Fresh off their second win of the season, senior Evan Ranallo said he believed the Blue Valley Northwest football team was motivated to secure another win on senior night against Bishop Miege High School. 

“We beat [Blue Valley] North and that was really big and exciting and then this week we were kind of riding high off that,” Ranallo said. 

Despite their positive attitude following their win against North, Ranallo felt the Huskies were not focused during practice, causing them to not prepare well for their game against Bishop Miege.

“We weren’t super focused in practice,” Ranallo said. “I just don’t think we prepared like we needed to for this opponent.” 

However, Head Coach Clint Rider said his team appeared ready and had a desire to perform well on senior night. 

“It seemed like we were ready to play,” Rider said. 

Although BVNW was seemingly ready to compete against BMHS, the Huskies gave up 28 points in the first quarter. 

Contributing to BMHS’s 28 point lead, sophomore quarterback Mikey Pauley threw three interceptions in the first quarter, one of which was returned for a touchdown. 

Along with allowing the Stags to score 21 more points, the Huskies scored one touchdown in the second quarter. 

With 2:43 remaining in the second quarter, Ranallo scored a touchdown off a pass from Pauley, followed by a successful two point conversion. Making the score at the end of the first half, 8-49. 

“[To score a touchdown on senior night] felt amazing,” Ranallo said. “I feel like I went out there and tried as hard as I could and it felt amazing to score.”

To start off the third quarter, Bishop Miege got a safety and a touchdown, increasing their lead by 9 points. 

With 2:21 remaining in the third quarter, senior Edward Thomas scored the Huskies’ second and last touchdown of the game. 

 “I scored a touchdown and had some good runs,” Thomas said. “[Overall] I was just trying to hype up the sideline and get them motivated.” 

At the end of the third quarter, the Huskies trailed the Stags, 15-58. This score remained the same for the rest of the game, making the final score, 15-58. 

Along with this game, came senior recognition, honoring the dedication and hardwork the football seniors have put into developing this program. 

“Our seniors have given a lot to the program over the last three years,” Rider said. “They’ve stuck with us when they could have decided not to.”

Though this loss ended the Huskies regular season, they are looking to improve their performance next week, for their first playoff game. 

“We are going to watch film tomorrow and learn from our mistakes,” Thomas said. “We have to be all in 100% as a unit and as a team.” 

Ranallo agreed with Thomas, saying that the Huskies need to utilize their practice time in order to perform well next week. 

  “We just need to focus this week and have a really good week in practice,” Ranallo said.

As far as Rider’s plan for next week’s playoff game, he notes the higher stakes attributed to the game, as well as the importance of winning. 

“We just gotta forget about tonight,” Rider said. “It is win or go home now.”