Monday, November 8, 2010

Regional Round Review

The Good

**Three of the first round games turned out to be quite thrilling, with SM Northwest and Olathe East both making substantial comebacks to claim victory.

**The Sunflower League's top four rushers (Brandon Willingham, Nick Sands, Adonis Saunders and Victor Simmons) will be playing for another week.

The Bad

**While second-stringer Robby Moriarty (above) played great in John Schrock's absence, it would have been nice to see what SM East could have done with Schrock--their starter for the first eight weeks--at the helm.

**Only three weeks remain on the 2010 Kansas high school football schedule.

The Ugly

**SM West's first round loss marked the third year in a row in which the Vikings have been dropped in the opening round of the playoffs.

**Lawrence Free State will have an entire off season to think about the 16-0 halftime lead they lost at the hands of Olathe East.

Individual Highlights

**Brandon Willingham recorded 33 carries for 190 yards and three second-half touchdowns in Olathe East's 20-16 victory.

**This is not an individual highlight, but it's worth noting that of Olathe North's seven touchdowns, five came on plays of 35 yards or more.

**SM Northwest's Kenny Mings returned a blocked kick 65 yards for a touchdown, caught a key 17-yard pass that led to SM Northwest's final score, and intercepted a SM West pass at his team's one-yard line which sealed the victory.

The Remaining Four

Olathe East (9-1): The Hawks' second half was spectacular but they can't afford any more first half let downs from here on out.

Olathe North (9-1): For the past several weeks the Eagles have been playing the best football of any team left in the 6A East bracket and they will be a tough out for any team.

Olathe South
(7-3): It's been hard to gauge the Falcons this season but their win Friday was impressive. A win against Olathe North would be something else.

SM Northwest (6-4): Perhaps the easiest district in the state wasn't such a detriment after all? The Cougars made big plays when they needed to on Friday.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star