No. 1 Lee’s Summit North 35, No. 15 Liberty North 13

Lee’s Summit North took advantage of three interceptions to beat Liberty North, 35-13. 

Playing at Liberty North, the Broncos improved to 7-0 on the season and beat the Eagles for the second straight year.

Liberty North (4-3) had won the four previous showdowns in what often had been two of the best teams on the Missouri side of the Metro in recent years. In the previous five meetings, the average winning margin was only six points. 

The game was close at the break, with the Broncos up 14-10.

Lee’s Summit North expanded its lead to 21-10 in the third on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Mickhi Mitchell to Willam Ray with 5 minutes to play in the third.

The Eagles got a second field goal from Bleu Renfrow — this one from 50 yards — to make it 21-13. The play came 5 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Down a possession, the Eagles got the ball back on an interception from Easton Goss. However, Liberty North couldn’t capitalize on the turnover.

A few plays later, Isaac McIntosh intercepted Tillman Martin and ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown with 3:30 left in the game. 

McIntosh had another interception and nearly had his second pick-6, but was taken down at the 4. Montrel Henderson capped the drive with a 2-yard run at the 2:26 mark.

The interception-filled game also featured a 20-yard interception return by Kai Reid in the second quarter for Lee’s Summit North. That gave the Broncos a 14-0 lead.

Liberty North trimmed the deficit on a 52-yard field goal by Renfrow and then a 33-yard interception return by Trashundon Neal.

No. 24 Oak Park 28, No. 23 North Kansas City 21

In a Northland battle, Oak Park pulled way in the second half to beat North Kansas City, 28-21, in Northtown.

Tied at 14 at the break, Oak Park (5-2) went ahead on a run by wide receiver Deng Tong at the 3:01 mark in the third. 

Tong broke a tackle at the 10-yard line and finished the 18-yard touchdown by bulldozing his way into the end zone. 

The Hornets (4-3) forged another 21-21 tie in the fourth quarter, as running back Zhaion Hampton added his second score of the game with 8:39 to play on a 15-yard run with his team facing a third-and-6 situation

Oak Park got the game-winning score with 5:48 left, when Antonio Johnson Jr. connected with Caedin Fields for a touchdown from 35 yards away. 

Donnell Jamison gave NKC a 7-0 lead in the first quarter picking up a fumbled punt. Oak Park then went up 14-7, taking the lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Johnson Jr. to Drew Clemens with 9:14 left in the second. 

Hampton’s 80-yard score happened on the next play to tie the game again. 

The Northmen have now won four in a row against the Hornets, and will entertain No. 22 Liberty next Friday. North Kansas City will travel to Park Hill South.

No. 13 Blue Springs South 41, No. 22 Liberty 24

Blue Springs South notched a no-doubt win over No. 22 Liberty on Friday night.

The Jaguars, No. 13 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, pulled away from the Blue Jays for a convincing 41-24 win in Liberty.  KJ Hawkins and Darius Morgan each ran for over 130 yards for Blue Springs South, now 5-2 for the year.

Blue Springs South raced out to a 27-10 halftime lead behind a 54-yard touchdown pass from Ayden Wilhelm to Wyatt Denney, as well as a nine-yard touchdown from Hawkin for a 13-7 lead. After a Lincoln Dwiggins field goal for a 13-10 margin, the Jags punched in a Morgan six-yard score with 3:43 before half, then Wilhelm hit Gary Hill for a five-yard strike and a 27-10 halftime margin.

Liberty running back Jaxon Hicks busted off a 41-yard touchdown run to bring the margin to 27-17. Hicks finished with 185 yards and two rushing scores in the contest.

But another Morgan nine-yard touchdown run pushed it to 34-17. Liberty drew to 34-24 on a Hicks touchdown reception with 3:55 left, the Jaguars put the nail in the coffin on a Hill 48-yard kickoff return on the ensuing play.

Blue Springs South will host rival No. 17 Blue Springs next Friday, while Liberty travels to No. 24 Oak Park.