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| Olathe North quarterback Cole Murphy orchestrated a late touchdown drive to give the Ealges a win to begin the season. Photo KC Star. |
Olathe East 23
In what turned out to be a classic display of skill and athleticism, two of Olathe's most heated rivals went punch for punch deep into the fourth quarter before settling things. Olathe East got on the board first after gaining excellent field position on a botched Olathe North punt, and finding the endzone six plays later on a six-yard touchdown run from Jalen Branson. Olathe North came back and answered with a 13-yard touchdown run from quarterback Cole Murphy, but missed the extra point. Later in the half Olathe North's Venus Triplett took a punt back 67 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 13-6 advantage at halftime.
In the third quarter Olathe North's first possession ended in a punt that was snapped through the back of the endzone -- Olathe East pulled to within five at 13-8. Olathe East scored again when they capped a drive with a four-yard touchdown pass from Connor Leach to Colby Stone to go ahead 16-13. Olathe North answered right back on a drive and touchdown run from Triplett to go back in front 19-16. And of course right on cue with the course of the game, Olathe East drove and Leach found Connor Alexander on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give the Hawks a 23-19 lead with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter. But it didn't end there -- a 12-play, 68-yard drive by the Eagles closed the final page on this game, as Triplett took a carry in from 12 yards out to give Olathe North a 26-23 lead, which proved to be the final score.
Olathe South 33, Lawrence 20
For the 33rd game in a row Olathe South started a Seurer brother at the quarterback position -- Jake, the new starter who took the reins from older brother Frank, did not fail to disappoint. In total he completed eight of 13 passes for 219 yards and four touchdowns. The scoring began when Olathe South got on the board with a 27-yard field goal from Logan Swartz early in the first quarter. LHS answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Nyle Anderson to Zay Boldridge. Olathe South countered with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Seurer to Tom McCue, before LHS drove and tied things with a one-yard touchdown run from Kieren Severa. A second Swartz field goal made things 13 all at halftime. Olathe South managed two more Seurer scores on passes to McCue and Dresden Wilbur to give the Falcons a 27-13 edge. LHS countered one last time when Anderson found Adam Hayes on a 40-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to pull within seven, but Olathe South answered on the next possession with an 83-yard touchdown pass from Seurer to Cameron White to effectively end the game.
Lawrence Free State 47, SM North 7
Free State head coach Bob Lisher couldn't have scripted a better beginning to the Firebird's season. On the third play from scrimmage the Free State forced a fumble and Keith Loneker recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown. The onslaught continued as Free State added three more first quarter touchdowns -- an eight-yard pass from Joe Dineen to Blake Winslow, a four-yard run from Stan Skwarlo and a 27-yard pass from Dineen to Loneker. In the second quarter the Firebirds added another 19 points on three more touchdowns, this time a 35-yard run from Carson Bowen, a five-yard run from Skwarlo and a one-yarder from Dineen. With a 47-0 halftime lead Free State called off the dogs and didn't score again. SM North's lone touchdown came on a three-yard run from Dominic Degraffenreid-Snell in the fourth quarter.
Olathe Northwest 21, SM Northwest 14, 2 OT
In the battle of the Northwests (both of whom went 2-7 last fall), the Olathe group came out on top, but it proved to be one of the most exciting regular season games in the history of both schools. Cole Dahlquist scored first for Olathe Northwest on a 15-yard option keeper in the first quarter after the Olathe Northwest defense forced an early turnover. SM Northwest matched the score and things held up at seven though the fourth quarter, forcing overtime. SM Northwest had the first possession and scored on a run from Jake Horner. Dahlquist found Chase Gitlin on a touchdown pass to match things at 14 and take the game to a second overtime. Olathe Northwest started with possession and scored on a Dahlquist run to go up 21-14. SM Northwest made it all the way to the one-yard line but running back Jacob Gilliam was stopped a yard short on a 4th and 1 play to end the game.
SM East 34, Leavenworth 0
The Dustin Delaney era couldn't have started any better for the Lancers. After a scoreless first quarter, SM East added three second quarter touchdowns, two from quarterback Christian Blessen. A 21-0 halftime lead ballooned with two more second half touchdowns. In addition to Blessen, Mitch Tyler and Luke Taylor were also in on two touchdowns apiece.
SM West 10, SM South 3
The defending Class 6A champion SM West Vikings put out a week one performance that suggests they either had an off night, or SM South improved significantly from 2012 -- most likely the answer can be found in both options. The lone score of the first half came when SM South capped off a drive that spanned over 10 minutes with a short field goal midway through the second quarter. In the third quarter SM West, trailing 3-0, found themselves in SM South territory after a long punt return from Andre Maloney. SM South safety Ra'Keim Abdul was forced to leave the game with a bad leg cramp a few moments later. On the next play SM West sent Maloney on a post route at the replacement safety and AJ Verdini found Maloney on a 39-yard touchdown pass. On their next possession SM West connected on a 27-yard field goal from Tyler Thayer to go up 10-3, which turned out to be the final score.
