Sub-State Review

Olathe North 13, Olathe East 6

While this season wasn't as smooth of sailing as last year for Olathe North, the Eagles avenged their week three loss and are headed back to the 6A championship game. We knew both sides played good defense and in this game it really showed. After a scoreless first quarter, Olathe North was able to get on the board when Adonis Saunders (right) scored on a 59-yard run. Olathe East answered on their next possession with a 19-yard touchdown run from Brandon Willingham. The Hawks, however, showed one of their achilles heels of the season when they let Olathe North get through and block the extra point, keeping the Eagles up 7-6. Later in the quarter Olathe North kicker Daniel Gutierrez made a 27-yard field goal to put Olathe North up 10-6 at haltime.

The third quarter, much like the first, was a defensive struggle in which neither team scored. In the fourth quarter Olathe North added another Gutierrez field goal to push the lead to 13-6. Olathe East, faced with one last possession, didn't go away quietly. The Hawks were able to drive to the Olathe North 14-yard line and looked to be in position to score. Olathe East quarterback Trent Kuhl fired a pass to the endzone, but Olathe North once again made a big defense play when Dominick Wilson jumped in front of the pass and intercepted it at the Olathe North one-yard line.

Wichita Heights 42, Dodge City 38

Wichita Heights (12-0) didn't let a 28-0 first quarter defecit get them down. The Falcons, led by Kansas commit Dreamius Smith, were able to mount a comeback that was completed in the fourth quarter when Height's quarterback, Matt Reed, found receiver Evan Wessel in the back of the endzone for a late touchdown. The victory sets up another Olathe North vs. Wichita Heights battle in the 6A championship game. Last season Olathe North beat Wichita Heights 37-3 for the 6A title.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

Game Scores and Notes

Sectional Round Playoff Review

Olathe East 14, SM Northwest 7

For the second week in a row Olathe East failed to score any first half points. Fortunately for the Hawks, SM Northwest's offense was equally as unproductive and the teams went into the half tied at 0. In the third quarter the stalemate finally broke. SM Northwest quarterback Stephen Mangelsdorf was intercepted by Olathe East's Junior Williams who returned the interception to the SM Northwest 12-yard line. Several plays later Brandon Willingham was able to punch in a score from a yard out. The touchdown put Olathe East up 7-0. SM Northwest responded with a touchdown of their own. Mangelsdorf found James Gregory on a 15-yard touchdown pass to even the score. In the fourth quarter Olathe East's Austin Fulson made perhaps the biggest play of his career, breaking lose on a run and going 89 yards for a touchdown. The score came with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth, but Olathe East was able to ride the 14-7 lead to the finish.

Olathe North 17, Olathe South 0

Had we known Olathe North would be held to a mere 72 yards of total offense before this game began it seems logical that Olathe South would have come out victorious. Olathe South's costly turnovers and poor field position, however, proved to be their downfall in the end. Olathe North struck first when they started their third drive on the Olathe South 27-yard line. Following a few run plays and a fortunate bounce on a fumble by Adonis Saunders, Dominick Wilson (above) gave Olathe North the lead on a one-yard touchdown run. The 7-0 lead held through halftime. Midway through the third quarter Olathe South botched a shotgun snap, and Olathe North recovered the ball at the Olathe South seven-yard line. Olathe South's defense held, but Olathe North's Daniel Gutierrez connected on a 21-yard field goal to put Olathe North up 10-0. The Eagle's final score came in the fourth quarter when Kyle Swartz intercepted an Olathe South pass, and then several plays later punched the ball in on a one-yard touchdown run.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

Game Scores and Notes

Week Eight Game Results

Olathe Northwest 17, Lawrence 16

A late goal line stand helped Olathe Northwest win this all-important district matchup. The Ravens scored first on a 65-yard pass from Connor Middleton to Nick Bandy. Lawrence answered later in the second quarter on a five-yard run from Brad Strauss (right). Olathe Northwest was able to chip in a 33-yard Nick Prologo field goal before half to claim a 10-7 lead. In the third quarter Strauss connected with Austin Flory for a 61-yard touchdown pass to jump ahead, 14-10. Olathe Northwest reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter on a three-yard touchdown run from Leonard Parks. Lawrence got the ball back and drove all the way to the Olathe Northwest one yard line, but the Chesty Lions were unable to punch it in. Olathe Northwest took a safety on their next possession, but the Ravens were able to hold off Lawrence for the slim victory.

Blue Valley North 38, SM South 14

SM South's hopes of making the playoffs were ended on Friday with their loss to Blue Valley North. The Raiders gave up three first half touchdowns and trailed 21-0 at the intermission. Alex Forslund threw a touchdown pass to Shawn Laurent in the third quarter, and also added a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth, but the Mustangs were just too much to overcome. Blue Valley North kept their playoff hopes alive on the arm of Danny Dolen who passed for 243 yards and four touchdowns.

SM East 21, SM West 10

SM East was finally able to bury their losing streak against SM West. After a scoreless first quarter, SM East was able to get on the board when John Schrock ran in a score from a yard out following a long drive. SM West's Sean Jones was able to boot a 27-yard field goal with seconds remaining in the first half to pull the Vikings within four points. The third quarter was when the Lancers separated themselves. First Adam Lowe took a pitch seven yards for a touchdown to put SM East up 14-3. Following that score, the Lancers compiled a lengthy drive and Schrock found Elliot Faerber on a 21-yard strike for another touchdown to put SM East up 21-3. SM West showed some life in the fourth quarter when Armani Williams completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Derrian Henderson, but the Vikings weren't able to score again.

SM Northwest 49, Leavenworth 20

The Cougars from SM Northwest had no problems scoring on Leavenworth in the first half. Quarterback Stephen Mangelsdorf threw for three touchdowns passes, two to Kenny Mings and one to AJ Spencer, and he added another touchdown on the ground. SM Northwest's Antoine Smith contributed the other touchdown from 14 yards out. Leavenworth was able to add three second half touchdowns against SM Northwest's reserves.

SM North 42, Wyandotte 0

SM North finally stopped the losing streak at 14 games. The Indians had no problem handling the Bulldogs from Wyandotte, jumping to a 28-0 lead at halftime. Kyle Goodburn threw two first half touchdowns of 49 and 28 yards to Curtis Yates and Matt Denmark, respectively. Kendall Kelly and Mitch Padden also added touchdowns on the ground for the Indians. Paden added another touchdown run in the second half, and Ryan Theis ran back an interception for a touchdown to put the Indians at 42 points for the game.

Olathe South 31, Blue Valley West 30

Early on it looked like Olathe South was going to have an easy time collecting their sixth straight victory--in the end, the Falcons were just glad to come out on top. Olathe South opened scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run from Nick Sands. Jake Crist added an eight-yard touchdown run for the Falcons early in the second quarter before Blue Valley West got on the scoreboard with a two-yard run from Matt McKinnis. Olathe South was able to drive and Jared Douglas drilled a 38-yard field goal before the half to make things 17-7. Sands added an early second half touchdown run for Olathe South before Blue Valley West hit their stride. The Jaguars' DeSean Warren returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, then caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Devin Rose to help move Blue Valley West within 3 points. They evened the score with a 20-yard field goal from Connor Childress in the fourth quarter. The teams ended regulation tied at 24. Olathe South had the first possession in overtime and scored on a two-yard run from Sands. Blue Valley West answered when Rose hit Lee Snell on an eight-yard touchdown pass. The Jaguars elected to go for the two point conversion and the win, but their run up the middle was stuffed, and Olathe South claimed a 31-30 win.

Olathe East 42, Blue Valley Northwest 20
This week's game was much more comfortable for top rated Olathe East. The team scored two early touchdowns on an eight-yard run from Austin Fulson and an eight-yard reverse pass from Brandon Willingham to Trent Kuhl. Blue Valley Northwest answered with a 16-yard touchdown run from Garrett Fugate at the start of the second quarter. Olathe East then added two more touchdowns, this time on runs of two and 62 yards from Willingham. Fugate completed a 28-yard pass to Ramsey Zerni for a touchdown just before the half to push Blue Valley Northwest within 14 points of Olathe East. In the third quarter Michael Williams scored a special teams touchdown for the Hawks, and then added a 21-yard touchdown run to push the score to 42-14. Blue Valley Northwest's final score was on a two-yard pass from Fugate to Zerni in the fourth quarter.

Olathe North 38, Lawrence Free State 7
Olathe North made quite the statement with an impressive victory over Lawrence Free State Thursday night. The Eagles opened the scoring on their first possession when Victor Simmons took a keeper 80 yards for a touchdown. Free State took possession and immediately turned the ball over on a Dylan Perry interception. Olathe North then scored on a 47-yard reverse play to Tanner Gentry. Gentry would later add a 34-yard touchdown catch from Simmons to put Olathe North up 21-0. A one-yard touchdown run by Adonis Saunders pushed the lead to 28-0 at the half. Olathe North's Kyle Swartz added a touchdown run in the third quarter, and kicker Daniel Gutierrez booted a 23-yard field goal to put the Eagles at the 38 point mark. Free State didn't get on the board until early in the fourth quarter when Perry hit Nate Davis on an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Photo courtesy the Lawrence Journal-World

Eagles, Hawks Claim Victories

Olathe East 42, Blue Valley Northwest 20

This week's game was much more comfortable for top rated Olathe East. The team scored two early touchdowns on an eight-yard run from Austin Fulson and an eight-yard pass from Trent Kuhl to Brandon Willingham. Blue Valley Northwest answer with a 16-yard touchdown run from Garrett Fugate at the start of the second quarter. Olathe East then added two more touchdowns, this time on runs of two and 62 yards from Willingham. Fugate completed a 28-yard pass to Ramsey Zerni for a touchdown just before the half to push Blue Valley Northwest within 14 points of Olathe East. In the third quarter Michael Williams scored a special teams touchdown for the Hawks, and then added a 21-yard touchdown run to push the score to 42-14. Blue Valley Northwest's final score was on a two-yard pass from Fugate to Zerni in the fourth quarter.

Olathe North 38, Lawrence Free State 7

Olathe North made quite the statement with an impressive victory over Lawrence Free State Thursday night. The Eagles opened the scoring on their first possession when Victor Simmons (right) took a keeper 80 yards for a touchdown. Free State took possession and immediately turned the ball over on a Dylan Perry interception. Olathe North then scored on a 47-yard reverse play to Tanner Gentry. Gentry would later add a 34-yard touchdown catch from Simmons to put Olathe North up 21-0. A one-yard touchdown run by Adonis Saunders pushed the lead to 28-0 at the half. Olathe North's Kyle Swartz added a touchdown run in the third quarter, and kicker Daniel Gutierrez booted a 23-yard field goal to put the Eagles at the 38 point mark. Free State didn't get on the board until early in the fourth quarter when Perry hit Nate Davis on an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Photo courtesy the Lawrence Journal-World