Week Two Game Recaps

Olathe South's Russell White scored
touchdowns on runs of six, 60, and five
yards on Friday night.  Photo courtesy
the Kansas City Star.

Olathe South 33, Lawrence 22

Olathe South had no problem running effectively in this game, as they scored first when Russell White took a handoff 32-yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons an early advantage.  Lawrence was able to match the score on their next possession on a drive that was capped off with a six-yard run from Charles Jackson, then added a two-point conversion on a run from Brad Strauss.

Trailing by one, White broke free again for Olathe South, scoring on a 60-yard touchdown run.  The Falcons missed the PAT and led 13-8.  Jackson added another touchdown run for Lawrence in the first quarter from three yards out, and the Chesty Lions once again converted a two-point conversion to go up 16-13. 

In the second quarter Olathe South regained the lead on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Frankie Seurer to Justin Maggot, but once again missed the PAT.  They led by three until Lawrence's Anthony Rosen booted a 32-yard field goal to tie things at 19.  Olathe South then responded with another rushing touchdown--a four-yard run from Teddy Colbert--to go up 26-19.  Rosen added a field goal before the half to bring things to 26-22, with Olathe South ahead as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

The back-and-forth scoring did not continue in the second half.  In fact, the only score was a five-yard touchdown run for White, his third of the day, to push Olathe South's advantage to 33-22.  Olathe South churned out 321 rushing yards on the day.

Olathe North 45, SM North 7

Olathe North's Tanner Gentry took a punt 80-yards to the house midway through the first quarter and the route was on for the Eagles.  Gentry later caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jordan Bruce, and that's not to mention the combined 185 combined rushing yards put up by Orange Mooney and Treshawn Root.  SM North's lone score came, as expected, on a touchdown pass from Ryan Theis to Mason Perez--the third touchdown pass and catch between the combo.

Olathe East 35, SM East 27

Olathe East's method for covering SM East star receiver Elliot Faerber?  Double and sometimes triple team coverage on the talented wideout.  The plan worked, as the Hawks rolled to a comfortable eight-point victory after a less than impressive performance in week one against Olathe North.

Olathe East scored first when running back Kendall Kelly ran in a score from five yards out.  SM East scored next when Dakota Collins connected with the Lancers other top receiver, Connor Rellihan, on a 44-yard touchdown pass.  From there Olathe East separated themselves and didn't look back.  They scored three-straight rushing touchdowns, all from John Kelsh, to go up 28-7 early in the third quarter.  SM East finally countered with a five-yard touchdown run from Jake Libeer, but Olathe East punched right back with a 52-yard touchdown run from Kelly on a fourth and one play. 

Down 35-14, and without their starting quarterback Collins (who left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury), the Lancers made a late comeback attempt.  Backup quarterback Nick Pirotte led the Lancers on an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run from Jeff Cole.  The Lancers forced an Olathe East punt, and Andy Hiett returned the punt 74 yards for a touchdown to pull to within eight points.  SM East wasn't able to get any closer, as Olathe East closed out the game for the victory.

SM West 38, SM Northwest 31, OT

After a shoddy performance in week one, SM West stepped it up early in week two, scoring 24 first-half points and holding SM Northwest to seven.  The SM West scores came on a nine-yard touchdown run from Armani Williams, a 32-yard field goal from Mark Whitrock, a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Joel Spiller, and a 30-yard run from Ricco Hopkins.  SM Northwest got on the board with a 23-yard touchdown run from Danny Manning. 

SM Northwest didn't stay down for long, however, scoring 24 unanswered points in the second half.  Jake Horner returned the second half kickoff 90 yards for a score, which was followed by another Manning touchdown run, a 24-yard field goal by Jorn Winkelmolen, and a 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Horner.  SM West, trailing 31-24, narrowly tied the game late in the fourth quarter on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Tre Burt.  The score forced overtime, where the Vikings scored first on a one-yard touchdown run from Burt, then held the Cougars short of a score, to claim the win.

Lawrence Free State 23, Leavenworth 12

It wasn't a pretty win for Free State, but the team managed to come away with their first of the season after securing a late score.  The Firebirds jumped to a 16-0 lead in the second quarter on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Joe Dineen to Tye Hughes, and a one-yard touchdown run from Demarko Bobo.
Leavenworth was able to score two touchdowns to pull within four points at 16-12, but never closed the gap.  Calloway Schmidt intercepted a late Leavenworth pass, which led to an 81-yard touchdown score on a pass from Kyle McFarland to Ryan Patterson, ultimately putting the Firebirds up for good, 23-12.

Thursday Report

Lawrence Free State's Kyle McFarland.  Photo courtesy
the Lawrence Journal World.

Week Two Matchups
All game times 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

Olathe Northwest (1-0) at SM South (0-1) (Thursday Night Game) at SM South District Stadium

Olathe Northwest had one of their most impressive offensive performances in school history last week, highlighted by Willie Cauley's four touchdown receptions and Connor Middleton's 187 rushing yards (good for tops in the league in rushing).  The Ravens will try to keep their offensive prowess going against SM South who is coming off of a six-point loss that went down to the wire.

Leavenworth (0-1) at Lawrence Free State (0-1) at Lawrence Free State

Neither of these teams could have been happy with their week one performances as both were handily defeated.  Free State juggled quarterbacks in week one, trading off between Joe Dineen and Kyle McFarland.  The two combined for 142 passing yards and two touchdowns, but neither one necessarily outperformed the other, which means we'll probably see another quarterback rotation in week two.  As for Leavenworth, the team really has nothing to lose.  Judson Cole performed well in week one but it's going to take a team effort for the Pioneers to start winning. 

SM North (1-0) at Olathe North (1-0) at ODAC

Olathe North, once again, looks like the proverbial top dog in the Sunflower League.  In week one the Eagles rushed for 357 yards on 53 carries, and totalled 462 yards of total offense in a 29-14 victory over Olathe East.  The Eagles did give up 198 yards passing on defense, however, and if SM North has a shot in this game it's going to be through the air.  Last week SM North's quarterback, Ryan Theis, passed for 169 yards and three touchdowns.

Lawrence (1-0) at Olathe South (1-0) at CBAC

This game should be a fun one to watch.  Both team's confidence levels are sky high as both played very well in week one.  All eyes will be focused on Lawrence's quarterback Brad Strauss to see if he can continue the dominance he displayed in last week against SM West when he combined for 311 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.  Meanwhile, Olathe South's offensive combo of Jordan Ward and Teddy Colbert will be working to make a name for themselves as one of the Sunflower League's top one-two punches.

SM West (0-1) at SM Northwest (0-1) at SM North District Stadium

You could probably say these two clubs, based on their program's history and expectations, had the two most forgettable week one performances.  SM West was wiped out by Lawrence, 35-12, while SM Northwest displayed one of their most anemic performances in the last few years in a 28-3 loss to SM East.  SM West will especially be hungry for a victory, as they head to play at Olathe North in week three, and a potential 0-3 start to the season in nearly unheard of in Viking country.

Game of the Week
Olathe East (0-1) at SM East (1-0) at SM South District Stadium

After looking fairly pedestrian in week one, Olathe East will be looking to bounce back against the team that took their slot in the Power Rankings.  The Hawks cringe at the thought of an 0-2 start, but due to the most challenging two-game strech of any team in the Sunflower League, it remains a possibility.  SM East has loads of confidence heading into this game after they dominated SM Northwest 28-3 last Thursday.  Dakota Collins' transition into the Lancer's starting quarterback position went smoothly as he passed for 261 yards and two touchdowns--but this will be Collins first big test as the starter.