Kansas City Star, The (MO)
June 17, 2000
Edition: METROPOLITAN
Section: LEE'S SUMMIT STAR
Page: 14

Kegan Coleman selected MVP of Missouri squad
Author: STUART GOLDMAN; The Kansas City Star

In the last high school football game of his brilliant high school career, Lee's Summit North's Kegan Coleman turned in another terrific performance.

Coleman was selected the Missouri all-stars' most valuable player Thursday night in the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association Coca-Cola Metro Classic at Shawnee Mission North. Coleman had five carries for 40 yards and caught two passes for 93 yards.

One of those catches was a 76-yard touchdown with 9 minutes, 4 seconds left in the game. The touchdown came on a razzle-dazzle play that began with quarterback Michael Cooper's lateral to wide receiver Jake Fuller, who then found Coleman in the clear. That keyed a Missouri comeback which fell short as Kansas won the game 19-14.

"We practiced it in practice for exact situations like we were in," Coleman said. "There was only one safety back there, so they had me one-on-one with a linebacker, and I felt like I could beat a linebacker deep. I told the coach, and he went with it.

"When I was running, I thought the ball was in the air forever. But it eventually came down."

Coleman gobbled up his 40 yards in Missouri's two first-quarter series. He didn't touch the ball again until the fourth-quarter touchdown.

"I thought they should have kept him in there," said Lee's Summit North's Adam Craddock, who played safety for the Missouri all-stars. "It seemed like every time the ball was in his hands, our offense was moving the ball down the field."

Trailing 13-0 in the fourth quarter, Missouri turned the game around with its defense, which stopped Kansas on a goal-line stand at the 1.

"It got some momentum going for us," said Lee's Summit's John Hertzog, who played offensive guard for Missouri. "The whole game, we never felt like we were out of it. We had enough explosive people and breakaway people that we knew we could come back into it."

Lee's Summit North linebacker Trey Boyington helped stop Kansas on the goal-line stand. Boyington finished with four tackles.

"The whole game, the defense felt that everything (Kansas) got, we gave to them," Boyington said. "We were tired of giving them stuff."

Coleman was Missouri's best and last hope in the final minute of the game. After two illegal substitutions, Missouri was faced with a fourth and 30 from the Kansas 46 with 39 seconds left.

Coleman caught a screen pass and found some daylight in the middle before he was tackled. Coleman actually threw the ball forward after he was down.

"Before the play, (Missouri All-Stars) coach (Rick Byers) said, 'If you get tackled, throw the ball up and let somebody else try to score,"' Coleman said.

Lone Jack's Rob Genge, who was a late addition to the Missouri roster, played cornerback. Genge was a quarterback and linebacker at the Class 1A school.

"I felt good to actually get to play against bigger people from bigger schools, just to see if I'm really good enough to play in college," said Genge, who will play at Central Missouri State along with Coleman.

Some all-stars, like Boyington, will not soon forget Thursday's game.

"This is more than everything I thought it would be," Boyington said. "I'll never forget anything. I'll go home and record it, and I'll watch it over and over."

Copyright 2000 The Kansas City Star Co.