Week Seven Review

Three Up

SM West

The Vikings (below) quietly defeated a solid SM Northwest team 20-8 on Friday and bumped their record to 6-1 overall. Assuming the Vikings play to their potential an 8-1 finish to the season is feasible with SM North and SM East on tap in the upcoming weeks. Quarterback DJ Balazs has also established himself as the most consistent signal caller in the league.

Olathe Northwest

The Ravens beat Lawrence Friday, and should collect at least one more win in districts en route to a probable playoff berth. Despite enduring some disappointing games in previous weeks, the Ravens have a new optimism to build off of for the rest of the season.

SM East

The Lancers Nut Cup victory of SM North was huge. Not only did they capture a win over a big rival, but they also kept themselves in contention for a playoff berth. A win against SM West or SM Northwest in the upcoming weeks will be a tall task for the team from Prairie Village, but Lancers look much better than the team that started the season 0-3.

Three Down

Sunflower League teams vs the EKL
Four teams from the Sunflower League played EKL teams in the first week of districts, and three of those teams lost. Olathe East, SM South, and Olathe South all fell at the hands of their EKL neighbors to the East, while Olathe North felt more pressure against Blue Valley than they had all season long.

SM North

A season that was once so promising has turned out to be very depressing for the Indians of SM North. The team has now lost five straight games after starting the year out 2-0. What's more, the team lost a nail biter to rival SM East on Friday--which acted like salt in the wound to the Indians.

Lawrence

The Chesty Lions were blown out once again in a 49-6 loss to Olathe Northwest, but despite all of the negativity some hope still remains. The Lions play crosstown rival Lawrence Free State on Friday and in that game both team's records might as well be thrown out. The game should be a dogfight for respect in Lawrence (for the Chesty Lions it may be there last thread of life on an otherwise awful season).

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's James Franklin ran the ball 29 times for 241 yards and two touchdowns against Blue Valley. Franklin is racking up arguably the best season a running back has ever had in Sunflower League history.

**Lawrence Free State's Camren Torneden bounced back from an awful game against Olathe North by scoring five touchdowns--three by ground, one by air, and one on a punt return--in helping Free State to a 55-0 victory over Leavenworth.

**Cullen Phillips of Olathe Northwest rushed the ball 20 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns in his team's win. The totals aren't among the best we have seen all season, but Phillips effort was crucial to the Raven's momentum meter throughout the game.

Week Eight Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (7-0): The Eagles played lackluster defense against Blue Valley, but ultimately it didn't matter--Olathe North's offense was simply overpowering.

2. Lawrence Free State (5-2): The Firebirds collected their token victory against Leavenworth and now must prepare for their 0-7 rival Lawrence High.

3. SM West (6-1): The Vikings are looking more and more impressive by the week--shutting down Matt Nowak is no easy task and the Viking's defense did just that Friday.

4. Olathe East (4-3): The former assistant got the best of the Hawks on Friday but the playoffs are still very likely for Olathe East.

5. Olathe South (4-3): For once Olathe South's defense outperformed their offense. However, the six offensive turnovers were too hard to overcome.

6. SM Northwest (4-3): The Cougars suffered a tough defeat at the hands of their rivals, but their power running game did show well and will probably be utilized quite a bit in the next few weeks.

7. Olathe Northwest (3-4): The Ravens (above) are on a high; lets see whether or not they are capable of playing at that level for more than one week.

8. SM South (3-4): The Raider's loss to Blue Valley North was a poor showing from the team who had been playing well of late.

9. SM East (3-4): The Lancers collected a nice win over SM North, but now face the tall task of SM Northwest and SM West is consecutive weeks.

10. SM North (2-5): The Indians, like the Lancers face a difficult slate to end the season. A good time to insert some miracle victories would be now.

11. Lawrence (0-7): The Chesty Lions could win out and make the playoffs, and with rival Free State and winless Leavenworth on the schedule, never say never.

12. Leavenworth (0-7): The Pioneers still have two weeks to make a memorable statement on the season.