A grass field, a missed opportunity to take control, dropped passes and a Tonganoxie team determined to make a statement added up to a very difficult Friday night for Lansing Lions' football.

The host Chieftains got off the deck following a superb Lions' defensive play to tie the score in the second half, and responded like the 4-1 team they'd soon become to take control in a mildly surprising 28-21 win over the Lions.

Lansing (3-2), a team that played all of its first four games on turf, locked horns with a Tonganoxie grass field and the change in footing may have had some effect on the outcome.

Not rear as much as the Chieftains did.

“The field was no factor at all, no factor whatsoever, both teams played on it and was the same for both teams,” Lansing head coach John McCall said. “It’s frustrating to lose and our hats are off to Tonganoxie’s players and staff. They did a great job. We just got to get better. This was not the performance we wanted.

“We have to learn from it and get better.”

The 1-2 Landing running punch of Quinton McQuillan and Henry Myrick, a week removed from a nearly combined 300 yards, were held by Tonganoxie to 68 yards on 21 carries.

“We couldn’t run the football,” McCall said. “When you don’t have the ability to run the football and we had some new guys in, it’s just one of those nights.”

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