by Brian Turrel
With the game in the balance and 20 seconds on the clock, the Piper Pirates’ defense held the line against the Bonner Braves’ rush. The fourth-down red zone stop turned aside a Bonner comeback attempt, and earned the Pirates a berth in the next round of the playoffs.
Just a week after Braves and Pirates played against each other in the final game of the regular season, they found themselves matched up again in the first round of the KSHSAA 4A state tournament.
The previous game ended in a Piper rout, and the first quarter of the playoff game looked like it would follow. Piper racked up a 19-0 lead by the end of the first quarter on the strength of three Le’James White touchdown runs.
Bonner Springs started its comeback in the second quarter and scored 21 unanswered points before and after halftime. Johnathon Tapia scored on a goal-line quarterback keeper just before the half, and Bryce Krone picked up two touchdown runs in the third quarter.
The atmosphere was raucous, with the home and visitor stands cheering on their sides loudly. Bonner Springs tied the score at 40 with 6 minutes remaining on a pass from Noah Villarreal to Keyon Thomas. Piper retook the lead with another Le’James White touchdown run with only 2 minutes left, but kept the door open for a game-winning Bonner drive when their extra point attempt failed.
Bonner Springs looked poised to seize the opportunity and marched down the field fueled by Bryce Krone runs that kept moving the chains. The drive stalled out as the Braves’ offense approached the end zone, and Bonner Springs faced fourth-and-3 at the 6-yard line and only 20 seconds on the clock.
Bonner Springs turned to Krone once again on a run up the middle, but the Piper defensive line gave him only 2 1/2 yards. A jubilant cheer went up from the Piper sideline as the Bonner fans fell quiet. The Pirates took over and downed the ball one last time to run out the clock.
The Bonner Springs Braves closed out their season at 5-5, finishing fifth in their first season in the Frontier League.
Piper will play in the regional final game next Friday evening at Louisburg, the No. 1 seed in the eastern bracket of the playoffs.
