Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sunflower League Week Eight Game Previews

Jake Seurer and Olathe South will face
arguably their most difficult challenge of
the season when they travel to take on Blue
Valley Friday night. Photo KC Star.
Game of the Week
Olathe South (6-1) at Blue Valley (6-1) at Blue Valley High School

Falcon quarterback Jake Seurer has a combined 18 touchdowns (10 rushing and eight passing) which is tied for the most in the league ... traditionally known for their passing attack, Blue Valley has been very balanced offensively in 2014 ... the Tigers have a two-headed attack at running back, consisting of William Evans (598 rushing yards, eight touchdowns) and AJ Totta (590 rushing yards, seven touchdowns), while quarterback Colton McCumber (448 rushing yards, six touchdowns) has been equally potent ... Olathe South has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 162-46 in the first halves of their games ... the Falcons also lead the league in interceptions with 17 ... since taking over as Olathe South's primary tailback three weeks ago, DaeVonte Nance has rushed for 437 yards and scored six touchdowns.

Lawrence (4-3) at Olathe North (7-0) at ODAC

After some close games to begin the season, Olathe North has outscored their last four opponents 177-39 ... the Eagles are ranked No. 8 nationally in the Midlands Regions by Prepnation.com ... LHS has won three of four, after beginning the season 1-2 ... LHS' running back JD Woods (1,172 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns) and Olathe North running back Venus Triplett (922 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns) are the league's leading rushers ... Olathe North boasts the league's top pass defense, but LHS has only thrown the ball 50 times all season, completing 23 of those passes for 292 yards and zero touchdowns ... offensively, the Eagles like to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers, as six difference players have rushed for over 100 yards on the season.

Lawrence Free State (4-3) at Manhattan (6-1) at Manhattan High School

These two teams have never played one another ... Manhattan suffered their first loss of the season last week in a 52-41 shootout against Topeka ... a Free State win would give the Firebirds their ninth consecutive season with a winning regular season record ... quarterback Bryce Torneden is the primary offensive cog for the Firebirds, having generated 1,328 yards of total offense and 14 touchdowns in his first season starting at the position.

Washington (4-3) at Leavenworth (3-4) at Pioneer Stadium

A victory here for Leavenworth would mark their first two-game winning streak since September of 2012 ... the Pioneers have a stout pass defense, allowing just 67 yards a game through the air, good enough to rank second in the league ... a win would mark just the third time since 2000 in which Leavenworth has won four games in a regular season ... defensive back Isaiah Ross has 15 career interceptions, and needs just four more to tie the modern league record for interceptions in a career.

Olathe Northwest (4-3) at Olathe East (3-4) at CBAC

Olathe East holds an 11-0 series lead all-time against Olathe Northwest ... Olathe East has lost three games in a row after beginning the season 3-1 ... Olathe Northwest's offense ranks second to the last in the league, but their defense, which has kept them in most every game, ranks fourth overall ... one of the league's top quarterback/receiver duos consists of Olathe East's Chase Miller and his top receiver, Zach Cahill ... the two have connected for 367 yards and five touchdowns.

SM East (7-0) at Wyandotte (1-6) at Wyandotte High School

With wins in 18 of their last 20 games, SM East is ranked No. 5 nationally in the Midlands Region by Prepnation.com ... SM East is averaging 473 yards of total offense per game, which is 93 yards more per game than the league's second ranked team, Olathe North ... the Lancers boast the league's top ranked defense, allowing the fewest rushing yards per game of any team in the league (107 ypg), and they rank fourth in pass defense (82 ypg) ... running back Wyatt Edmisten's 18 touchdowns are tied for the lead in that category ... Charley White is statistically the league's best punt returner, averaging 19.8 yards per return for SM East.

SM North (1-6) at Harmon (0-7) at Harmon High School

Harmon has lost 28 games in a row ... SM North quarterback Will Schneider leads the league in total offense, with 1,445 passing yards, 169 rushing yards, and a combined 18 touchdowns ... the Indians win last week broke a losing streak that had stood at 25 games ... Nick Perez leads the league in every receiving category, including receptions (39) where he has 25 more catches than the league's second ranked player ... a win here would likely guarantee SM North a playoff berth.

Blue Valley North (1-6) at SM Northwest (2-5) at SM North District Stadium

Blue Valley North is just 2-32 in their last 34 games ... SM Northwest kicker Jonathan Killeen might be the league's best, with four makes on four attempts, including a long of 54 yards ... the Cougars' passing game has been poor, as their two quarterbacks, Joel Droge and Clay Drouilliard have combined for 12 interceptions and zero touchdown passes ... SM Northwest has lived and died by the results of their rushing game ... the Cougars average 187 rushing yards per game, but just 72 yards through the air.

SM South (2-5) at SM West (3-4) at SM South District Stadium

SM West has won two games in a row after beginning the season 1-4 ... the Vikings have recorded 14 interceptions defensively, which is the most of any league team ... four of those interceptions came last week against SM Northwest ... SM South's Dalton Lewallen ranks seventh in the league with 68 tackles, including 10 for loss ... SM West has won every game in this series dating back to the late 1990s.

1 comment:

Free State Fan said...

FS has to be on top of their game from the kick off, because Manhattan will be for sure. A loss for MAN tonight would mean they will not make the playoffs even though they would finish 7-2. TOP will destroy WR this week and MAN will do the same next week. If FS can pull this one off, they will make the playoffs on the West side. Go 'Birds!