Top 5 Player RatingsPlayer ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis
1. Brandon Willingham, Running Back, Olathe East
Week Four: 8 carries, 115 yards, 4 TDs
Willingham (right) little trouble slicing through the rain and the Leavenworth defense. His rushing scores from three, 32, one, and 41 yards out took up half of the eight carries he received in total in the game. Willingham did not play in the second half.
2. Dylan Perry, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State
Week Four: 10 carries, 41 yards; 7-of-9 passing, 107 yards, 1 TD
Perry only played the first half on Friday, partially do to an ankle injury suffered in week three, and partially due to the 32-0 lead he led the Firebirds to. Perry is completing 61% of his passes, which is best among Sunflower League quarterbacks.
3. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North
Week Four: 14 carries, 136 yards, 1 TD
Saunders broke loose for another long touchdown run against SM East, this time from 61 yards out. Saunders' speed is hard to corral and it helps to explain his rushing average of 9 yards per carry.
4. Victor Simmons, Quarterback, Olathe North
Week Four: 14 carries, 38 yards; 25-yard touchdown pass
For the second consecutive week a defense did an admirable job of containing Simmons.Simmons was held in check for the majority of the game Friday, and his only touchdown came on a 25-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Two weeks of average play drop Simmons two spots.
5. John Schrock, Quarterback, SM East
Week Four: 17-of-36 passing, 196 yards, 1 TD; 1 rushing TD
Schrock makes his first appearance on the Top 5 Player Ratings despite his team's loss. While Schrock's completion percentage (52%) and touchdown to interception ratio (6:5) could be better, he still accounts for the biggest reason why SM East is 3-1 and a contender in the Sunflower League.
Honorable Mention: Will Livingston, Tre Burt, Nick Sands, Austin Fulson, Preston Schenck
Week Five Power Rankings
*Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis
**See previous post for commentary on Power Rankings
1. Olathe East (4-0)
2. Olathe North (3-1)
3. SM West (3-1)
4. SM East (3-1)
5. Lawrence Free State (3-1)
6. Olathe South (2-2)
7. Olathe Northwest (2-2)
8. SM Northwest (1-3)
9. Lawrence (2-2)
10. SM South (1-3)
11. SM North (0-4)
12. Leavenworth (0-4)
Eli's Week Four Q & A
Submit your Sunflower League questions to Eli at eunder@ku.edu
Q: Why do the Olathe schools dominate the Sunflower League? As far as I can tell their enrollments aren't larger. I have been puzzled by this, and am curious about your opinion? - Aaron
A: This is a great question and it probably has an underlying answer that nobody is 100% sure of. The best I can offer is reasoning I have collected as a fan/player/writer through the years.
My own opinion is that the culture of football in Olathe is one which is much more conducive to successful high school football programs. There seems to exist more of an aura around the football programs in the Olathe high schools (namely North, East, and South) that you don't find in most of the other Sunflower League schools--and much of that is based on past successes. You don't develop a football culture unless the success is there. And let's be honest, outside of the Olathes, which school has had constant success throughout the last decade?
I can say from my own experiences at SM West that the football culture within the school has greatly increased from the time Tim Callaghan took over in 2003 to now. And that's because the football team was good, experienced success, and it led to increased participation and interest in the sport within the school, and in the community. You can take a look at SM East right now and compare the enthusiasm of their fanbase today with what it was two years ago. The difference is success, and the hope of greater successes. The big three Olathe football powers have had notable success throughout the past decade and it helps to explain the culture that exists.
I feel the football culture is ultimately what keeps a program on top but there are key factors at play which get that culture going. Gene Wier's success in the form of six state championships at Olathe North was not by accident, and it's reasonable to believe that his influence is the reason Olathe North is still the caliber of program they are today. The same can be said for Jeff Meyers' lengthy stint as head coach at Olathe East. The moxy associated with these two schools in particular was started with great coaching, and it has carried through with great coaching.
Player ability also contributes a great deal. It helps to explain the fact that Olathe North has more Simone Award winners (six) than any team in the Kansas City Metropolitan and as many state championships. But then again, SM Northwest has produced more NFL players (Chace Johnson, Ryan Lilja, Ryan Torain, and Mike Rivera) than any other Sunflower League school over the past decade and they haven't even fielded a Sub-State berth during that span.
Ultimately, it seems, a foundation is necessary for a dominant football program to emerge. The big three Olathe schools were the ones with the right coaches in place at the time of Lawrence High's split in 1995, and those three schools were able to take the reigns on the league. Since that time, SM West and Lawrence Free State have been the only schools to challenge the big three.
Stat Check
Passing Yards
John Schrock, SM East: 882, 6 TDs
Stephen Mangelsdorf, SM Northwest: 612, 3 TDs
Brad Strauss, Lawrence: 571, 5 TDs
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 499, 3 TDs
Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 319, 2 TDs
Armani Williams, SM West: 300, 2 TDs
Alex Forslund, SM South: 279, 1 TD
Corey Kipp, Olathe Northwest: 271, 3 TDs
Ryan Lundgren, Olathe Northwest: 203, 3 TDs
Trent Kuhl, Olathe East: 190, 1 TD
Rushing Yards
Nick Sands, Olathe South: 560, 3 TDs
Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 553, 8 TDs
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 470, 6 TDs
Adonis Saunders, Olathe North: 468, 5 TDs
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 401, 6 TDs
Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 391, 2 TDs
Tre Burt, SM West: 342, 3 TDs
Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 327, 6 TDs
Charles Jackson, Lawrence: 324, 3 TDs
Jake Crist, Olathe South: 307, 2 TDs
Receiving Yards
Elliot Faerber, SM East: 312, 3 TDs
Krey Bradley, SM East: 219, 2 TDs
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 209, 2 TDs
Desmond Wyatt, Lawrence Free State: 208, 3 TDs
Anthony Buffalomeat (right), Lawrence: 187, 1 TDNick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 176, 2 TDs
Mason Perez, SM North: 170, 1 TD
Grant Ellis, SM East: 164, 1 TD
Aaron Gile, Lawrence: 145
Shawn Laurent, SM South: 140, 1 TD
Tackles
Denzel Simpson, SM West: 53
Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 43
Josh Mais, SM East: 40
Tristan Opie, Olathe Northwest: 40
Kyle Swartz, Olathe North: 40
Brock Burrows, SM North: 38
Dylan DeVries, Olathe South: 36
Dylan Hanson, Olathe South: 35
Sam Todd, Olathe North:33
Taylor Sheffield, Olathe South: 29
Interceptions
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 3
Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 2
DeAndre Graves, SM West: 2
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 2 (2 TDs)
Kick Return/Punt Return TDs
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 1 KR TD, 1 PR TD
Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 1 KR TD
JaQuan Brunt, SM East: 1 KR TD
Kendal Harland, Olathe South: 1 PR TD
Field Goals
Daniel Gutierrez, Olathe North: (3/5)
Jared Douglas, Olathe South: (2/3)
Sean Jones, SM West: (2/2)
Nick Prologo, Olathe Northwest: (2/3)
Alex Allen, SM Northwest: (1/2)
Kyle Goodburn, SM North: (1/3)
Anthony Rosen, Lawrence: (1/1)
Chase Woofter, SM East: (1/2)
Stats courtesy Mid-Statesports.com
Photos courtesy (from top) OE Hawks football, the Lawrence Journal-World
