Excelsior Springs didn’t avenge its loss to Smithville in the 2021 Class 4 District 8 Tournament when the schools met again on Sept. 23 at Tiger Stadium in 11man varsity football. Far from it. Instead, the Warriors dominated on both sides of the ball, pounding the Tigers 42-8. Smithville accumulated 312 yards of total offense in the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference-Blue Division meeting and held Excelsior Springs to just 109. Distributing the ball among three running backs to keep the Tigers guessing, the Warriors tallied 163 rushing yards. Smithville added 149 passing yards. The Warriors started the rout with a nine-play, 60-yard drive, capped by Andrew Hedgecorth’s 2-yard TD run with 6 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter. Logan Hennegin added the first of his six extra-point kicks. Recovering a muff of the ensuing kickoff at the Excelsior Springs 19-yard line, Smithville scored two plays later on Preston...