Huskies season ends with 56-42 loss to Cougars
The varsity football team was defeated in the first round of substate by Shawnee Mission Northwest, 56-42, on Friday Nov. 1. In the loss, sophomore quarterback Mikey Pauley finished with 410 total yards and 5 touchdowns. The Huskies finish the 2019 season with a record of 2-7.
November 2, 2019
Starting the game slow, the Huskies found themselves looking at a 21 point deficit early in the first half. Looking for an answer, sophomore quarterback Mikey Pauley would find senior Evan Ranallo for a 53-yard touchdown.
Trailing 21-7, the Huskies and Cougars would score back and forth throughout the game, with the defenses unable to stop either of the opposing team’s offense. Head coach Clint Rider said the team’s inability to stop the Cougars running back was costly.
“I think we probably needed to have a better answer for number five, because he’s a great player,” Rider said. “We could have tracked the quarterback a lot better and running through tackles instead of diving.”
A big part of the Huskies game plan was to feed senior running back Edward Thomas. Thomas would finish the game with 80 yards rushing and a touchdown along with a 47-yard touchdown reception. Playing in his last game for the Huskies, Thomas said finding the endzone twice was very emotional for him.
“It was emotional, the main thing I was trying to do was just finish,” Thomas said. “Just knowing this was my last game of high school football, all of the effort and work and blood, sweat and tears I put into this stuff. It is pretty emotional.”
Totalling 57 receiving yards and a touchdown, sophomore receiver Josh Cusick said it was a relief to score for the first time this season.
“It was good, it felt relieving to finally get into the end zone,” Cusick said. “It was kind of like a weight off my shoulders and I had been waiting for it all season.”
Totalling 410 yards with five touchdowns and an interception, Pauley said he was focused on attacking the Cougars’ weak defense.
“Their defense was definitely weak, and we attacked that,” Pauley said. “We wanted to go at their defense with everything we had and I thought it put us in the game, kept us close, but it wasn’t enough.”
After an 0-9 season in 2018, the Huskies were able to improve with two wins in the 2019 season. Rider said the team will look to build upon the wins for the 2020 season.
“We took some steps forward. We let the Southwest game get away from us, but beating North was a monumental mark for us,” Rider said. “So, I thought it was something we could really build upon going into next year.”
