Blue Valley regains focus after loss

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It may be difficult to believe, but there was a real chance the Class 5A defending state champion Blue Valley-Stilwell Tigers could have been sitting this postseason out.

After being upset 45-35 by the Pittsburg Purple Dragons in Week 8, the Tigers needed a win against a tough Gardner-Edgerton team in order to have a chance of defending their state title.

Blue Valley responded by trouncing the Trailblazers 40-6 to win the district and advance to the playoffs.

“I was excited to see how they handled the adversity,” Blue Valley coach Eric Driskell said. “They responded unbelievably well. At practice, they were more focused. There was more attention to detail.

“That loss to Pittsburg was an eye-opener.”

Now, the Tigers will try to maintain that focus as they begin their title defense Friday night when they host the Lansing Lions.

Because Blue Valley realizes it can’t afford any more mistakes if it wants to make another trip to the state championship.

“I don’t know if anything was said formally, but I know some of the seniors made the comment to each other and to the underclassmen that they’ve put in too much time and worked too hard for the season to end this early. They wanted to make sure everyone was giving their best effort. They didn’t think they gave it all they could against Pittsburg.”

Driskell said a big part of the problem was a good Pittsburg football team.

“They did a tremendous job,” Driskell said. “They played their tails off. We didn’t play our best game. They did all the things they needed to win. They were the better football team that night.”

But Blue Valley was clicking on all cylinders against Gardner-Edgerton.

Quarterback Kyle Zimmerman completed 18-of-24 passes for 210 yards and two TDs.

“Kyle has been a tremendous leader on the field and off the field,” Driskell said. “He’s not going to let anything bad happen offensively. He does a good job of managing the game. You want to put the game in his hands.”

Back from injury, running back Justin Fulks rushed for 137 yards on 23 carries against the Trailblazers.

So the win allows a healthy Tigers team to be a contender in a seemingly wide-open East side of the bracket. Blue Valley has already posted wins against two of the other favorites in Bishop Miege and Gardner-Edgerton.

However, the loss to Pittsburg also shows how little separation there is in many of the 5A teams.

“I think it gives our kids some perspective,” Driskell said. “There are a lot of good football teams. And there’s nothing easy about winning a football game. I think they’re learning not to take that for granted.”

Now they must focus on Lansing.

“They’re a big, physical football team,” Driskell said. “They’ve got some weapons on offense.”

Don’t expect the Tigers to take the 5-4 Lions lightly. They’ve already learned their lesson.

“I just hope that in a few weeks we can look back on that loss to Pittsburg and say that was the best thing that could have happened to us,” Driskell said.