Bulldog Girls Dominate the Court in Home Opener

The Kearney Bulldog girls basketball team defeated the Shawnee Mission North Bison by a final score of 54–32 on Monday, Dec. 10. The Bulldogs scored first and never looked back in their home opener.

Brooke Paalhar scored 11 points on the night.

Kearney took a big lead in the first half and doubled the score at the end of the first and second quarters, 18–9 and 30–15, respectively.

The Bison defense didn't bother the Kearney girls. The Bulldogs were able to do a super job of taking care of the ball and executed on offense. Kearney did a great job playing a tough man to man defense throughout the game and handled anything Shawnee Mission threw at them, whether it was picking them up at half court or a full court 2-2-1 press.

Kearney showed a lot of depth during the game. Eight girls were able to play meaningful minutes throughout the night. They stayed with a man to man defense all night, and offensively found several open lanes for productive points.

The Kearney Bulldogs were led by Maggie Lakin with 16 points.

The Kearney Bulldogs were led by Maggie Lakin with 16 points. Brooke Paalhar had 11, Kennedi Casey added 8, Addie Taylor scored 9, Morgan Pennington had 3, Kayla wrestler scored 3, and Ryleigh Van Emmerik and Mallyrie Schwab-Wetzel both added 2 points.

Coach Resler was pleased with the team’s performance:

“They had no answer for Maggie early on so we just kept feeding her and if somebody else would have got hot we would do the same thing with them. Brooke hit a three…and then we ran that zone play when they switched to zone, [that got] her a wide open look, and unfortunately she missed it but she looked over and just kind of grinned because it was the most open look she had. So that's kind of what we do is try to feed the hand that's hot.”

The Bulldog girls are back in action at home on Tuesday, Dec. 17, as they play a double-header with the Bulldog boys against Grain Valley. KPGZ radio will carry the broadcast starting at 5 pm on 102.7FM and KearneyCountry.com.

KPGZ Sports – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Bulldogs 49-14 over Warrensburg - On to Semifinals

Thunder rolled and lightning flashed in the Missouri Class 4, state quarterfinal playoff round in Warrensburg. The Kearney Bulldog senior running back combination of Tristan Williams and Corbin Emmons combined for 263 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a decisive 49-14 win over the 11-2 Warrensburg Tigers.

Kearney set the tone early, scoring first on a 2-yard Grant Noland run behind a dominating Bulldog offensive line. Jacob Dillon’s point-after kick was perfect for a 7-0 lead.

Corbin Emmons had 96 yards rushing and made two touchdowns for the Bulldogs Friday night.

Warrensburg entered the contest with a 7-game win streak, three of which were playoff wins. Their high-flying offense behind senior quarterback Kobe Westphal struck quickly on a 78-yard pass and run to sophomore ZJ Graham. The point-after kick evened the game at 7-7.

Kearney quarterback Carter Temple ran 11 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter which was set up by a Tre Smith 12-yard, end-around carry. Temple came back immediately with a 2-yard carry for touchdown early in the second quarter giving Kearney a 21-7 lead. Temple would go on to run the ball 12 times for 62 rushing yards.

Warrensburg answered with a Westphal to AJ Smith 22-yard catch and run for touchdown. The Bulldogs came right back with a Tristan Williams 3-yard dash to the endzone to take a 28-14 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs scored on a Grant Noland 1-yard dive with their opening possession in the third quarter. Corbin Emmons tacked on another 1-yard touchdown. The score was 42-14 and Kearney’s defense took to the field with a mission: Hold Warrensburg scoreless in the second half.

“Boys, this is a weight-room game,” said Head Coach Logan Minnick. “I told our kids at halftime, we may not put a receiver on the field the rest of this game,” he continued. “I told our defense, ‘they (Warrensburg) do not score again,’ the defense bought into that, and we got the result we wanted.”

Senior middle linebacker Theo Grace had three tackles, one assist, and three sacks. Grant Noland ran downhill from the safety position recording one tackle, eight assists, a sack, and one tackle for loss.

And so, it continues. Kearney defensive coordinator Marcus Brinkley schemed it perfectly. Kearney’s defense stalled the Warrensburg air show. The Tigers dropped like bricks when they were pressured up the middle or chased down from the edges by the likes of Mason Beaver, Isaac Beaver, Clayton Cowan, Aiden Arellano, Kale Tucking, Tyler Maynard, Theo Grace, Grant Noland, or linebacker/kicker Jacob Dillon, who picked off a pass from a zone coverage that completely frustrated the high-flying Tigers on a potential scoring drive. Mason Beaver even picked off a pass of his own.

Eight sacks, two tackles for loss, and two interceptions; not a bad day at the office by any measure. Corbin Emmons ran 6 yards for the final 49-14 win. Jacob Dillon was perfect on point-after kicks and the Kearney Bulldogs boarded the “yellow dogs” – Coach Minnick’s version of the standard issue school bus – and headed back to Kearney.

By the time any of the players on those buses reads this, they will have moved on to prepare for their next mission; one that requires the utmost urgency. The Lutheran North Crusaders are coming to Kearney for the Missouri Class 4 state semifinal. The winner moves on to the Missouri Class 4 state high school championship game.

Coach Minnick expects his team to play their best football every game; to be stronger, faster, smarter, and tougher with each consecutive contest. This game might perhaps require a mightier effort than the final championship game. We won’t know. Not until we get there. And it won’t be on the “yellow dogs”. It’ll be on a luxury coach.

The Bulldog Radio Network will carry the live broadcast of the semifinal game beginning at 12:40pm on Saturday, November 30, at 1:00pm. Pregame starts at 12:40.

KPGZ News – Mike Davis contributed to this story.

Bulldogs Clinch District Title Over Savannah

For the second straight year, the Kearney Bulldogs are Class 4 District 8 champions. Kearney ran the ball 29 times for 277 yards in a 34-7 district championship win over the Savannah Savages.

Senior Grant Noland scored on a second-quarter 14-yard pass reception from Carter Temple, and a 42-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. He also led the Kearney defense with six solo tackles, four assists, and two tackles for loss.

The Kearney Bulldog defense held Savannah quarterback Aiden Knechtenhofer to only 73 yards passing until a late fourth quarter, 67-yard pass and run to Max Howe for the Savages’ only score. Kearney’s defense slammed the door on any hope of a meaningful Savannah running attack, holding the Savages to only 54 total rushing yards, 41 of which were Knechtenhofer scrambles.

Corbin Emmons dashes in the endzone for a bulldog touchdown. Photo by Eric Stevens.

“Anytime our defense is playing the way they’ve been playing, it doesn't take a ton of points to get to where we need to be,” said Head Coach Logan Minnick.

Bulldog dual-threat quarterback, Carter Temple was 8 of 13 for 85 yards passing and one touchdown. Temple led the Bulldogs in rushing with 95 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Tristan Williams had 66 yards and a touchdown, Noland had 58 yards on 3 carries and a touchdown, and Corbin Emmons rushed for 49 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.

“Coming into this game, we knew Savannah was pretty physical,” said Kearney senior lineman, Nyk Belabre. “We had to be just as physical up front. Our running backs ran hard, and Carter had some great plays.”

“The big guys up front have been good all year and had a great night,” said Minnick. “We challenged them all week. That is a very good defense over there.”

Kearney forced two Savannah turnovers in the first half of play: A Trent Dostal pass interception; and a blocked punt by Jacob Dillon recovered by Conner Reid. Kearney’s offense capitalized on both, scoring 14 points in the second quarter.

Kearney punted the ball once. The defense had six tackles for loss and a sack against a prolific offense led by a talented, athletic quarterback in Aiden Knechtenhofer. The Bulldogs would score three final touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the 34-7 win over Savannah, a team that averaged 34.5 points per game this season.

“You know as we talk about our goals for the year and putting banners up in the gym, this is banner number two this year,” said Minnick. “You win the conference, you win the district and now, we're going to try to make a run at this thing.”

Kearney will face the Warrensburg Tigers in Warrensburg for the state quarterfinal game on Friday, November 22 at 7:00 pm. The Bulldog Radio Network will carry the live broadcast. Pregame begins at 6:40.

Mike Davis contributed to this story.