Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Week Two Review and Power Rankings

LHS' Tyrone Jenkins.  Lawrence Journal World.
Three Up

SM East
For the first time in over 25 years and just the second time in school in history the Lancers came away victorious against Olathe North.  The defense has only given up seven points in two weeks and as a unit SM East is playing with a ton of confidence.

Lawrence Free State
The best way to prove your worth as a team is by taking down other top opponents and that's what Free State did on Friday.  Their 28-14 victory over SM West more or less validates the Firebirds as one of the league's top few.

Lawrence
The Chesty Lions played at the level we'd been expecting them to play at all preseason.  The battering attack of running back Tyrone Jenkins and quarterback Brad Strauss combined for 250 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Three Down

Olathe North
It seems apparent, with sophomore starters scattered throughout the starting lineup, that the Eagles are working on developing their youth this season as a mortgage policy for the future.  The problem is the lumps they'll take in the meantime like the 30-7 loss to SM East on Thursday.

SM Northwest
The Cougars might have been a bit overconfident or maybe LHS is just that much better.  Time will tell.  In the interim SM Northwest will have to put their 29-point loss behind them because they have a very evenly matched three-week stretch upcoming that will define much of how their season's viewed. 

SM North
The Indians have been outscored 97-29 through two weeks.  What does this mean?  Absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of making the playoffs, but they'll really have to focus their attention to detail the remainder of the season if they want to do anything worth noting.

Week Two Players of the Week

Connor Rellihan, SM East: The Lancers' top offensive threat went off on Thursday night.  Rellihan caught 11 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, converted several fourth down plays (one on a 25-yard pass completion), intercepted a pass and recorded several tackles in leading SM East to victory.

Kyle McFarland, Free State: The Sunflower League player who poses the biggest threat on offense and defense may be the rangy McFarland.  On Friday he passed for 161 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 151 yards and recorded two momentum killing interceptions on defense.

Hayden Frazier, Olathe East: Putting up 257 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries certainly warrants Player of the Week honors.  Seeing as how Frazier is the Hawks' primary ballcarrier, I would suspect this won't be the last time he eclipses the 200-yard rushing mark this year.

Week Three Power Rankings

1. Olathe South (2-0): The Falcons had no trouble imposing their will on SM North on Friday.  With two solid tune-up games under the belt they face a talented and hungry Free State team this week in what should be a huge statement game... for the winning team

2. Lawrence Free State (2-0): Free State is humming along just like we expected on offense but the real point of interest is how well their defense has played.  They snagged three interceptions on Friday and they've only given up 14 points on the season.  How their defense holds up against Olathe South will have more of an importance than the performance of their offense.

3. SM West (1-1): The Vikings need to figure out their quarterback situation, ASAP.  The silver lining to their loss on Friday is that the toughest stretch of their season is over and the schedule is much more forgiving from here on out. 

4. Lawrence (1-1): The Chesty Lions gave us the type of performance we expected out of them on Friday.  With Brad Strauss and Tyrone Jenkins operating so efficiently out of the backfield they could win out and I wouldn't be surprised.

5. SM East (2-0): Is SM East for real?  The answer is a resounding yes and focused not on the work of their offense, but rather how solid of defense they've played.  Their linebacking core gives Olathe South a run for their money as the best in the league.

6. Olathe East (1-1): The Hawks are now 10-0 all-time against their fellow CBAC tenant, Olathe Northwest.  Their win on Friday wasn't glitzy but they got the job done.  Their next three games will be a challenge and we'll find out real quick just how good they are.

7. SM South (1-1): Running back Gabe Guild pounded out over 200 rushing yards in the Raiders' 17-3 victory on Friday.  Going forward, one can assume SM South's probability of winning any game will increase exponentially with every rushing yard he records over the 200 mark.

8. Leavenworth (1-1): The Pioneers week two performance was a complete dichotomy from how they played in week one.  Their offense was anemic, they made sloppy mistakes and they never found a rhythm.  On the bright side they could win any and all of their next three games.

9.  SM Northwest (1-1): After the poor performance in week two you have to wonder whether the week one win against Olathe North was just a product of Olathe North being really inexperienced.  Either way, the Cougars won't do much if they continue to play the way they did in their loss to LHS Friday.

10. Olathe North (0-2): Sophomores Cole Murphy and Venus Triplett have shown flashes of brilliance as a quarterback/running back combo, it's just that they're both relatively new to the varsity scene.  That being said, the combo is a great mortgage policy for the Eagles and will be a major threat later in the season and in the years to come.

11. Olathe Northwest (0-2): The Ravens showed much more life in their 14-point loss to Olathe East.  While it was still a loss, it was an improvement over their week one thrashing, and a step in the right direction.  They are fully capable of winning three of their next four games and if they do their season will be right back on track.

12. SM North (0-2): Fittingly, SM North will play arguably the most difficult schedule of any team in the Sunflower League this year.  With Olathe South in the rear-view mirror the Indians still have to face Lawrence, Free State, SM West and SM East, all of whom are ranked in the top five of this week's Power Rankings.

5 comments:

The Biscuit said...

I'm sure the new power ranking will have some fellow SMEasters up in arms, but I think its fair. As long as we still have a leg up in the real standings I'm good. I'll play sleeper all day...

TheImpaler said...

You probably need to beat at least one of the top six to start getting some respect. You'll have plenty of chances after week 3.

Sunflower_Blogger said...

I agree with the Impaler, SMeast hasn't played anyone yet.

The Biscuit said...

Probably should take a 2nd read on what I wrote... Said it was fair.

Free State Fan said...

Gotta bring your "A" game every week in the Sunflower League - easily the best high school football league in the state of Kansas. Every Friday, you are no more than an hour drive from a great high school football game. This week's game of the week between OS and LFS should be a fantastic game. Can't wait!