Week Eight Review

Three Up

SM East

The Lancer's 13-12 victory over SM Northwest was one of the bigger upsets of the season in the Sunflower League. After a tumultuous 0-3 start it looked as if the Lancers were on pace for another very mediocre season. Since that time the team has gone 4-1, and with their victory Friday night they sealed a playoff berth.

Olathe Northwest

Olathe Northwest may have represented themselves poorly against the other Olathe schools, but they will be making the playoffs in 2009, which is ultimately the bigger goal. Granted, the Raven's two district wins have come against teams that are a combined 0-16, but the dominate fashion of their victories provides evidence that the team may be clicking.

Olathe North (below)

The Eagles took care of business for the eight time this season, and their star running back James Franklin was able to rest the entire second half. The victory over Blue Valley West sealed the district crown, and with a win against Olathe South on Friday the Eagles will also stake claim to an outright Sunflower League title. It would be the school's first since 2004.

Three Down

SM Northwest

By losing to SM East on Friday the Cougars were officially eliminated from playoff contention. No one saw this coming. The team played inconsistent football throughout the year, but it appeared the duo of Matt Nowak and John Hauk would be enough to propel the team to the playoffs. In the end the end the Cougars had no such luck.

Olathe South

Much like SM Northwest, the Falcons possessed a decent group of talent, but were haunted by inconsistency and a difficulty schedule. When reviewing the Falcon's stats more closely it also became obvious that the team struggled to score as many points as their stats would indicate. Tanner Dutton routinely passed for 250+ yards, but often that would only equate to one or two touchdown passes. With defensive liabilities the Falcons couldn't come through in district play.

SM South

At one point in time it looked like SM South had turned the corner and had a decent shot of improving to 4-3 through seven games. Things did not go their way and two consecutive losses have eliminated the Raider's playoff chances. With Olathe East on tap for week nine, that fourth win looks even more elusive.

Individual Highlights

**SM East's Kevin Hertel caught touchdown passes of 14 and 43 yards--the Lancers only scores of the game. The last touchdown was ultimately the score that elevated SM East to the win.

**Olathe North's James Franklin only ran the ball in the first half, but still totalled 159 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

**Josh Lemke, Brandon Bouvilom, and Cullen Phillips combined for seven touchdowns in Olathe Northwest's 63 point offensive performance. Phillips had touchdowns runs of 10 and 49 yards, Bouvilom had runs of 1 and 24 yards, and Lemke threw touchdown passes of 23, 29, and 34 yards.

**SM West's DJ Balazs collected his 20th career victory as a starting quarterback in the Viking's 49-7 victory Friday night. Balazs joins an elite group of Sunflower League quarterbacks who have accomplished the feat. Here is a list of some of the most recent members:

Name, school, graduation year, wins

Derek Miller, Olathe East, 2006, 31

DJ Balazs, SM West, 2010, 20

Tyler Lawrence, SM West, 2006, 20

**Olathe East's Hayden Groves ran the ball 22 times for 166 yards and one touchdown. He also caught a 19 yard touchdown pass in the Hawk's victory.

Week Nine Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (8-0): The Eagles are one win from claiming their first Sunflower League crown since 2004.

2. Lawrence Free State (6-2): The Firebirds will be looking to give Olathe Northwest a reality check.

3. SM West (7-1): The Vikings are peaking at the right time; their 49-7 win on Friday shows that both their offense and defense are well prepped for the playoffs.

4. Olathe East (5-3): If the Hawks take care of business against SM South they will be looking at their eighth straight playoff appearance.

5. Olathe South (4-4): A season that once showed alot of promise will be over all-to-soon for the Falcon faithful.

6. Olathe Northwest (4-4): The Ravens are already in the playoffs, but their game against Lawrence Free State will be a gut check.

7. SM East (4-4): The Lancers have already qualified for the playoffs and get a chance at their rival SM West on Friday, a team they haven't beaten in over a decade.

8. SM Northwest (4-4): The Cougars are a better team than their 4-4 record shows, but they were never able to put it all together in 2009.

9. SM South (3-5): The Raiders have nothing to lose against Olathe East; a four win season should be good motivation for the Green and Gold.

10. SM North (2-6): The Indians two wins came against winless Lawrence and Leavenworth.

11. Lawrence (0-8): It's time to see who wants it more.

12. Leavenworth (0-8): See Lawrence.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Eight Game Results

Olathe North 49, Blue Valley West 8

After a less-than-impressive performance from Olathe North in week seven, the Eagles came out and dominated Blue Valley West from the opening whistle. Olathe North's defense held Blue Valley West to two first half first downs, and the score at the half favored the Eagles 35-0. Olathe North's James Franklin only carried the ball once in the second half, but still closed out the game with 16 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Blue Valley 42, Olathe South 14

For the second week in a row Blue Valley came out with an offensive attack the had been hiding all season, and this time around it got an Olathe school. The Falcons from Olathe South failed to eliminate many of the mistakes that have been haunting them the entire season, most notably defensive liabilities. Tanner Dutton completed 21 of 29 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown for Olathe South, but once again the offensive fireworks weren't enough to collect the victory.

Olathe East 49, Blue Valley North 35

Blue Valley North literally used every page of the playbook to get a victory, but in the end Olathe East came out on top. A fake punt touchdown pass bumped Blue Valley North to a quick 7-0 lead, before Olathe East separated themselves and had gained a 28-7 lead by the start of the fourth quarter. From there, Blue Valley North ripped off four touchdowns (three on Danny Dolen touchdown passes). However, Olathe East scored three touchdowns of their own to grab a 14 point victory.

Lawrence Free State 42, Lawrence 14

In a sad reminder of the times for Lawrence alumni, LHS remained winless, this time in the form of a 28 point drubbing from their cross town rival. Free State's Camren Torneden (below) opened play with a 71 yard scamper to put Free State up seven--ultimately the touchdown was an omen of things to come. Lawrence lost fumbles on their next two possessions which led to easy Free State scores. The Chesty Lions have their last chance of victory against Leavenworth this Friday in a clash of winless teams.

Olathe Northwest 63, Leavenworth 0

Olathe Northwest broke the school record for points in a game for the second week in a row with their 63 point shutout of Leavenworth on Friday. The Ravens, who sealed a playoff berth with the win, were led by were led by their usual skill position players Josh Lemke, Brandon Bouvilom, and Cullen Phillips, who combined to score seven touchdowns.

Blue Valley Northwest 34, SM South 0

It appears as though Blue Valley Northwest is peaking at the right time of the season--an unfortunate draw for the Raiders from SM South. Blue Valley Northwest scored all of their 34 points in the first half of the game, feeding off of two Koby Chadick touchdown passes of 25 and 34 yards.

SM East 13, SM Northwest 12

In perhaps the biggest stunner of the 2009 season thus far, SM East was able to pull out a one point victory in their second district game and ultimately secure a playoff berth. An early defensive touchdown for SM Northwest put the Cougars up 6-0, but a botched extra point ended up costing them in the end. SM East was able to produce its 13 points off two touchdown passes to Kevin Hertel, while SM Northwest was only able to add two more field goals in the game.

SM West 49, SM North 7

Statistically SM West played one of their more sound games of the season in handing SM North it's sixth straight loss. SM West scored two defensive touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and one passing touchdowns in jumping to a 49-0 advantage at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Vikings will square off against their rival SM East--who is also 2-0 in district play--for the district championship on Friday.

Week Seven Review

Three Up

SM West

The Vikings (below) quietly defeated a solid SM Northwest team 20-8 on Friday and bumped their record to 6-1 overall. Assuming the Vikings play to their potential an 8-1 finish to the season is feasible with SM North and SM East on tap in the upcoming weeks. Quarterback DJ Balazs has also established himself as the most consistent signal caller in the league.

Olathe Northwest

The Ravens beat Lawrence Friday, and should collect at least one more win in districts en route to a probable playoff berth. Despite enduring some disappointing games in previous weeks, the Ravens have a new optimism to build off of for the rest of the season.

SM East

The Lancers Nut Cup victory of SM North was huge. Not only did they capture a win over a big rival, but they also kept themselves in contention for a playoff berth. A win against SM West or SM Northwest in the upcoming weeks will be a tall task for the team from Prairie Village, but Lancers look much better than the team that started the season 0-3.

Three Down

Sunflower League teams vs the EKL
Four teams from the Sunflower League played EKL teams in the first week of districts, and three of those teams lost. Olathe East, SM South, and Olathe South all fell at the hands of their EKL neighbors to the East, while Olathe North felt more pressure against Blue Valley than they had all season long.

SM North

A season that was once so promising has turned out to be very depressing for the Indians of SM North. The team has now lost five straight games after starting the year out 2-0. What's more, the team lost a nail biter to rival SM East on Friday--which acted like salt in the wound to the Indians.

Lawrence

The Chesty Lions were blown out once again in a 49-6 loss to Olathe Northwest, but despite all of the negativity some hope still remains. The Lions play crosstown rival Lawrence Free State on Friday and in that game both team's records might as well be thrown out. The game should be a dogfight for respect in Lawrence (for the Chesty Lions it may be there last thread of life on an otherwise awful season).

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's James Franklin ran the ball 29 times for 241 yards and two touchdowns against Blue Valley. Franklin is racking up arguably the best season a running back has ever had in Sunflower League history.

**Lawrence Free State's Camren Torneden bounced back from an awful game against Olathe North by scoring five touchdowns--three by ground, one by air, and one on a punt return--in helping Free State to a 55-0 victory over Leavenworth.

**Cullen Phillips of Olathe Northwest rushed the ball 20 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns in his team's win. The totals aren't among the best we have seen all season, but Phillips effort was crucial to the Raven's momentum meter throughout the game.

Week Eight Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (7-0): The Eagles played lackluster defense against Blue Valley, but ultimately it didn't matter--Olathe North's offense was simply overpowering.

2. Lawrence Free State (5-2): The Firebirds collected their token victory against Leavenworth and now must prepare for their 0-7 rival Lawrence High.

3. SM West (6-1): The Vikings are looking more and more impressive by the week--shutting down Matt Nowak is no easy task and the Viking's defense did just that Friday.

4. Olathe East (4-3): The former assistant got the best of the Hawks on Friday but the playoffs are still very likely for Olathe East.

5. Olathe South (4-3): For once Olathe South's defense outperformed their offense. However, the six offensive turnovers were too hard to overcome.

6. SM Northwest (4-3): The Cougars suffered a tough defeat at the hands of their rivals, but their power running game did show well and will probably be utilized quite a bit in the next few weeks.

7. Olathe Northwest (3-4): The Ravens (above) are on a high; lets see whether or not they are capable of playing at that level for more than one week.

8. SM South (3-4): The Raider's loss to Blue Valley North was a poor showing from the team who had been playing well of late.

9. SM East (3-4): The Lancers collected a nice win over SM North, but now face the tall task of SM Northwest and SM West is consecutive weeks.

10. SM North (2-5): The Indians, like the Lancers face a difficult slate to end the season. A good time to insert some miracle victories would be now.

11. Lawrence (0-7): The Chesty Lions could win out and make the playoffs, and with rival Free State and winless Leavenworth on the schedule, never say never.

12. Leavenworth (0-7): The Pioneers still have two weeks to make a memorable statement on the season.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Seven Game Results

Olathe North 49, Blue Valley 35

The glaring difference in victories for both teams was basically thrown out in this contest. In similar fashion to last season the game proved to be an offensive showcase. Olathe North only led the one-win Tigers by a touchdown at the half, but scored four touchdowns in the second half to pad the lead. James Franklin once again led the Eagles with 241 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 29 carries. Olathe North quarterback Victor Simmons also had a great game, rushing for four touchdowns.

Lawrence Free State 55, Leavenworth 0

It appeared as though Free State was able to take out a bit of their frustration from last week's loss to Olathe North on Leavenworth. Free State's Kirk Resseguie (below) scored touchdowns on runs of 1, 3, and 10 yards, but the big stat man was Camren Torneden. The senior quarterback rushed for three scores, passed for another, and returned a punt 71 yards for his fifth touchdown. The Firebirds will be focused on keeping their crosstown rival Lawrence High winless this upcoming Friday.

SM West 20, SM Northwest 8

Although the game was anything but flashy, SM West established their run game early and never looked back. The defining moment was a 69 yard touchdown burst by DJ Balazs which put the Vikings ahead 13-0. Cordi Pascal also added two rushing scores for the Vikings who shutout the Cougars up until the last few minutes.

Blue Valley Northwest 27, Olathe East 21

Olathe East starts district play 0-1 after a disappointing loss at the hands of one of their former assistants, Mike Zegunis, and his Blue Valley Northwest Huskies. The star of the game was Husky receiver Matt Ornduff (arguably the top receiver in Johnson County), who had touchdown receptions of 37, and 85 yards. Olathe East was down 27-7 at one point in the third quarter, but made a valiant effort to get back into the game. Two Carter McEntee touchdown passes got the Hawks within six, but they weren't able to collect another score.

Blue Valley West 15, Olathe South 14 (All Star Video Sports Highlights)

The Falcons of Olathe South rolled up colossal offensive numbers--both good and bad--in their district opener. Despite gaining 443 yards of total offense the Falcons turned the ball over six times. Blue Valley West was able to capitalize on the mistakes in the form of two touchdowns, one coming in the fourth quarter that put the Jaguars up a point for good. Falcon quarterback Tanner Dutton completed 29 of 45 passes for 342 yards, but recorded no touchdowns.

Blue Valley North 21, SM South 3

SM South jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a field goal, but the Raiders weren't able to anything more offensively. The Mustangs from Blue Valley North added three touchdowns--one in the second quarter and two in the fourth--to deny the Raiders a winning record through seven games.

SM East 20, SM North 13

No official box score of the game has been released, but what is known is that SM North lost its fifth straight game, while SM East pushed its record to 3-4. One of the SMSD Nut Cups was awarded to the Lancers for their win.

Olathe Northwest 49, Lawrence 6

Olathe Northwest had good reason to celebrate on Friday. Their 49 points set a school record for points in a game and they also look primed to make the playoffs with lowly Leavenworth coming up next week. The 49-6 victory was best characterized by the Raven's Cullen Phillips, who carries the ball 20 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns.