Tonganoxie 52, Kansas City Ward 6

Bonner Springs — Ben Johnson caught two touchdown passes and returned an interception for a score as Tonganoxie High cruised to a 52-6 win against Bishop Ward in the bi-district round of the Class 4A football playoffs.

The Chieftains (9-1) limited the Cyclones (2-8) to just 78 yards of offense — 30 of which came on the final play — and forced four turnovers to win their second straight bi-district title. The win sets up a regional showdown with Baldwin (10-0) on Saturday at THS.

Ward scored first when Bryan Barnhart recovered a fumble by Cole Holloway and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown, but that was the Cyclones’ only highlight of the night. THS scored touchdowns on its next three drives to take a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Ward 6 0 0 0 — 6

Tonganoxie 21 25 6 0 — 52

W — Bryan Barnhart 73 fumble return (kick failed)

T — Tyler Ford 6 run (Eric Tate kick)

T — Shane Levy 34 run (Tate kick)

T — Ben Johnson 27 pass from Ford (Tate kick)

T — Johnson 13 pass from Ford (Tate kick)

T — Johnson 55 interception return (kick failed)

T — Levy 26 run (kick failed)

T — Jared Sommers 3 run (kick failed)

T — Sommers 10 run (kick failed)

Baldwin 19, St. James 0

Baldwin City — The Baldwin defense stepped up when needed most as the Bulldogs shut out St. James Academy, 19-0, in the opening round of the 4A playoffs.

The big play, which has been so much a part of the Bulldogs’ offense, was absent on a night when rain and drizzle throughout the first half made footing tricky.

Baldwin scored on the game’s opening possession, sustaining a drive that ended with an 18-yard Cornell Brown touchdown run. The Bulldogs would not get into the end zone again until the first play of the fourth quarter, when Brown scored his second touchdown from five yards out.

Baldwin 7 0 0 12 — 19

St. James 0 0 0 0 — 0

Baldwin scoring: Brown, 18-yard run (Matt Michels kick); Brown 5-yard run (kick failed); Brown, 12-yard run (two-point conversion failed).