Olathe East vs. Olathe South Sub-State Recap

Olathe South 38, Olathe East 21

Olathe South running back Jordan Ward ran through the
Olathe East defense for three touchdowns.  Photo courtesy
the Wichita-Eagle.

For the second time in four weeks Olathe South came at Olathe East with a ferocious attack that the Hawks weren't able to handle.  This time around Olathe South had scored 38 points by the end of the third quarter and it was more than enough to earn the Falcons their fourth 6A state championship appearance since 1999.

Olathe South's Jared Douglas put up the first points for of the game when he hit a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter.  Olathe South came back again early in the second quarter when they closed out a drive with a 12-yard touchdown run from Fritz Wilbur.  Trailing 10-0, Olathe East was able to get back into things when Hayden Frazier took a carry 26 yards for a touchdown.  Olathe South managed one more score on a 16-yard run from Teddy Colbert which gave the Falcons a 17-7 halftime lead.

The third quarter was when Olathe South separated themselves, much to the credit of running back Jordan Ward and some tremendous efforts on the offensive line.  Ward scored three consecutive rushing touchdowns on runs of 33, 39 and 45 yards.  The last of which gave Olathe South a 38-7 lead and the victory, by all means.  Olathe East didn't go out completely quietly.  Running back Kendall Kelly added two touchdowns on runs of 46 and two yards.  In the end, however, Olathe South sat comfortably with a 17-point lead as time expired.

With the win, Olathe South pushed their record to 11-1 on the season.  Olathe South will face the Falcons of Wichita Heights this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Yager Stadium, on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka.  Olathe East closed out their season with nine or more wins for the seventh time in nine years.

Notes and Comments

**Olathe South began the 2010 season 0-2 under Jeff Gourley.  Something must have clicked in week three that year, because since then the Falcons have won 18 of their 21 games, including four playoff victories.

**Is this finally the year that Olathe South gets that breakthrough win and claims their first 6A state title?  The Falcons have made it to the final round three times previously, in 1999, 2004 and 2007.  They lost a close one to Garden City, 14-7, in the 1999 title game.  In 2004 and 2007 they lost to Hutchinson. 

**I can't remember the last time a player has come on as strongly this late in the season as what we've seen from Olathe South running back Jordan Ward.  Talk about running with a reckless abandon.  His three touchdowns on Friday gave him a combined 10 touchdowns in the last four games, not to mention 862 rushing yards in that time span.