By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As Cair Paravel Latin prepares to return -- at least for the next two seasons -- to 8-man football, the Lions proved again Friday night that despite facing a numbers crunch they are capable of competing in the 11-man ranks.
Cair Paravel sophomore quarterback Chase Hastert (1) passed for 168 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 21-7 loss to Mission Valley. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel senior Lucas Marichal had six catches for 91 yards and a 19-yard TD in Friday's 21-7 loss to Mission Valley. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
But although the Lions, who suited up 22 players, went toe to toe with Mission Valley for most of Friday's Class 1A District 2 opener, a few self-inflicted errors turned the tide as the Vikings posted a 21-7 victory at Yager Stadium.
"It's the little things and we didn't do the little things well,'' Cair Paravel coach Doug Bonura said. "It was some guys wanting it so bad they tried to take the team on their own rather than just doing their job.
"It's tough losing, but if we can come out of this and learn, then great. It's wasting that learning that would be the problem.''
Cair Paravel, 1-3 overall and 0-1 in District 2, was locked in a scoreless tie with the Vikings at the end of the first quarter, but Mission Valley (3-1, 1-0) never trailed after scoring 14 points in a 31-second span in the second quarter.
Mission Valley got on the board at the 8:47 mark of the second quarter on a 1-yard plunge from junior quarterback Jake Mills and Hemi Duehring tacked on the extra point to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead.
The ensuing kickoff looked like it was going to go out of bounds but the ball stopped just inside the sideline and Mission Valley senior Bryce Bunger grabbed the ball to give the Vikings the ball at the Lions' 22, leading to a 17-yard TD pass from Mills to sophomore Parker Kelley (Duehring kick) with 8:16 left in the half.
Cair Paravel got back in the hunt on its ensuing drive, with sophomore quarterback Chase Hastert hitting senior Lucas Marichal for a 19-yard TD (Marichal kick) with 5:17 left before halftime.
The score remained 14-7 well into the second half before Mission Valley picked up a huge insurance score with 3:04 left in the third quarter on a 9-yard TD pass from Mills to Bunger (Duehring kick).
Cair Paravel had its chances to get back in the game but hurt itself with three turnovers on the night, costly penalties and multiple dropped passes.
"We have some challenges other teams don't have,'' Bonura said. "We're one of the smallest teams out there and we've got a lot of young guys. We had to play some freshman tonight that we didn't want to put on the field, but that's what you have to do.
"That's just a disadvantage that you have trying to overcome some of those things, but I think if we can continue to grow we're going to be alright. Right now we've just got to get our guys to be disciplined on what they need to do and do their job and not worry about someone else's job.''
Bonura, whose Lions advanced to the Eight-Man semifinals in 2023 before moving to 11-man, said he has mixed feelings about going back to the Eight-Man ranks.
"I didn't want to go back to Eight-Man, but we just don't have the numbers,'' he said. "So it doesn't make sense to try to get 24, 22 guys on 11-man when you're playing teams with 30 to 50. It's just hard to compete, so when you go to Eight-Man you have that ability to at least minimize your numbers and compete.
''It wasn't ideal (to switch back), but it is what it is and that's alright. We'll take that up and go with it.''
Cair Paravel will travel to Wabaunsee next Friday for a district game.
MISSION VALLEY 14, CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 7
Mission Valley (3-1, 1-0 district) 0 14 7 0 -- 21
Cair Paravel (1-3, 0-1 district) 0 7 0 0 -- 7
Mission Valley -- Mills 1 run (Duehring kick)
Mission Valley -- Kelley 17 pass from Mills (Duehring kick)
Cair Paravel -- Marichal 19 pass from Hastert (Marichal kick)
Mission Valley -- Bunger 9 pass from Mills (Duehring kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Mission Valley: Mills 15-71, Deters 13-40, Bunger 10-30, Koelting 2-2, Kraus 3-(minus)-2, Team 2-(minus)-2. Cair Paravel: Hastert 12-31, Bonura 15-25, Team 1-(minus)-15.
Passing -- Mission Valley: Mills 8-18-1, 158 yards; Bunger 0-1-0, 0. Cair Paravel: Hastert 13-23-1, 168 yards.
Receiving -- Mission Valley: Bunger 3-67, Kelley 2-54, Kraus 2-39, Taylor 1-11. Cair Paravel: Marichal 6-91, Budden 2-41, Osborne 3-28, Bonura 2-10.
Punting -- Mission Valley: Trickel 3-21.7. Cair Paravel: Bonura 3-43.3.
