Friday night against the Purple Dragons, Roman Byers Jr. led the way for Piper (6-3). The senior ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 76-yard touchdown pass.

Piper’s 34-16 home playoff win over Pittsburg puts the Pirates into the regional round, where they’ll face a very familiar opponent, the Basehor Bobcats. The rivals have played 56 games dating back to 1966.

Pittsburg made Piper work for it, taking an 8-7 lead in the second quarter and later cutting a 13-point deficit to five midway through the third quarter. Both times, Piper scored the next touchdown to keep the Purple Dragons at bay.

“They didn’t panic,” head coach Cole Orrick said of his team. “We got behind a little bit. [The team] just kept pushing and came out on top.”

A back-and-forth first half

Piper’s opening drive ended when a Byers run came up inches short on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburg 21. The Purple Dragons went three-and-out, and the Pirates answered with a five-play, 77-yard drive. Quarterback Leeum Healy hit Easton McCarty for a 41-yard touchdown, and Mason Masloski’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:00 left in the first quarter.

Pittsburg then put together its longest drive of the night. The Purple Dragons ran 15 plays and covered 80 yards in 7:43, converting a fake punt along the way. Jamarcus Davis finished it with a 24-yard touchdown run. Max Busch ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead with 9:17 left in the half.

Piper’s defense held on Pittsburg’s next drive. Busch broke a 31-yard sweep on fourth-and-1 to the Piper 12, but the Purple Dragons lost a yard on their next two runs and threw two incompletions, the last in the end zone.

The Pirates needed just two plays to take the lead back. Healy scrambled 11 yards, then threw a short pass to Byers, who went 76 yards for the score. Byers ran in the two-point try for a 15-8 lead with 43 seconds left. Darlington Gborie then intercepted a Pittsburg pass at the Piper 26.

Pirates pull away

Piper opened the second half with an onside kick. A Pittsburg player tipped it into the air, and Byers leaped high to snare it, tackles at the Pittsburg 45. Six plays later, Byers scored on a 22-yard run. The kick missed, leaving it 21-8 with 10:10 left in the third quarter.

Pittsburg answered. A Piper fake punt came up short on fourth down, and the Purple Dragons took over at the Piper 44. Davis broke through the line for a 31-yard touchdown, and Busch again ran in the conversion to make it 21-16 with 4:21 left in the third.

Pittsburg would not score again. Davis intercepted Healy on the next drive, but the Purple Dragons fumbled the snap on fourth-and-1 and turned the ball over at their own 40. Byers carried on five of the next six plays. The last was an 11-yard run around the right end, and Masloski’s kick made it 28-16 with 10:59 left in the game.

Byers added a 40-yard run up the middle with 5:42 left, completing the score at 34-16.

The Pirate defense finished the job. Keyon White sacked Pittsburg quarterback Jeremiah Lattimer for an 11-yard loss on third down, and a fourth-and-21 pass came up short. Dane Gibson carried four straight times on the final drive, and Piper knelt out the clock at the Pittsburg 6.

Byers and McCarty

Orrick pointed to a play late in the first half. Byers caught a short pass on third-and-24 and broke tackles for 25 yards and a first down.

“It was third and 20 or whatever, we just threw him a ball in the flat, and he went and made 15 guys miss and get a first down,” Orrick said. “[You] can’t coach that at the end of the day.”

“He’s a heck of a football player, but more than that, he’s a heck of a kid,” Orrick said. “He’s a really good leader and he’s just tough as all get out.”

Healy completed 12 of 18 passes for 228 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 69 yards.

McCarty caught five passes for 91 yards. Orrick called the senior “one of the best football players I’ve ever coached.”

“I keep begging every school around to offer this kid because he is that special a player,” Orrick said. “He’ll play receiver, he’ll play defensive back, he’ll play kick return. … He doesn’t come off the field.”

Defense slows Davis

Davis ran 21 times for 103 yards and both Pittsburg touchdowns. Busch added 74 yards on 10 carries. In the fourth quarter, Pittsburg managed only 35 yards on two drives.

“[The] defensive line did a great job,” Orrick said. “They played really tough, especially in the second half. And then our inside backers did a great job too.”

Orrick credited linemen Amari Coppage, Dustin Bermingham, Ronin Trusskey, and Jordyn Correa, along with linebackers Gibson and Jayden Richard.

Rematch at Basehor-Linwood

Orrick said the Pirates’ difficult schedule has prepared them for nights like this one. “Being in our conference, UKC, we see a lot of really good football teams all year long,” Orrick said. “We’ve been through adversity this year. We’ve had some tough, gritty wins, some tough, gritty losses.”

“I think we’ve been able to kind of develop that thick skin,” he said.

Piper’s three losses came to De Soto, Basehor-Linwood, and Seaman, which edged the Pirates 43-42 on Oct. 23.

The Pirates will travel to face the Bobcats in Basehor this Friday at 7:00 p.m. Friday will be the first time the schools have met twice in one season. Lately, the series has belonged to the Bobcats, who have won three straight and seven of the last nine. Piper’s last win was 34-31 in 2023.

It was not always that way. From 1983 through 1998, Piper went 14-2 against Basehor and then Basehor-Linwood. That run included four straight shutouts from 1983 to 1986. The Bobcats lead the all-time series 29-25-1, dating back to 1966.

“They’re a great football team,” Orrick said of the Bobcats. “They’re super well coached. They’re super tough. They play hard, and it’s always going to be a great challenge. It should be a fun atmosphere over there.”