Pass-happy Blue Valley flies past Lawrence

New-age innovation triumphed over time-honored tradition Friday. And as a result, Blue Valley triumphed over Lawrence 42-23 in a Kansas 6A football regional.

The contest at Blue Valley featured a clash of offensive philosophies. Blue Valley, 9-1, subscribed to a no-huddle spread attack, and Lawrence, 4-6, adhered to age-old cloud-of-dust principles.

Chalk one up for modernization, and chalk one up for Blue Valley, which will play Blue Valley Northwest in a sectional next Friday.

Using wide-open, five receiver sets, Blue Valley passed on 13 of its first 16 plays. And Lawrence, opting for a ground-based assault that featured a wingback and two running backs — and nary a receiver — ran the ball on 18 of their first 19 plays.

“They do what they do and we do what we do,” said Blue Valley coach Steve Rampey. “That’s what we do. That’s where our abilities lie.”

Lawrence took a 9-6 lead early in the second quarter after a nine-play, 64-yard drive — all runs — that ended in a 24-yard touchdown run by Clifton Sims. But the Lions simply couldn’t keep up with Blue Valley’s high-octane, fast break offense.

After falling behind, Blue Valley ran off 29 straight points. In that span, the Tigers recovered a pooch kick, blocked a punt and had a 23-yard TD strike from quarterback Anthony Abenoja to Tyler VanGerpen on fourth-and-long, putting the score at 35-9 early in the third quarter.

Abenoja ended the game 15 for 27 with 198 yards and one touchdown and one interception, helping the Tigers roll up 42 points by the end of the third quarter.

“We were pretty efficient offensively,” Rampey said. “You put up 42 points, you can’t be completely unhappy.”

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