Jaguars roll in playoff opener

By Todd Habiger

I am inevitable.”

— Thanos, from “Avengers Endgame”

The mad titan of the Avengers movies uttered these words as a warning that he would always win.

At Mill Valley, Max Piva is inevitable — good for 200 yards and multiple touchdowns each and every week. 

In the first round of the Kansas Class 6A playoffs Piva broke the Mill Valley record for most rushing yards in a season by gaining more than 200 yards. He also tied the school record by scoring six touchdowns. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention he didn’t play in the second half. 

Needless to say, Mill Valley rolled in this one to a tune of 54-8 over Shawnee Mission West.

Piva was all smiles after the game and looked forward to continuing his magical senior season.

“It feels amazing. I'm so thankful to my team, all the guys I train with,” Piva said. “It just shows how hard this team works and all the things we can accomplish together.”

Sophomore center Stone Wiegmann said he was honored to help Piva achieve his record setting night.

“Being a sophomore and being able to play some varsity football is great,” said Wiegmann. “Playing with Max — he’s such a great player and he’s going to do great things in college too.”

Wiegmann and the Mill Valley offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half as the Jaguars cruised to a big halftime lead on the strength of Piva’s six touchdowns. 

“We worked through the plays and I trusted all my guys that we were going to compete and come out with a win,” Wiegmann said.

The Jaguar wasted no time getting on the board. They took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead. Piva scored three more times before Holden Applebee and Gavin Heller decided to get in on the scoring action as they hooked up for a 40 yard touchdown pass to give the Jaguars a 34-8 lead. 

But Piva couldn’t be stopped and scored twice more before the half, the last with 27 seconds left and the Jaguars lead 47-8 at half.

“I liked how relaxed we were but also locked in,” said senior tight end Stone Zambo. “We did not focus on the score. We just focused on executing our assignment to the best of our ability.”

After halftime the majority of Jaguars starters took a seat and let the backups finish the job.

The West offense could get nothing going coming out of halftime. The Jaguars meanwhile, continued their offensive dominance. Lucas Mendez punched the ball into the endzone to put the Jaguars up 54-8 and start the running clock to put a quick and merciful end to the game.

Somewhat lost in the Max Piva show was the strong play of the Jaguars defense that limited West to just 8 points. 

Senior safety Kendyn Charbonneau said he was happy with the team’s defensive effort but felt their best football is ahead of them.

“We’re going to take it day by day and watch film and get better,” he said. “We’re going to keep it on us and focus on what we need to do to get better.”

The playoff victory was the first for the Jaguars in Class 6A football.

“It feels great being part of something that hasn’t been done before,” said Charbonneau. “I’m glad I get to spend this time with guys I love playing football with.”

Mill Valley head coach Joel Applebee said he was happy with his entire team's efforts from the starters to the backups. 

“I thought everybody was clean. I thought everybody was locked in. I thought it was a really good game,” he said. 

Mill Valley will take on Olathe South in the next round of the playoffs. The Jaguars thrashed South 63-21 in week four of the season.

“We’re going to respect every opponent we play but ultimately this is about us and how much we improve every single day,” said Applebee. “We want to enjoy all these days together. We want to make the most of every day together. That’s the plan.”