By Anthony Gorges
JC Post
The Junction City Blue Jays beat the Topeka Trojans 47-14 on Friday night at Blue Jay Stadium.
After Junction City fumbled the opening kickoff, the Topeka Trojans connected on a 29-yard field goal to lead 3-0. After a back-and-forth first quarter that featured several turnovers, the Blue Jays led 7-3 at the end of one, thanks to a 43-yard touchdown connection between junior quarterback Conrad Gomez and junior wide receiver JaMarcus Vornes.
After Topeka senior Jaden Norman connected on a 27-yard field goal to cut the Blue Jay lead to 7-6, Junction City junior running back Justice Fonoti had a three-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 14-6. Junction City senior kicker Ethan Hileman connected on two field goals late in the first half to give the Blue Jays a 20-6 halftime lead.
Topeka High punted on its first possession of the second half, and Junction City junior Lovell Autry had an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown that gave the Blue Jays a 27-6 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the Trojans fumbled, and three plays later, the Blue Jays were back in the endzone on a two-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown. At this point, Junction City led 34-6 and cruised to a 47-14 victory in round one of the playoffs.
The Blue Jays will now travel to Derby, the number one seed in class 6A West, next Friday night for the second round of the playoffs.