and one score.

Kearney finished with 373 yards of total offense despite possessing the ball only 15 minutes. The Cardinals (3-7) had the ball for 31 minutes. 

Warrensburg escaped a Class 4 District 5 game thanks to a late field goal from Rylan Henry.

The senior and Missouri State pledge booted a 30-yard field with 1:56 left to give the Tigers a 30-28 win over Osage.

Warrensburg’s defense held off a late charge by the Indians, who drove won to the Tigers’ 37-yard line with 1.9 seconds left but couldn’t convert on a last-second pass attempt. 

Osage went ahead with 5:16 to play — 28-27 — after trailing by two scores at the break.

Warrensburg quarterback Kobe Westphal threw a 13-yard touchdown and ran for scores of 9 and 44 yards in the win. 

The Tigers (6-4) will now play at Pleasant Hill (8-1) in a rematch of a Week 7 Missouri River Valley West conference game. Warrensburg upset the then-unbeaten Roosters, 38-31, for their only loss.

There was no looking ahead to next week's matchup for Platte County. 

The Pirates turned in a 35-7 win over Raytown in the opening round of the Class 5 playoffs, to face perennial power Fort Osage next weekend. 

"Something that we preach is once you get going, you keep going," Platte County head coach Bill Utz said. "I thought the defense did a great job of getting unbelievable field position. The offense was able to capitalize on that with some big plays."

A ground-heavy attack for the Pirates, led by Adam Gisler's 106 yards rushing on 13 carries, crossed the goal line twice in the first quarter. The first was a 16-yard run by Gisler, followed by a Rocco Marriott quarterback keeper to make it 14-0. 

Gisler's second rushing score made it a 21-point lead with five minutes to play in the half. The Pirates went to the air to close the first half scoring. A 26-yard pass from Marriott to Jack Utz had the home team in front 28-0 at halftime. 

Platte County needed less than 30 seconds and just two snaps to trigger the running-clock rule in the second half. Marriott's second TD pass, to Brooks Hall, gave the Pirates a 35-0 lead. 

Raytown's Geguieffa Williams found Jordyn Robinson on an 85-yard bomb that finally got the Bluejays (1-9) on the scoreboard with under nine minutes left to play.