Sunflower League All-Decade Team: David Leonard

Name: David Leonard
School: Shawnee Mission West
Graduated: 2007
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 175lbs.
Position: Wide Receiver


As a junior, David Leonard returned punts and kicks for SM West, in addition to being a starting receiver and cornerback. Leonard caught 12 touchdown passes on offense, while also picking off several passes from his defensive back position and returning several kicks for touchdowns. Leonard was developing a name as one of the biggest scoring threats in the Sunflower Conference, but he was overshadowed that season by the fact that he didn’t play for one of the pass happy teams in the conference. Despite this, Leonard’s contributions helped SM West to a 9-2 record, with the Vikings losing in the Sectional Round of the playoffs to Olathe East.

Leonard and SM West came back in 2006 with high expectations after having been named the pre-season pick for the top team in the conference. Leonard and company did not fail to live up to those expectations. SM West went 12-0 and advanced to face Hutchinson in the 6A State Championship game.

In the title game Leonard had a stellar performance, intercepting a pass, recording several tackles, catching six passes for 49 yards, and returning a kick to the Hutchinson 13 yard line in the fourth quarter, which led to the eventual tie of the score. SM West came up short, 21-14, but Leonard’s performance left a mark. Shortly after the game he was offered scholarships to play at Air Force and Wyoming. Leonard ultimately chose to play at Wyoming.

When the final stats were totaled on his senior year, Leonard’s statistics were eye popping. Defensively he came away with 35 tackles, five pass break ups, and six interceptions of which he compiled 144 return yards and one touchdown. Offensively Leonard had 563 yards receiving and 13 touchdown catches. In the special teams game he returned 24 punts for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Kick return wise Leonard averaged 26.3 yards per return and totaled 289 yards. For his efforts Leonard was named First-Team All-Class 6A, in addition to being named the KC Metro Sports Multi-Purpose player of the year. At Wyoming Leonard has been a starter at receiver since his freshman season, and recently made the game winning touchdown catch for the Cowboys in the New Mexico Bowl.

Sunflower League All-Decade Team: Darren Sproles

Name: Darren Sproles
School: Olathe North
Graduated: 2001
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 180lbs.

Position: Running Back

Provided you haven’t been living under a rock the past decade, you should know who Darren Sproles is. Sproles probably carries the torch as the best player of the decade in the Sunflower Conference and maybe the all-time torch in the conference.

Sproles began his illustrious career for Olathe North as a sophomore at the running back position. Sproles showed flashes of dominance but spent the season as the back-up to Olathe North’s then All-State running back, Beno Gore. Sproles contributed key runs throughout the season and helped Olathe North to win the 1998 Class 6A State Championship. Sproles compiled 741 yards rushing that year, an astounding number for a sophomore second string running back.

With one rock on his finger Sproles came back for the 1999 season primed to show the state his talent and get the Eagles back to another state title game. Sproles and Olathe North compiled a 6-1 record before facing Olathe South (also 6-1) in the second to the last game of the season. A playoff berth was on the line. Olathe North was trounced 31-8 by the Falcons. The lone bright spot of the game for Olathe North was a 45 yard halfback toss play from Sproles to Jessie Gullotta. Sproles and the Eagles crushed Olathe East 54-6 the following week, but Olathe South won as well. Olathe North’s string of 3 straight state championships was ended, and Sproles and the Eagles were forced to sit out of the playoffs with a 7-2 record. For the season Sproles came away with 2,031 yards rushing, an average of 225 yards per game. Sproles was named All-State Class 6A, Kansas Top 11, KC Star Player of the Year, and was named First-Team All KC Metro Sports. However, the best was yet to come.

Sproles came out for the 2000 season fully recharged and ready to wreak havoc on the state of Kansas. Sproles scored five touchdowns in Olathe North’s first game of the season, setting the tone for how the year would be. Olathe North ravaged every opponent on the schedule and a majority of the time Sproles collected most of his yards in the first half of the games. Olathe North completed a perfect season going 12-0 and winning the Kansas 6A State championship. In the three playoff games alone the Eagles outscored their opponents 154-7, including a 42-7 thrashing of Manhattan for the state title. The 2000 Olathe North football team was probably the best Sunflower Conference team of the decade, and Sproles was likely their best player.

During the 2000 season Sproles rushed for 2,485 yards and 45 touchdowns. He also caught four touchdown passes. Sproles was once again named All-State Class 6A, Kansas Top 11, and the KC Star Player of the Year. He was named the KC Metro Sports player of the year, and won the Simone Award as the best high school football player in the Kansas City Metropolitan. Sproles finished his career at Olathe North with 5,230 yards rushing on 8.4 yards per carry and 79 rushing touchdowns (the 79 rushing TDs were a Kansas high school record until Salina Central’s Jake Sharp broke the total in 2005). Sproles elected to play at Kansas State University.

At Kansas State Sproles was a First-Team All-American selection and took fifth place in the Heisman voting in 2003. He set the career record for rushing yards at KSU before graduating in 2005. Sproles was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL draft, and has gone on to become one of the league’s top return men in addition to playing a backup role to LaDainian Tomlinson.

Sunflower League All-Decade Team: Jervon Graves

Name: Jervon Graves
School: Olathe South
Graduated: 2007
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 310lbs.
Position: Defensive Line

Jervon Graves began gaining notoriety the first game of his junior season, a game covered by KC Metro Sports against Olathe North. Olathe South won the game, and with the help of Graves went on to win 8 straight games, advance to the Sectional Round of the playoffs, and finish with a 9-2 record in 2005. Although he was not known for his pass rushing skills, Graves proved during the season that he was a nearly unmovable force in the center of the Olathe South defensive line. Teams were offensively unable to create holes around any area Graves occupied. Following the 2005 season Graves was named All-State Class 6A in Kansas for his play at defensive tackle. The honor was certainly not his last.

In 2006, Graves led Olathe South to a 6-3 regular season record, including a District Championship. The Falcons lost to Olathe East in the Regional Round of the playoffs, 33-7. The school's down year wasn't because of Graves--the senior tackle had a great year.

From his defensive tackle position he recorded 69 tackles (38 solo), 6 tackles for loss, and forced 3 fumbles. Graves was once again named Class 6A All-State, in addition to being a member of the Kansas Top 11 team. Graves was also in the running for the Buck Buchanan award.
For his career Graves made 146 tackles (54 solo) and had 25 tackles for loss. Following his career at Olathe South Graves went on to play D1 at Utah State. He has played in every game at the defensive end position in his thee year career.

David Leonard Comes up Big

Former SM West star David Leonard caught what proved to be the game winning touchdown pass in overtime in Wyoming's 35-28 win over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Leonard has been Wyoming's most steady receiver throughout the season and he showed it in the bowl game with his seven catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns, including several big fourth down grabs. On the season Leonard caught 77 passes for 705 yards and three touchdowns. Congratulations to David.

Sunflower League All-Decade Team: Brandon McAnderson

Name: Brandon McAnderson
School: Lawrence
Graduated: 2003
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 220lbs.

Position: Linebacker

The great tradition of Lawrence High School football met a sort of drought following their 1995 6A State Championship. For six long years LHS had no player named 6A All-State. That was until Brandon McAnderson came to LHS.

McAnderson began his varsity career as a sophomore for Lawrence in 2000. Getting carries as a running back McAnderson helped Lawrence to a 6-4 record and a playoff berth. The following season, in 2001, McAnderson took the load as the team’s work horse. He led Lawrence to a 5-4 record, starting at both running back and linebacker. Although his team didn’t make the playoffs, McAnderson was still awarded first-team All-Sunflower Conference honors on both sides of the ball. The honors were nice, but McAnderson’s true goal was to get Lawrence High back on track.

The 2002 season for Lawrence turned out to be one of its best in years. McAnderson led a strong group of upperclassman, as the team advanced to the Sectional Round of the state playoffs. Sitting at 8-2, Lawrence faced a 7-3 Olathe East team they had defeated 26-7 earlier that season. McAnderson stepped up in the game, and led Lawrence admirably with two touchdown runs, but in the end a few botched extra points ruined Lawrence, as they lost 21-19. McAnderson and his fellow seniors ended their season 8-3, but they had put the Lawrence High program back on the right track.

McAnderson ran the ball 236 times for 1,789 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior. For his career, McAnderson rushed for 3,059 yards and 41 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball McAnderson totaled 132 tackles as a senior, and led Lawrence as a team for the second straight year in that category.

McAnderson was once again named First-Team All-Sunflower Conference at linebacker and running back, in addition to being named All-State Class 6A, and being named Kansas Top 11. McAnderson accepted a scholarship to play at Kansas University, where he enjoyed a very successful career. In his senior season at KU in 2007, he started at running back and led the Jayhawks to an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

News and Notes

**Olathe North's Lucas Vincent was chosen to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on January 2nd.

Coaches All-Sunflower League Teams

First Team All-Sunflower League

Quarterback
Camren Torneden, senior, Lawrence Free State

Running Back
James Franklin, senior, Olathe North
Kirk Resseguie, senior, Lawrence Free State
Hayden Groves (right), senior, Olathe East

Wide Receiver
Marquis Addison, senior, Olathe South
Chris Fields, senior, Olathe East

Tight End
Chris Goodger, junior, SM Northwest

Offensive Line
Oliver Venegas, senior, Olathe North
Michael Lisher, senior, Lawrence Free State
Matt Gotobed, senior, SM Northwest
Zach Maggard, senior, Olathe North
Matt Ruder, senior, Lawrence Free State

Defensive Line
Lucas Vincent, senior, Olathe North
Drew Thornton, senior, SM West
Drew Goodger, junior, SM Northwest
Michael Lisher, senior, Lawrence Free State

Linebacker
Tre Walker (right), senior, Olathe North
Kyle Swartz, junior, Olathe North
Adam LeBlanc, senior, SM West
Matt Cole, senior, Lawrence Free State

Defensive Back
Jason Peete, senior, Olathe North
Adam Olsen, senior, SM South
Brad Gourley, senior, Olathe South
Brandon Willingham, junior, Olathe East

Kicker
Johannes Swanepoel, senior, SM South

Punter
Kyle Goodburn, senior, SM North

Kick Returner
Keene Niemack, senior, Lawrence Free State

Punt Returner
Camren Torneden, senior, Lawrence Free State


Second Team All-Sunflower League

Quarterback
DJ Balazs (right), senior, SM West

Running Back
John Hauk, senior, SM Northwest
Tyrae Jenkins, senior, Lawrence
Johannes Swanepoel, senior, SM South

Wide Receiver
Keene Niemack, senior, Lawrence Free State
Kevin Hertel, senior, SM East

Tight End
Kyle Swartz, junior, Olathe North

Offensive Line
Jake Carroll, senior, Olathe North
Dillon Shupe, junior, SM West
Justin Schmidt, senior, Olathe East
Seth Wonch, senior, Olathe South
Austin Wolfe, senior, Olathe Northwest

Defensive Line
Matt Ruder, senior, Lawence Free State
Jake Fleming, senior, SM East
Ryan Bingaman, senior, SM South
Brian Williams-Robinson, senior, Olathe East

Linebacker
Gavin Blankenship, senior, SM South
Austin Fulson, junior, Olathe East
Gabe Miller, senior, SM East
Cullen Phillips, senior, Olathe Northwest

Defensive Back
Zac Krump, senior, Olathe North
Camren Torneden (right), senior, Lawrence Free State
Seth Krug, senior, Olathe Northwest
Drew Humphreys, junior, SM West

Kicker
Brad Gourley, senior, Olathe South

Punter
Johannes Swanepoel, SM South

Kick Returner
Antonio McFadden, senior, SM South

Punt Returner
Tre Walker, senior, Olathe North

Honorable Mention by School

Free State: Gabe Ballard-Hanson, AJ Simons, Aundre Allen, Chandler Schmidt, Connor Stremel, Henry Vaeono, Justin McCandless, Louis Bateman, Spencer Chestnut

Lawrence: Anthony Buffalomeat, Ben Muiller, Chris Gatson, Darrin Sorem, Jamal Brown, Jay Baker, Taylor Coleman

Leavenworth: Garrett Watson, Devyn McPhaull, Jacob Rowe, Michael Fields

Olathe East: Josh Huff, Aaron Johnson, Alex Michaud, Carter McEntee, Delon Barbour, Dylan Ramsey, Vince Gerstner, Will Hammer

Olathe North: Jared Morss, Adonis Saunders, David Blazevic, David Haase, Dominick Wilson, Jason Peete, Joshua Finley, Phil Huntley, Victor Simmons

Olathe Northwest: Nick Prologo, Austin Adam, Brandon Bouvilom, Chandler Smith, Devon Boyce, Drew Boyce, Jake Mattern, Josh Lemke, Lorenza Strother, Mike Eichenberg, Nick Bandy, Patrick Doran, Sheldon Bouwens, Stephen Anselmi, TJ Porter, Tyler Hutchison, Zach Carpenter

Olathe South: Nick Sands, Alex Howard, Barry Sargent, Erik Lothamer, Kameron Bickford, Kazmere Boyd, Kendal Harland, Ross Sutherland, Tanner Dutton, Trip Hiller, Wyatt Melton

SM East: Grant Ellis, George Brophy, Josh Mais, Stewart Jensen

SM North: Brandon Currie, Brock Stoetzer, Dallas Buck, Josef Haas, Kendall Kelly, Kevin Park, Luke Lohmeyer, Will Maynard

SM Northwest: Brooks Foreman, Chris Mansker, Fritz Wood, Grant Berning, Kosh Khan, Matt Nowak, Nick Caldwell, Stephen Mangelsdorf, Will Greenhaw

SM South: Danny Lamping, Christian Beardall, Deaven Jensen, Luke Foiles, Nick Zulk, Qua Shawn Simpson, Ricky Ashley

SM West: Nick Sylvester, Alex Martinez, Alex Snook, Austin Perez, Ben Jones, Christian Leroy, Conner Askren, Connor Hayward, Cordi Pascal, Danny Dowling, Denzel Simpson, Jacob Edwards, Justin Austin, Kevin Webster, Kiefer Holliman, Rob Rooks, Will Livingston

News and Notes

**Here are a couple of cool videos provided to you by All Star Video Sports.

Top 10 Offensive Plays of the Season

James Franklin Simone Award Interview

James Franklin takes Simone Award

**Olathe North running back James Franklin was award the Simone Trophy today, given annually to the top high school football player in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. Franklin is the sixth Olathe North player to win the award, joining Arland Bruce (1995), Josh Brewer (1997), Darren Sproles (2000), Maurice Mack (2001) and Jim Bouknight (2002). Congratulations to James.

Sunflower League All-Decade Team: Jason Santifer

Before I officially start naming the roster of my Sunflower League All-Decade Team, there are a few key things I need to point out.

1. The roster size came out to be 29. I know, that's more than 22, or 24 with a punter and kicker, but it was very difficulty to squeeze all of the players I felt worthy of the honor into the 22 or so slots. Several key positions (including quarterback) having two players. I also included several players who I listed as "athletes" because they had a great prowess on both sides of the ball.

2. Unfortunately I don't have an archive of every player's stats throughout the 2000s. Some players, as I found out, never had their season or career stats published online--which invariably made it difficult to come up with those player's statistics. But, with the exception of a few players, I was able to unpile stats for most everyone.

3. The list is no basis more reliable than my own experience and perception of the players of the decade. I competed against a few, watched most live, but read about them all.

The first player on the list is...Jason Santifer, who I listed under the athlete position.

Name: Jason Santifer
School: Olathe South
Graduated: 2001
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 160lbs.
Position: Athlete

If you take a look at Jason Santifer’s stats following his high school career, you would have a difficult time deciding what exactly his main position was. For that reason, Santifer is on the athletes list. Santifer was too multi-talented to categorize him at one position.

As a junior Santifer gained the recognition as Olathe South’s key playmaker. On the season he returned kick and punts, played receiver, defensive back, and also mixed in reps at the running back position. Santifer and Olathe South had one of their best seasons of the decade. They thrashed the defending state champion Olathe North 31-8 in a key District game that kept Olathe North out of the playoffs. From there Olathe South won their next three games and advanced to the 6A state championship game in Wichita. There they fell at the hands of Garden City, 14-7. Olathe South’s success during the 1999 season wouldn’t have happened without Santifer’s abilities.

On the season he defensively had 49 tackles, 12 pass break-ups, and 3 interceptions. Offensively Santifer ran the ball 43 times for 332 yards, and make 33 catches for 511 yards and two touchdowns. This was in addition to the six kick returns he had that totaled 198 yards and one touchdown. Santifer received First Team All-Sunflower League honors for his efforts.

The 2000 season was another opportunity for Santifer to display his skills and hopefully win a state title with a talented Olathe South team. Santifer and the Falcons roared to an 8-0 start to the season. The finale pitted the Falcons against the undefeated Olathe North Eagles, and Darren Sproles. Olathe North, hungry for revenge, jumped to a 7-0 lead on the first offensive play of the game. Olathe North went on to win 49-20. Olathe South became one of the few teams to ever go 8-1 and not make the playoffs over the decade.

Santifer’s efforts on the season, however, were not overlooked. Defensively he made 35 tackles, and intercepted five passes. He ran the ball 28 times for 379 yards and six touchdowns, and he caught 27 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Santifer returned three kickoffs for touchdowns as well. Santifer was named First Team All-State Class 6A, in addition to being named first team KC Metro Sports at the Multi-Purpose position. Santifer went on to play receiver at D1-AA powerhouse Northern Iowa.

Eli's Sunflower League Awards

Most Valuable Player

James Franklin, Olathe North: There was really no question about this award. Franklin's efforts in 2009 were, quite frankly, Simone worthy--and maybe better. If he is not awarded the Simone Trophy for 2009, then the validity of the award should be questioned. Olathe North was the best team in the Kansas City Metro and Kansas Class 6A this season, and Franklin was the star of the team. Just in case you're not convinced here is a rundown of Franklin's game by game production.

Week 1: 132 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns

Week 2: 156 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns

Week 3: 340 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns

Week 4: 218 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns

Week 5: 200 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns

Week 6: 284 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns

Week 7: 214 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns

Week 8: 159 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns

Week 9: 168 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns

Week 10: 203 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns

Week 11: 247 rushing yards, 1 touchdown

Week 12: 213 rushing yards, 0 touchdowns

Week 13: 269 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns

Season Totals: 2,803 rushing yards, 31 touchdowns

Of those games there are some interesting records to note:

**Franklin's 340 rushing yards in week three broke the Olathe North school record for rushing yards in a game.

**The 247 yards Franklin put up in week 11 broke Darren Sproles school record of 5,230 career rushing yards. Franklin finished his own career with 5,916 rushing yards.

**In his 36 game career (I know this is a season award, but his career stats were too impressive to pass on) Franklin averaged 7.8 yards per carry, 164 yards per game, and 1.8 touchdowns per game.

Franklin's career numbers at Olathe North will be hard to match (granted we were saying the same thing about Sproles' high school career a decade ago) and in my opinion he is the obvious choice as the Sunflower League's Most Valuable Player for 2009. Also, I won't fail to mention that Franklin was running behind one of the biggest and most talented offensive lines the league has seen in years (Oliver Venegas, Zach Maggard, Jake Carroll, Josh Finley, Lucas Vincent)--and ultimately the holes they opened up fed Franklin's monster season.

Offensive Player of the Year

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: Last season I felt Torneden was worthy of being the Sunflower League MVP after he took the reigns at quarterback in week three and led Free State to a State Runner-Up trophy. Although Free State didn't advance as far in 2009, I still feel that Torneden had as good of a season--its just that James Franklin had arguably the best individual season of the decade. Since Franklin took home the MVP (and was therefore not eligible for the other awards) Torneden get the honorary Offensive Player of the Year Award. His stats were once again insane--1,362 passing yards and 13 touchdowns, in addition to 935 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Torneden also had three punt returns for touchdowns. In his two year career as a starter the 5'7" quarterback passed for 2,318 yards and rushed for 2,302.

Defensive Player of the Year
Lucas Vincent, Olathe North: The Missouri bound Vincent did not fail to impress in 2009. After coming off of an amazing junior campaign it was obvious Vincent was going to be facing double teams on a weekly basis, but the senior responded well. Vincent tallied 40 tackles (17 for loss), four sacks, and six forced fumbles on the season. The numbers pushed his career totals to 110 tackles (35 for loss) and 18 sacks. Vincent's presence in the center of the Olathe North defense created issues for opposing rushing attacks all season long. In fact, no team was really ever able to successfully run through the middle of the Olathe North front. The 6'3", 280 pound Vincent was an immovable force in 2009, good enough for defensive player of the year.

Coach of the Year

Pete Flood, Olathe North: Early in the season I felt this award could go to a variety of coaches. Olathe East's Jeff Meyers was leading a very young and inexperienced team to a solid season, and Olathe South's Jeff Gourley was making huge strides with his team in year two. However, as the season progressed it became more obvious that the dominance and consistency Olathe North was displaying was hard to ignore. In the end I felt Flood was the most deserving candidate as Coach of the Year. Granted, he was likely working with as much talent as any coach in the league, but it takes more than just talent to guide a team to a 13-0 record and 6A State Championship. Since taking the helm at Olathe North in 2006 Flood's record as a head coach is 35-10, and he is now the only active head coach in the Sunflower League who has won a Kansas state championship as a head coach.

Game of the Year

Week Six - SM South 20, SM North 17 (OT)

This game didn't necessarily have major playoff or state title implications, but looking back on the season it may have been the most competitive back and forth battle of the year in the Sunflower League. Both teams were 2-3 heading into game, and a win the week before the start of district play was huge for both teams.

SM North got the scoring started when Joe Haas punched in a short touchdown run after a long SM North drive, to give the Indians a 7-0 advantage. In the second quarter SM South was able to tie things up when Grant Hilton completed a 30 yard touchdown pass to an outstretched Antonio McFadden in the corner of the endzone.

In the third quarter SM South was able to compile a solid drive (mostly thanks to the running of Johannes Swanepoel) that ended with a one yard touchdown plunge by Hilton. The score gave SM South a touchdown advantage.

The trickery came out in the fourth quarter. Sitting on their own 11 yard line, SM North's head coach Ryan Majors made a gutsy reverse pass call. Quarterback Kyle Goodburn ran left, and pitched the ball to receiver (and former quarterback) Athur Rucker who reversed to the other side of the field and hit receiver Ryan Finazzo on a deep route. Finazzo was able to take it to the house, which tied the game up at 14 all. SM North botched a field goal later in the quarter, and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, SM North got the scoring started on a 27 yard field goal by Goodburn. Up 17-14, the SM North defense was unable to hold back the SM South rushing attack. Three straight carries by Swanepoel resulted in a SM South touchdown, and victory, 20-17. The game wasn't the highest of stakes, but it was a classic example of the heated inner-school district rivalries that exist in the Sunflower League.

Season Grades

A few things to note before you read to much into the grades. First off, and most importantly, the grades are based on how each team performed given their talent, expectations, and history. Some teams received higher rankings because, in my opinion they achieved more in 2009 than what was expected of them. Whereas some teams that finished the year with more wins had lower rankings, and that was because I felt some teams underperformed.

A+

Olathe North (13-0): The Eagles capped an undefeated regular season by running through the 6A playoffs en route to a 6A state championship. The state championship was the first for Olathe North and the Sunflower League in six years. Anything less than a perfect grade for the Eagles would have been stupid.

A-

Lawrence Free State (left) (8-3): The Firebirds followed their 6A Runner-Up season in 2008 with a successful 2009, and an appearance in the Sectional Round of the playoffs. Two of the team's losses came to Olathe North, while the third looked to have been an early season road bump. Although 2009 wasn't as magical as 2008 for the team from Lawrence, the season still grades out well.

B+

SM East (4-6): Chip Sherman's first season at the helm ended on a much higher note than it began. After starting out the year 0-3 the Lancers went on to win four of their next five games including a district upset of SM Northwest. The Lancers earned a playoff berth, and for a half gave Olathe North a run for their money in the opening round of the playoffs.

SM West (8-2): SM West continues to build on the program's success, and the school has now won 52 games in the past six years after having only won 23 games in the six years before. SM West was very close to getting an A grade, but their third consecutive season without a playoff victory leaves some room to be desired. Nevertheless, the Vikings had another very solid year.

B

Olathe East (6-4): Early on it looked like Olathe East was primed for a big time season despite losing nearly every starter from 2008. It may have been the youth of the team, or just the typical grind, but the Hawks faded some towards the end of the season and never seemed to reach their peak level of play. On the positive side, the team is loaded with returning talent that should be primed for a playoff run in 2010.

SM South (3-6): Even though their record didn't necessarily show it SM South was a much improved team in 2008. In fact, SM South was close to having a winning record through seven games (a 21-3 loss to Blue Valley North eliminated those hopes). The team played a competitive brand of football that hasn't traditionally been a staple for the program. For that reason, they grade out at a B.

C+

Olathe Northwest (4-6): The Ravens had an up and down year overall. They set a school record of points scored with 49 in week six, before topping that with 63 in week seven--both victories. However, they failed to capture the school's first ever playoff victory, and went 0-3 against their fellow Olathe schools.

C
Olathe South (4-5): Olathe South started the season playing a very impressive brand of football--in fact they were two touchdowns away from being 6-0. Their defense, however, wasn't quite able to catch up to the firepower of their offense. Olathe South surrendered the fourth most points in the league and it prevented them from having a successful end to the season. An 0-3 skid kept the the Falcons out of the playoffs.

SM Northwest (5-4): SM Northwest's 5-4 record was quite puzzling. The team had a solid core of seniors, especially at the skill positions, and they took care of all of the games they were supposed to win. Of course, that was with the exception of their upset loss to SM East in the second round of district play. The loss effectively knocked the Cougars out of their third consecutive playoff berth.

C-

SM North (right) (2-7): The 2-0 start was probably more a product of playing two teams that combined to go 1-17 than anything. After that the Indians dropped seven straight games to put quite a damper on the season. On the positive side SM North lost a nail biter to SM South in overtime, and also hung close against their rival SM Northwest in the season finale, the Hula Bowl.

D+

Leavenworth (0-9): The Pioneers only scored 21 points while surrendering 413 this season, but it wasn't like the program had the highest of expectations coming in (the school went winless in 2005 and 2006). Their effort in their final game of the season with Lawrence really showed that the Pioneers, although winless, had alot of heart.

D

Lawrence (1-8): Nobody saw a one win season coming, but it happened and it will probably go down as one of the worst seasons in Lawence High history. The Chesty Lions did battle hard throughout the season though, and that counts for something. Their win over Leavenworth in week nine kept them from laying an egg in the win column. Lawrence ranks lower than Leavenworth because of the fact that Lawrence High has such a prestigious football name.

State Championship Results

Olathe North 37, Wichita Heights 3

A collective sigh of relief could be heard from the Olathe North faithful as the final whistle blew during Saturday's 6A title game. Olathe North, who won seven 6A state championships from 1996 to 2003, was finally back on top.

Olathe North came out focused on established their running game early, and often. Simone favorite James Franklin (below) carried the ball three times on the opening drive for 72 yards, with the last carry going for 25 yards and a touchdown to put Olathe North up 7-0. Wichita Heights kicker Chris Farley booted a 28 yard field goal, before Olathe North's Victor Simmons (bottom) scored on a 15 yard touchdown run.

On paper Olathe North controlled the first half (outgaining Wichita Heights in yards 228-61), but only came away with a 14-3 advantage at halftime.

In the third quarter the Eagles dominant run game began to take its toll on the Wichita Heights defense. Franklin added touchdowns on runs of 5, and 68 yards to push the Olathe North lead to 25 points. In the fourth quarter, Olathe North linebacker Kyle Swartz forced a safety, before quarterback David Blazevic added a rushing touchdown later in the quarter to seal the deal, 37-3.

Olathe North is now 8-1 in state championship games, with this title being the school's first since John McCall led the 2003 squad to a 10-3 record and 6A title.

Game Stats

Rushing—Wichita Heights, Smith 13-70, Ross 10-12, Deshazer 3-6, Jones 3-4, Reed 9-(-6), Moreland 4-(-23). Olathe North, Franklin 32-269, Simmons 11-62, Saunders 1-9, Walker 2-2, Blazevic 1-1.
Passing—Wichita Heights, Moreland 2-4-26-0, Reed 2-7-18-0. Olathe North, Blazevic 4-6-86-1, Simmons 0-1-0-0.
Receiving—Wichita Heights, Smith 2-16, Strand 1-15, Taylor 1-13. Olathe North, Peete 2-45, Swartz 2-41.