Grain Valley and the Kearney Bulldogs matched up perfectly. The promise of a thrilling battle between these talented, young football teams was fulfilled under the Friday night lights. The outcome was certain to sting one of these teams.

Kearney was first to score on a 55-yard touchdown run by KJ Smith. Smith finished the night with 132 yards on 16 carries. Logan Arellano, Ian Acosta and Cameron Emmons contributed to the Bulldog ground game compiling 188 total rushing yards.

Grain Valley quarterback Caleb Larson tossed a 20-yard touchdown strike to Anthony Greco late in the first Quarter.

With the scored tied at 7-all, Grain Valley’s Jaxon Wyatt ran 29 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:08 to go in the third quarter.

Trailing 14-7 with less than two minutes to go in the game, the Bulldog offense drove 80 yards, setting up an opportunity to tie, or win the game.

With 1:40 to go in the four quarter, deep in their own territory, Bulldog Quarterback Casey Rooney hit tight-end Zach Grace on a desperate fourth-and-10 pass, keeping their comeback chance alive. With a fresh set of downs, Rooney connected with senior wide receiver Ian Costa in full stride on a sideline go-route.

With a minute to play, on first down from the Grain Valley 11-yard line, rolling from the pocket, Casey Rooney threw a tight spiral to the end zone just as Grain Valley linebacker Brody Baker stepped into position to make the interception.

Grain Valley’s offense took over the final seconds of the game for a hard-fought 14-7 victory.

Casey Rooney was 11 of 29 for 173 yards passing and 3 interceptions. Junior tight end Zach Grace was the leading receiver with 8 catches for 111 yards, Ian Acosta had 2 catches for 54 yards and KJ Smith had an 8-yard reception.

Defensively, the Bulldogs had a solid performance. Luke Noland, Daryn Langford and Will Lincoln led the defense in tackles. Kale Conway had one tackle for loss and Drake Cole had a pass deflection.

The 1-3 Kearney Bulldogs are on the road to face the 4-1 Winnetonka Griffins at their new stadium complex next Friday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m.

KPGZ Sports – Mike Davis contributed to this story