In Raymore-Peculiar high school, the annual Be YOUnion Kansas-Missouri All-Star game took place on Friday night, where class-of-2023 high school seniors battled for state bragging rights and a final opportunity to showcase their skills before heading to college. In an intense game that was decided in the final minute, Missouri emerged as the victors with a 16-8 win over Kansas.
Raymore-Peculiar quarterback, Zander Dombrowski, who was named the Missouri MVP, played an instrumental role in securing the win for his team. Dombrowski kicked off the game with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Platte County wide receiver, Dom Spears. Although the Kansas team employed a run-dominant play style, Dombrowski’s ground-and-pound focused Missouri team refused to yield.
With only five full days to practice and a new offense to learn, Dombrowski acknowledged the tough preparation ahead of the game. Nonetheless, he trusted his future University of Central Missouri teammate Spears to catch the ball against man coverage. In total, Dombrowski completed 7 out of 14 passes for 142 yards.
The first half saw Missouri take a comfortable 10-0 lead, thanks to a goal-line stand, multiple punts, and two fumbles forced by their defense. The second half presented a chance for the Kansas team to get back in the game, but Dombrowski dashed their hopes with a second touchdown pass to Blue Springs wideout Joe White, who found the pylon in the endzone.
With less than seven minutes left in the game, Kansas’ offense finally found its heartbeat with a touchdown and two-point conversion, making it a one-score game. However, despite the late-game comeback hopes, team Kansas lost to Missouri, with back-to-back sacks on third and fourth down sealing the victory for Missouri.
At the end of the game, Missouri players celebrated their hard-earned win, with two of them dumping Gatorade onto Fort Osage and All-Star game head coach Brock Bult to commemorate the big win. Bult expressed his delight at how much fun he had with the coaches and players during the past week. He also reminded players to keep their special jerseys as a souvenir.
Overall, the game was a great chance for some of the top area high school talent to showcase their skills, enjoy playing Friday night football on their home field, and compete against some of their toughest rivals.
