Friday night turned out to be one of the more epic Sub-State contests the East side of the 6A bracket has seen in years. The action got interesting in the first quarter when Olathe North's James Franklin uncharacteristically fumbled the ball just inside the Blue Valley 10 yard line. Later on in the quarter Tre Walker botched a punt that Blue Valley was able to recover. The Tigers took advantage of the second fumble when Anthony Abenoja completed a pass Jacob McDermott for a 28 yard score. Olathe North was able to tie the score in the second quarter when Walker completed a touchdown drive with a two yard plunge.
The third quarter played out with neither team scoring. Early in the fourth quarter Abenoja once again led the Tigers down the field after yet another Olathe North fumble. This time Abenoja hit PJ DeBey (bottom) on a 13 yard pass to help Blue Valley gain a 14-7 lead.
With time quickly winding down in the fourth quarter Olathe North compiled a nice drive to set up a one yard touchdown run by quarterback David Blazevic. However, in a all too familiar scene for the Eagles, kicker Jared Morss botched the extra point, and kept Olathe North from evening the score (Morss' missed extra point ultimately prevented Olathe North from defeating Blue Valley in 2008).
Olathe North was able to regain possession and drive all the way to the Blue Valley 16 yard-line with a mere 14 seconds remaining in the half. This time, Morss delivered on the 33 yard field goal attempt (below). The score put Olathe North up for good, 16-14.
For the second year in a row Blue Valley fell just short of advancing to the 6A title game, despite a valiant effort and one of the biggest last season turnarounds in Johnson County high school football history. Olathe North advances to their first state championship game since 2004.
Game Stats (courtesy TheOlatheNews.com):
Rushing
Olathe North: James Franklin 30-213, Victor Simmons 18-132, David Blazevic 1-1, Tre Walker 4-5, Dominick Wilson 2-14, Team 0-6. Blue Valley: Anthony Abenoja 16-63, Justin Fulks 10-38.
Olathe North: James Franklin 30-213, Victor Simmons 18-132, David Blazevic 1-1, Tre Walker 4-5, Dominick Wilson 2-14, Team 0-6. Blue Valley: Anthony Abenoja 16-63, Justin Fulks 10-38.
Passing
Olathe North: Blazevic 1-3-0 9. Blue Valley: Abenoja 11-28-0 168.
Olathe North: Blazevic 1-3-0 9. Blue Valley: Abenoja 11-28-0 168.
Receiving
Olathe North (1-9): Jason Peete 1-9. Blue Valley (11-168): PJ DeBey 5-67, Matt Hamblin 3-34, Jacob McDermott 1-28, Connor Rusnak 2-39.
Olathe North (1-9): Jason Peete 1-9. Blue Valley (11-168): PJ DeBey 5-67, Matt Hamblin 3-34, Jacob McDermott 1-28, Connor Rusnak 2-39.
