By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West did a lot of good things in Friday night's season-opener against Piper, including scoring plays of 80, 81 and 42 yards.
But in the end, a slow start and a monster night from Piper senior Roman Byers Jr. were too much for the Chargers to overcome as the Pirates took a 56-18 United Kansas Conference victory at Hummer Sports Park.
Topeka West junior Nas Williams-Brown (left) scored on 80 and 42-yard runs in Friday's 56-18 UKC loss to Piper while junior quarterback Josiah Wilkie passed for an 81-yard touchdown. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Chargers got the night off to a tough start, with Piper recovering an onsides kick on the opening kickoff at the West 49-yard-line and Byers scoring the first of his six touchdowns on the very next play.
Then, after West stopped Piper's two-point conversion try, a minor skirmish broke out and Charger senior tight end-defensive end Prince Lassiter was ejected, although West insisted that video evidence showed that Lassiter did nothing wrong.
Piper went on to go in front 27-6 midway through the second quarter and the Chargers got no closer than 15 the rest of the way.
"I think it comes down to preparation,'' Topeka West coach Trey Parker said. "I think we had a false sense of reality. We thought we were prepared to come into the game and we just felt like the other team was going to lay down for us, and they didn't.
"They came out fighting and I think we were just under-prepared. I'll take the blame for that moving forward. We won't let this happen again. We will be prepared moving forward.''
West could never really find a way to stop Byers Jr., who scored four first-half touchdowns, added two touchdowns in the second half and added a pair of two-point conversions while rushing for 205 yards on 21 attempts.
Byers, a South Dakota commit, scored on runs of 49, 24, 6, 3 and 5 yards and also caught a 3-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Leeum Healy.
"From what I know about him and what I hear about him, he works hard and he's a great talent,'' Parker said of Byers. "He shows up day-in and day-out and he produces on the field. There's not many kids like him and kudos to him and his coaching staff for putting him in position to be successful.''
West also flashed its offensive firepower, with junior Nas Williams-Brown scoring on 80 and 42-yard runs and finishing with 171 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Topeka West senior Damon Webb Jr. rushed for 80 yards on 10 carries in Friday's 56-28 UKC loss to Piper. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior quarterback Josiah Wilkie hit senior Micah Emerson for an 81-yard TD pass while senior running back Damon Webb Jr. carried the ball 10 times for 80 yards.
Topeka West will travel to De Soto next Friday for a UKC contest.
PIPER 56, TOPEKA WEST 18
Piper (1-0, 1-0) 20 15 21 0 -- 56
Topeka West (0-1, 0-1) 6 6 6 0 -- 18
Piper -- Roman Byers Jr. 49 run (run failed)
Piper -- Roman Byers Jr. 24 run (Roman Byers Jr. run)
Topeka West -- Micah Emerson 81 pass from Josiah Wilkie (pass failed)
Piper -- MJ Martin 46 pass from Leeum Healy (pass failed)
Piper -- Roman Byers Jr. 6 run (Mason Masloski kick)
Topeka West -- Nas Williams-Brown 80 run (pass failed)
Piper -- Roman Byers Jr. 3 run (Roman Byers Jr. run)
Piper -- Roman Byers Jr. 5 run (run failed)
Piper -- Roman Byers Jr. 3 pass from Leeum Healy (Leeum Healy run)
Topeka West -- Nas Williams-Brown 42 run (pass failed)
Piper -- Andrew Durham 24 pass from Leeum Healy (Mason Masloski kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Piper: Roman Byers Jr. 21-205, Dane Gibson 5-39, Leeum Healy 5-30, Jayden Correa 4-13, Easton McCarty 1-13, Andrew Durham 1-2. Topeka West: Nas Williams-Brown 11-171, Damon Webb Jr. 10-80, Dontae Knight 2-35, Kamori Stafford 2-8, Eli Hernandez, 1-3, Travaughn Gasper 1-1, Dontae Knight 1-(minus)-4, Josiah Wilkie 2-(minus)-12.
Passing -- Piper: Leeum Healy 13-18-1, 190 yards; Jayden Correa 2-3-0, 4. Topeka West: Josiah Wilkie 9-17-0, 104.
Receiving -- Piper: Easton McCarty 4-28, Parker Klaudt 3-37, MJ Martin 2-85, Andrew Durham 2-31, Roman Byers Jr. 2-25, Jackson Dissmeyer 2-8. Topeka West: Micah Emerson 2-83, Damauri Peoples 3-10, Damon Webb Jr. 3-6, Nas Williams-Brown 1-5.
Punting -- Topeka West: Josiah Wilkie 2-41.0; Eli Hernandez 1-37.0.
