Tonganoxie — At Tonganoxie High's refurbished Beatty Field, the lights are brighter, the grass greener, the stands larger and " well, you can't have everything.
Kansas City Piper took advantage of four Tonganoxie turnovers and a partially blocked punt to blunt the Chieftains, 34-0, in Kaw Valley League football on Friday night.
It was the 16th straight Tonganoxie defeat over three seasons.
"We did some things right," Tongie coach Steve Hughes said. "We have areas we need to improve on, but there were some positive things."
Tongie did recover three fumbles -- two by lineman Tony Miller -- but the Chiefs couldn't conjure up enough offense. In the first half alone, KC Piper had more penalty yardage (75) than the Chiefs did offense (63).
Thanks mainly to Piper's penchant for penalties, Tongie wasn't in bad shape at halftime, trailing 20-0. Disaster struck quickly in the second half, however.
On Tongie's second play, quarterback John Barnes' pitch went awry and the Pirates recovered on the Chieftains' five. Two plays later, wingback Jeff Zimmerman bolted into the end zone.
Then, on Tongie's first play after the ensuing kickoff, tailback Aaron Minor coughed up his second fumble of the night at the Chieftains' 21. Three plays later, Piper quarterback Jeff Kaminski connected with Derek R. Miller (not to be confused with teammate Derek D. Miller) on a six-yard TD pass.
"We made some bad decisions at the start of the second half," Hughes said, "and it got us into bigger problems."
KC Piper led, 34-0, with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter. After that, KC Piper coach Monty Bechard, a cousin of Kansas University volleyball coach Ray Bechard, inserted his second-string offense.
KC Piper's most impressive player may have been John Beck. A 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior, Beck intercepted a Barnes pass while playing in the secondary, but made a bigger impression by kicking field goals of 47 and 42 yards and consistently drilling kickoffs inside the Tongie five-yard line.
"That kid's got a foot," Hughes said. "He's a real plus for them."
Tonganoxie finished with 123 yards of offense. All but 15 of those yards came on the ground. Barnes completed two of 12 passes -- one for eight yards, the other for seven.
Tonganoxie will be back home next Friday to entertain Santa Fe Trail, another Kaw Valley League foe.
KC Piper 34, Tonganoxie 0
KC Piper 7 13 14 0 -- 34
Tonganoxie 0 0 0 0 -- 0
KC Piper -- Derek R. Miller 30 run (John Beck kick)
KC Piper -- FG Beck 47
KC Piper -- T. J. Davis 13 run (Beck kick)
KC Piper -- FG Beck 42
KC Piper -- Jeff Zimmerman 3 run (Beck kick)
KC Piper -- Miller 6 pass from Jake Kaminski (Beck kick)
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