2012 Team Grades & Final Team Statistics

SMW's AJ Verdini. KC Star

SM West: A+
A general rule of thumb around here: I will never field a complaint with a team who wins a state title.  The Vikings matured and developed as much as any unit through the season.  I saw them play in week five against SM South and figured they would be lucky to make Sub-State.  They just kept pushing and getting better and in the end brought a halt to Hutchinson's streak of title victories, claiming a third state title for the Viking's own football program.

Lawrence Free State: A
A mere three points separated the Firebirds from a perfect regular season.  They finished with 10 wins, the second most in school history, and advanced to the Sub-State round for the third time as a program.  They also came out on the winning end of the week nine Battle for Lawrence, where they faced crosstown rival LHS in arguably the biggest game in the rivalry's young history.  Save a messy Sub-State loss, the season was full of successes and domination from the Firebirds.

Lawrence: A-
The Chesty Lions finished at 8-3, which was the best season the program has seen since 2005 when they went 10-2.  Led by a star-studded cast of seniors, LHS managed to navigate through the regular season at 7-2, then win a thriller in Gardner to advance to Sectionals.  The home loss to SM West to end the season was a rough note to go out on, but you can't discount how well they played collectively in 2012.
  
Olathe East: B
When the Hawks began the season 1-4 I really thought their string of consecutive winning seasons (which now stands at 13) would come to an end.  Lo and behold, they managed to reel off five straight victories in advancing to Sectionals.  The five wins also pushed their record to 6-4 overall, guaranteeing yet another winning season.

SM East: B
I was kind of thinking we might see the Lancers break through their post-season funk and advance deep into the playoffs but it didn't happen this year.  Still, they had many memorable moments from what proved to be a very successful fourth year under head coach Chip Sherman. Who could forget their 3-0 slugfest victory over Olathe South in week three? It was arguably the top defensive battle we've ever seen in a regular season Sunflower League game.

Leavenworth: B-
The Pioneers matched their highest win total of the decade by winning four games in 2012.  Head coach Kevin Kopecky has the program moving in the right direction, utilizing the tremendous--albeit sometimes undisciplined--talent the school has had for decades.  They've set themselves up well to have continued success in the years to come.

Olathe North: B-
The Eagles looked hapless early in the season.  Then staring quarterback Cole Murphy went down with a season-ending injury in week three and it looked like things would only get worse.  To the Eagles credit they hung around, and even managed to upset Olathe South in week nine to claim a playoff berth.

SM South: B-
The Raiders posted a two-game improvement in the win column from 2011.  While they didn't make the playoffs, they went from being an easy victory on everyone's schedule to a team other programs really had to game plan for.  We'll see if they can keep the steady momentum going.

Olathe South: C
I have a hard time grading out the Falcons as anything but average after they went 5-4 to follow up their 12-1 6A state title campaign in 2011.  They did lose some star power to graduation, but I felt the returning talent they had was at the bare minimum enough to earn a playoff berth.  I'm still scratching my head as to why they didn't do better.

SM Northwest: C
After a week one victory over Olathe North (which didn't prove to be very impressive in the end) the Cougars went on to lose seven of their next eight games. Year one of the Linn Hibbs tenure was rough--that's common for coaches in their first year with a new program, especially in the Sunflower League, and it's why I gave them a break and didn't bump them down to a C-

Olathe Northwest: C-
It looked like 2011 might have been the breakthrough season the program needed, as they finished at 5-5 with a Regional berth.  However, 2012 proved to be a step in the wrong direction as the team struggled through a 2-7 season.  The hope here (and the only reason they didn't receive a worse grade) is that enough underlcassman received solid reps to provide some padding for next year.

SM North: D
The Indians bordered on one of the worst Sunflower League seasons of any team of the last decade.  Granted, the school doesn't have the talent advantages of many of the league's other schools but going winless is pretty bad no matter how you look at it.

Team Stats

Offense

Passing Yards
Lawrence: 2,377
Olathe Northwest: 2,159
Free State: 1,641
SM East: 1,631
SM West: 1,254
Leavenworth: 999
Olathe South: 848
Olathe North: 817
SM Northwest: 643
SM South: 605
Olathe East: 263
SM North: 260

Passing Yards Per Game
Olathe Northwest: 239.9
Lawrence: 216.1
SM East: 163.1
Free State: 136.8
Leavenworth: 111
SM West: 96.5
Olathe South: 94.2
Olathe North: 81.7
SM Northwest: 71.4
SM South: 67.2
SM North: 28.9
Olathe East: 23.9

Passing Touchdowns
Lawrence: 25
Free State: 18
SM East: 13
Olathe Northwest: 12
SM West: 12
Leavenworth: 9
Olathe North: 7
Olathe South: 7
SM South: 5
Olathe East: 2
SM Northwest: 2
SM North: 0
 
Rushing Yards
SM West: 3,486
Olathe East: 2,514
SM North: 2,253
Free State: 2,221
SM South: 2,020
Olathe South: 2,148
Lawrence: 1,813
Olathe North: 1,791
Leavenworth: 1,636
SM Northwest: 1,522
Olathe Northwest: 1,409
SM East: 1,312

Rushing Yards Per Game
SM West: 268.2
SM North: 250.3
Olathe South: 238.7
Olathe East: 228.5
SM South: 224.4
Free State: 185.1
Leavenworth: 181.8
Olathe North: 179.1
SM Northwest: 169.1
Lawrence: 164.8
Olathe Northwest: 156.6
SM East: 131
 
Rushing Touchdowns
SM West: 38
Free State: 34
Olathe East: 27
Lawrence: 25
Olathe South: 22
SM East: 20
SM North: 20
Olathe North: 18
Leavenworth: 16
SM Northwest: 16
SM South: 16
Olathe Northwest: 13

Total Offense
SM West: 4,740
Lawrence: 4,190
Free State: 3,862
Olathe Northwest: 3,568
Olathe South: 2,965
SM East: 2,943
Olathe East: 2,777
Leavenworth: 2,635
SM South: 2,625
Olathe North: 2,608
SM North: 2,513
SM Northwest: 2,165

Points Per Game
Free State: 35.7
Lawrence: 32.8
SM West: 31.3
Olathe South: 25.4
SM East: 24.5
Leavenworth: 24.3
Olathe Northwest: 21
Olathe North: 20.3
Olathe East: 20.2
SM South: 19.6
Olathe Northwest: 16.2
SM North: 15.6

Total Offense Per Game
Olathe Northwest: 396.4
Lawrence: 380.9
SM West: 364.6
Olathe South: 329.4
Free State: 321.8
SM East: 294.3
Leavenworth: 292.8
SM South: 291.7
Olathe North: 289.8
SM North: 279.2
Olathe East: 252.5
SM Northwest: 240.6

Defense 

Passing Yards Allowed Per Game*
Free State: 71
Lawrence: 75.3
Olathe Northwest: 97.6
SM South: 99.1
SM East: 105.4
SM West: 106.4
SM Northwest: 115.1
Olathe South: 120.2
SM North: 124.7
Leavenworth: 144.9
Olathe North: 157.8
Olathe East: 184.2

Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game*
Olathe East: 102.2
Olathe South: 142.7
SM West: 145.3
SM East: 161.3
Free State: 163.9
Lawrence: 180.7
Leavenworth: 182.8
SM South: 189.6
Olathe North: 211.1
SM Northwest: 252.1
Olathe Northwest: 304.3
SM North: 306.3

Total Yards Allowed Per Game*
Free State: 234.9
SM West: 251.8
Lawrence: 256
Olathe South: 262.9
SM East: 266.8
Olathe East: 286.4
SM South: 288.7
Leavenworth: 327.7
SM Northwest: 367.2
Olathe North: 368.9
Olathe Northwst: 401.9
SM North: 431

*Through the nine-game regular season only.

Points Allowed Per Game
SM West: 13.8
SM East: 14.9
Olathe East: 15.5
Free State: 17.9
Olathe South: 19
Lawrence: 21.6
SM South: 23.4
Olathe North: 26.4
Leavenworth: 27.6
SM Northwest: 29.4
Olathe Northwes: 33.4
SM North: 48.1  

Sacks
SM West: 35
Free State: 30
Leavenworth: 14
Olathe East: 13
Lawrence: 11.5
SM East: 11
SM South: 11
Olathe South: 10
Olathe Northwest: 7
SM Northwest: 6
SM North: 4
Olathe North: N/A

Interceptions
SM West: 19
Free State: 17
Lawrence: 11
Olathe South: 10
Olathe East: 9
SM East: 9
SM Northwest: 6
Leavenworth: 5
SM South: 5
Olathe Northwest: 3
SM North: 2
Olathe North: N/A
 
Fumble Recoveries
Free State: 13
SM West: 13
SM South: 9
Olathe East: 8
Leavenworth: 6
Olathe South: 6
Lawrence: 5
SM East: 5
Olathe Northwest: 3
SM Northwest: 2
SM North: 0
Olathe North: N/A

Takeaways
SM West: 32
Free State: 30
Olathe East: 17
Lawrence: 16
Olathe South: 16
SM East: 14
SM South: 14
Leavenworth: 10
SM Northwest: 8
Olathe Northwest: 6
SM North: 2
Olathe North: N/A

Defensive Touchdowns
Free State: 6
SM West: 4
Leavenworth: 3
Lawrence: 2
Olathe East: 2
Olathe North: 2
Olathe South: 2
SM Northwest: 1
SM South: 1