Friday night lights in Missouri: Blue Springs South, Liberty, St. Pius X advance

Here’s a look at highlights from some big high school football games around the Kansas City metro on Friday night.

Blue Springs South 19, Blue Springs 12

Ayden Wilhelm did his best Lamar Jackson impression and Blue Springs South advanced in the playoffs with a win against a rival.

The Jaguars’ junior quarterback took keepers of 54 and 47 yards for scores as Blue Springs South (9-2) beat Blue Springs for the second time in four weeks. The Jaguars also beat Blue Springs 30-20 on Oct. 18.

Facing second-and-8 with about 4 minutes remaining until halftime, Wilhelm dropped back to pass, then took off and weaved his way to a 54-yard touchdown and 13-3 lead.

Blue Springs (6-5) answered when Eli Bertz took a handoff and then lobbed a pass to Max Toia as the first-half clock expired. It was 13-10 at halftime.

Wilhelm was sacked in the end zone in the third quarter, making it 13-12. But in the fourth, his 47-yard rushing TD made it all but final with 5:07 to go.

The Jaguars, ranked No. 10 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, will play host to No. 20 Liberty next Friday in the Missouri Class 6, District 7 final.

Liberty 13, Liberty North 10

There will be a new Missouri Class 6 state champion: After snapping a six-game losing skid against its crosstown rival earlier this season, Liberty started a streak of its own.

Senior tailback Jaxon Hicks led the way with 169 rushing yards, while Connor Hatfield added 71. Hicks scored the game-winning TD with 10:35 left, breaking loose for a 16-yard score.

Hicks now has 1,990 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns this season.

Liberty (7-3) got on the board first via Masen Bindel’s two-yard TD run. Liberty North QB Tillman Martin then connected with Trashundon Neal for a 48-yard strike early in the third quarter to make it a tie game.

Blue Renfrow’s 29-yard field goal late in the third made it 10-7.

Martin finished with 180 passing yards, while Neal hauled in six receptions for 90 yards. Liberty North, the 2023 state champ, concludes its season at 6-4.

Liberty, No. 20 in the 810 Varsity Top 25, plays at No. 10 Blue Springs South in the Missouri Class 6, District 7 final next Friday.

St. Pius X 36, Fort Osage 6

It had all the makings of a hotly-contest affair.

St. Pius X has only one loss on the season and Fort Osage entered having won six of its last seven.

And then the game began.

The Warriors (10-1) were all over Fort Osage from the opening kick and didn’t allow a single point until the last play of the game for a 36-6 romp to advance in the Missouri Class 5 playoffs.

Pius quarterback Hudson Bailey had a hand in both Warrior touchdowns in the first, running in the first and throwing the second to Noah McPhee, making it a 14-0 lead.

The lead grew to 17 on a field goal midway through the second quarter.

Another field goal by Frankie Kapetanovich late in the third, followed by a safety just 41 seconds later and Pius was up 22-0, going into the fourth.

Bailey threw his second TD pass of the night, a 27-yarder to Tommy Hutsler with less than 10 minutes to play.

Jackson Rotterman dove into the end zone at 5:15 of the fourth and it was 36-0.

Fort Osage managed a touchdown as time expired to avoid the goose egg.

“Right now we just fight for one more week together and that’s what we got now,” Warriors head coach Anthony Simone said. “We played disciplined football. You know what you’re going to get with Fort Osage and that’s a physical football game. Our guys matched it. Defense did a heck of a job and they keep getting better.”

Pius will play Platte County (10-0) for the Class 5, District 8 Championship next Friday night in Platte City.

“We’re going to keep getting tested and we’ve got a long way to go,” Simone said. “We’ll just keep fighting for one more week together and we’re happy to get that.”

For stats, recaps, online broadcasts and more, visit 810Varsity.com.