2012 Player Spotlights: Hayden Frazier

Hayden Frazier.

Hayden Frazier
Olathe East 

Position: Running Back
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 180 lbs.
Year: Senior 

State to Note
As a junior Frazier carried the ball 93 times for 489 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games, good for honorable mention All-Sunflower League honors.

Scouting Report
Frazier's ready for a breakout season on the gridiron.  He's bid his time patiently, playing third-string running back last year behind seniors John Kelsh and Kendall Kelly, both of whom conquered the 1,000-yard rushing mark.  It says alot about Frazier that he was still able to churn out nearly 500 rushing yards getting carries after those two.

Frazier won't have any problem getting all of the carries he wants in 2012.  He's going to be the Hawks primary ball carrier and given Olathe East's recent run-to-pass ratios (roughly 80/20) you can all but pencil in Frazier for a 1,000+ rushing yard season.  While he's probably not going to overpower anyone with his ability to break tackles (his 180-pound listing is generous) he won't have to to be successful--he has great speed and burst out of the backfield which gives him an edge getting past the second level.

You know Olathe East is going to be good, the only question is how good?  They've lost in the Sub-State round the past two seasons, but as the old Jeff Meyers maxim goes, the Hawks will keep knocking on the door until it breaks open.  Frazier is Olathe East's most notable returning player and he should be a fun one to watch this upcoming season.

Sunflower League Elite Eleven Teams - 2011

Before you jump into my second addition of the Sunflower League Elite Eleven, there are a few things to take note of.  First off, I expanded the list to two teams this year.  The Elite Eleven is sort of my First Team, and the Second Eleven is like my Second Team.  It was hard narrowing it down to my top 22 players, let alone the top 11 the way I did last season.

Secondly, I expanded to included defensive lineman on this list, however, I once again did not include offensive lineman.  The reason?  Quite honestly there's too much effort that would have to go into evaluating offensive lineman to come up with a fair and objective group that would fit into these two teams. 

Like I've always said, the best way to evaluate the top offensive lineman in the league is to look at the Coaches All-Sunflower League Team.  The coaches are the ones who evaluate the lineman on a weekly basis and their knowledge of who's best is going to be more accurate that anything you could pick up from going to the games on Friday nights or watching reruns on Metro Sports. 

And lastly, the players are not listed in any particular order, so throw that out if you thought you were on to something.  The Coach of the Year is also listed at the bottom of the Elite Eleven team.

The Elite Eleven

Sunflower League Most Valuable Player

Jordan Ward, Senior – Olathe South

Rushing Stats: 201 carries, 1,740 yards, 23 TDs

Talk about coming out of nowhere and going out with a bang. Ward’s final carry as a high school football player was a 41-yard touchdown run on a dive play that gave Olathe South the lead in the 6A state championship game with just under a minute left. Olathe South held on for the victory, and Ward will forever be remembered for that play.  His offensive line opened up a running lane for the first ten yards, but the next 31 were all on Ward, as he cut back across the middle of the field before dragging a defender for five yards in to the endzone.

Ward’s final five game this season could go down as some of the best numbers we’ve seen in league history. His rushing totals, from week nine through the state championship in week 13 were as follows: 232, 107, 290, 233 and 263 yards, respectively, and his touchdown totals in each of those games were 3, 1, 5, 3 and 4, respectively. That means in the final five games of the year Ward combined to rush for 1,125 yards and 16 touchdowns—against the best competition Class 6A had to offer.

He would have been a shoe-in to break the 2,000 yard rushing barrier had an early season injury not kept him out of several games, as he averaged 9.5 yards per carry for crying out loud. Standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 180 pounds, Ward didn’t necessarily stand out walking off the bus, but he proved his worth with his late explosion—and his game-winning play late against Wichita Heights will go down forever in Olathe South lore.

Offensive Player of the Year

Brad Strauss, Junior – Lawrence

Passing Stats: 117-of-178, 1,554 yards, 11 TDs
Rushing Stats: 85 carries, 707 yards, 11 TDs
Return Stats: 1 Kick Return TD

In his seven and half games of action, Strauss accomplished more statistically than most players do in a career. Not only did he lead the Sunflower League in combined offense with 2,261 yards, but the fact that he accomplished it in so few games is incredible. Just in case you don’t know the story, Strauss started on offense, defense and special teams throughout the season, and push finally came to shove in week eight when he suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter against Olathe Northwest. He didn’t play in week nine, and he only played for a quarter against Olathe South in the Regional Round of the playoffs.

Nevertheless, he had an outstanding season—one of the best we’ve ever season from one player. In each of the seven games in which he was healthy he put up at least 254 yards of total offense. While he didn’t finish out the season the way he would have wanted to, he’ll be back at the helm for the Chesty Lions in 2012, and with a loaded roster returning it could be another brilliant season for Strauss.

Defensive Player of the Year

Remington Whitley, Junior – Olathe South

Defensive Stats: 162 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Nearly every state championship team has a player that you can point to as the heart and soul of the defense. For Olathe South that was Whitley. He converted to the middle linebacker position this past offseason after having played outside linebacker previously.

The move inside worked well, as he led the Sunflower League in tackles from start to finish, not to mention helping Olathe South claim the state title. Whitley was excellent in run support, and his pass defense skills weren’t far behind. His four interceptions tied him for fourth place among league leaders in the category. The scary thing is that Whitley (like Strauss) is only a junior and he’ll be back as an even more improved player in 2012.

Willie Cauley, Senior – Olathe Northwest

Receiving Stats: 64 catches, 1,265 yards, 15 TDs

I had heard rumors in the off-season that Cauley was going out for football but I was a bit skeptical of how well a skinny 6-foot-10 basketball player turned wide receiver would do. Was he fast enough? Did he have good hands? How would he handle getting jarred by defenders? Well, Cauley answered all of those questions by putting up arguably the best season we’ve seen out of a Sunflower League receiver in the last decade.

It all started in week one when he recorded 122 receiving yards and four touchdowns against Leavenworth. From there on out the kid was a machine putting up big receiving totals week in and week out. In a year in which we saw a general shift from league teams to the pass, it was Cauley who stood out as the league’s most consistent receiving threat. Cauley committed to play basketball at Kentucky in week eight, so his dominant senior season on the gridiron won’t be the last we see of the rare 6-foot-10 athlete.

Kendall Kelly, Senior – Olathe East

Rushing Stats: 212 carries, 1,222 yards, 22 TDs
Defensive Stats: 53 tackles, 1 fumble recovery

Kelly really experienced a resurgence in his senior year of football. We had high hopes for the talented running back/defensive back after he capped off a tremendous sophomore season at SM North. However, as a junior, he had a forgettable season for the Indians and more or less fell off the map.

Kelly transferred to Olathe East and it was probably the best thing for him. After a relatively slow start to the season, he picked up steam and became the Hawks go to back in redzone situations, evidence by his 22 rushing touchdowns. He was also a valuable piece of the Hawks’ talented secondary. For Kelly, we always knew he had the talent to be among the league’s best, but it just took the right setting for that to happen.

Junior Williams, Senior – Olathe East

Defensive Stats: 66 tackles, 7 interceptions, 1 forced fumble
Return Stats: 1 Kick Return TD

It’s fair to say that Junior Williams lived up to the standards laid before him by his two older brothers, former Olathe East greats Dorian and Derahn. Junior was arguably the league’s top cornerback this year, and his best game came against Olathe Northwest in the Regional Round of the playoffs. Junior had the challenging task of covering Willie Cauley, Olathe Northwest’s 6-foot-10 behemoth wide receiver who led the league in receiving. Junior picked off three passes and held Cauley to one of his least productive games of the season.

Kyle McFarland, Junior – Lawrence Free State

Passing Stats: 88-of-162, 1,265 yards, 12 TDs

Rushing Stats: 135 carries, 783 yards, 7 TDs

Defensive Stats: 20 tackles, 3 interceptions

Most people didn’t know about McFarland heading into this season—and rightfully so. He hadn’t done much on varsity as a sophomore, and he hadn’t even won the starting quarterback job. It would take a few weeks, but the talented junior finally took the reins of the Free State offense full-time in week three.

He lived up to the standards of the past four Free State quarterbacks admirably, combining for over 2,000 yards of total offense, 19 touchdowns and even gaining a reputation as one of the top defensive backs in the league. We’ll get to see and hear about McFarland all of next season since he is just a junior, but the kid has one heck of a season to reflect back on in his first year as the starting quarterback.

Tanner Gentry, Senior – Olathe North

Receiving Stats: 35 catches, 677 yards, 12 TDs
Return Stats: 1 Punt Return TD
Defensive Stats: 36 tackles, 4 sacks

The one thing Olathe North seemed to lack this season was consistency. They began the season 5-0 and ended it 0-4. If you watched them statistically, it was literally a roller coaster ride on a week-to-week basis. However, the one thing that did stay consistent at Olathe North was the talented Gentry. Before the season Gentry’s name was being thrown around quite a bit due to the stellar junior season he had as a defensive end. While he had another impressive year on the defensive side of the ball, it was his receiving efforts that really gained everyone’s attention.

He started things off with a three-touchdown night against Olathe East in week one and those types of efforts continued as the season went along. While things didn’t shake out the way Gentry and his teammates would have wanted regarding making the playoffs, it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of production from Gentry.

Connor Middleton, Senior - Olathe Northwest

Rushing Stats: 204 carries, 1,275 yards, 21 TDs

Receiving Stats: 23 catches, 200 yards, 2 TDs
Defensive Stats: 99 tackles

Elite wrestlers translate well on the football field. Just take a look at how past Sunflower League greats Justin Dyer of Olathe South, and Josh Carroll and Lucas Vincent of Olathe North did on the gridiron after dominating the mats. You can add Middleton to the list.

While short in stature, Middleton was anything but short in ability. He scored more touchdowns than any player in the league during the regular season and he had an uncanny ability to fill a stat sheet. Middleton’s highlight moment came in week nine when he carried the ball 29 times for 332 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to passing for one score. He scored four consecutive touchdowns in the second half and his efforts helped Olathe Northwest to beat the highly favored Olathe North in the game.

Mason Perez, Senior – SM North

Receiving Stats: 24 catches, 607 yards, 12 TDs
Return Stats: 3 Kick Return TDs, 1 Punt Return TD
Defensive Statistics: 54 tackles, 1 interception

If you were looking for a game breaker you had to look no further than SM North’s Perez. After leading the Sunflower League in interceptions as a junior with six, Perez came back as one of the league’s top returning defensive players, but it was actually his offensive game that earned him the most attention as a senior.

Not only did Perez combine for 16 touchdowns, but seven of those touchdowns came on plays of 40 yards or longer. His defensive game wasn’t anything to look past either. Teams rarely threw the ball his way, and he was excellent in run support recording over 50 tackles.

Gabe Guild, Junior– SM South

Rushing Stats: 199 carries, 1,641 yards, 12 TDs

Receiving Stats: 18 catches, 216 yards, 2 TDs
Defensive Stats: 22 tackles, 1 interception

Guild was a workhorse back for SM South in his junior season. Not only did he lead the Sunflower League in rushing yards during the regular season, but he also made contributions as a receiver out of the backfield and on defense.

Guild’s highlight of the season was in week five when he toted the rock 30 times for 342 yards and three touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards a running back had put up in the league in years and it embodied Guild’s work effort and determination as much as anything.  SM South didn't win many games, but Guild seemed to produce no matter the circumstances.

Coach of the Year

Jeff Gourley, Olathe South

This was one of the easiest choices of any of the picks I had to make.  Gourley coached Olathe South to a 12-1 record and the 6A state championship, the first state title in the program's history.  The Falcons also won the Sunflower League outright for the first time in school history. 

In his first year at the helm at Olathe South in 2008, Gourley won just three games.  The following year the team won four games.  Last season Olathe South made a late run and finished with seven wins.  This year, Gourley's fourth at the helm, the program reached heights that had not yet been seen in its history (no pun intended).  What's more, Olathe South returns a loaded roster in 2012, and Gourley and Co. will be the favorites in Class 6A to repeat as champions. 

The Second Eleven

Elliot Faerber, Senior – SM East

Faerber would have made a much larger impact for SM East had he not been forced to juggle catching passes from different starting quarterbacks or had to deal with several nagging injuries. He still had a solid year catching 60 passes for 764 yards and six touchdowns.

Connor Rellihan, Junior – SM East

Rellihan had an outstanding year catching 48 passes for 881 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’ll be one one of the top returning Sunflower League wide receivers in 2012, and the SM East offense will certainly cater to his abilities.

Dalton Rook, Senior – Olathe Northwest

Sure, it helped he had Willie Cauley to throw to, but Rook did outstanding in his one year as the starting quarterback. In the nine games he started he completed 157 of 253 passes for 1,968 yards and 19 touchdowns—leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns.

John Kelsh, Senior – Olathe East

After a decent junior season, Kelsh came back as a stud senior for Olathe East, rushing 170 times for 1,269 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 7.5 yards per carry average wasn’t too shabby either. He was key in Olathe East’s second consecutive Sub-State appearance.

Orange Mooney, Senior – Olathe North

Say what you want, but Mooney was one of the top running backs in the league this season. He carried the ball 162 times for 978 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. Mooney could have benefited from another year in Olathe North’s system but he put up great numbers in his one year as an Eagle.

Teddy Colbert, Senior – Olathe South

In open field Colbert may have been the fastest play in the Sunflower League.  He carried the ball 97 times for 1,126 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he also caught six passes for 114 yards.  Colbert's rushing average of 11.6 yards per carry meant he averaged a first down, and then some, every time he took a handoff.

Matt Elliott, Junior – Olathe South

Elliot was a multi-purpose nightmare and he’ll be returning to wreak havoc next year. He carried the ball 66 times for 389 yards and three touchdowns, caught 24 passes for 561 yards and three touchdowns, and defensively he recorded 33 tackles and four interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Frankie Seurer, Junior – Olathe South

I took some crap for doing a Player Spotlight on Seurer in the preseason, but he sure made me look good. Seuerer passed for 1,634 yards and 12 touchdowns, not to mention going 4-of-5 for 183 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown pass to Drew Johnson in the 6A state title game, which Olathe South won.

Matthew Baltimore, Senior – Olathe East

Baltimore earned much more attention from offenses following his impressive junior year and commitment to play at Northern Illinois, but he still did very well. He totaled 63 tackles, 10 quarterback hurries, four sacks and four fumble recoveries and he was a defensive stalwart for the Hawks.

Jason Randall, Sophomore– Leavenworth

Randall was Leavenworth’s top player, toting the ball 145 times for 833 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 26 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Randall will return in 2012 as Leavenworth’s top player.

Alex Forslund, Senior – SM South

Forslund was an outstanding player for SM South on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he completed 36 of 96 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns, and he carried the ball 137 times for 548 yards and 12 touchdowns. On defense he made 89 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and forced two fumbles.

Stats courtesy Mid-Statesports.com

Olathe East vs. Olathe South Sub-State Recap

Olathe South 38, Olathe East 21

Olathe South running back Jordan Ward ran through the
Olathe East defense for three touchdowns.  Photo courtesy
the Wichita-Eagle.

For the second time in four weeks Olathe South came at Olathe East with a ferocious attack that the Hawks weren't able to handle.  This time around Olathe South had scored 38 points by the end of the third quarter and it was more than enough to earn the Falcons their fourth 6A state championship appearance since 1999.

Olathe South's Jared Douglas put up the first points for of the game when he hit a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter.  Olathe South came back again early in the second quarter when they closed out a drive with a 12-yard touchdown run from Fritz Wilbur.  Trailing 10-0, Olathe East was able to get back into things when Hayden Frazier took a carry 26 yards for a touchdown.  Olathe South managed one more score on a 16-yard run from Teddy Colbert which gave the Falcons a 17-7 halftime lead.

The third quarter was when Olathe South separated themselves, much to the credit of running back Jordan Ward and some tremendous efforts on the offensive line.  Ward scored three consecutive rushing touchdowns on runs of 33, 39 and 45 yards.  The last of which gave Olathe South a 38-7 lead and the victory, by all means.  Olathe East didn't go out completely quietly.  Running back Kendall Kelly added two touchdowns on runs of 46 and two yards.  In the end, however, Olathe South sat comfortably with a 17-point lead as time expired.

With the win, Olathe South pushed their record to 11-1 on the season.  Olathe South will face the Falcons of Wichita Heights this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Yager Stadium, on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka.  Olathe East closed out their season with nine or more wins for the seventh time in nine years.

Notes and Comments

**Olathe South began the 2010 season 0-2 under Jeff Gourley.  Something must have clicked in week three that year, because since then the Falcons have won 18 of their 21 games, including four playoff victories.

**Is this finally the year that Olathe South gets that breakthrough win and claims their first 6A state title?  The Falcons have made it to the final round three times previously, in 1999, 2004 and 2007.  They lost a close one to Garden City, 14-7, in the 1999 title game.  In 2004 and 2007 they lost to Hutchinson. 

**I can't remember the last time a player has come on as strongly this late in the season as what we've seen from Olathe South running back Jordan Ward.  Talk about running with a reckless abandon.  His three touchdowns on Friday gave him a combined 10 touchdowns in the last four games, not to mention 862 rushing yards in that time span.

Sub-State Preview: Olathe East at Olathe South

Much of the Sub-State game will be riding on whether or
not Olathe East's defense has what it takes to step up and
stop Olathe South's vicious run game.  Photo courtesy the
 Kansas City Star.

Olathe East (9-2) at Olathe South (10-1)
Where: ODAC
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Spread: Olathe East +5.6

Players to Watch

Olathe East
As has been the case all season, Olathe East will do about as well as their running backs perform.  Running backs John Kelsh and Kendall Kelly have both topped the 1,000 yard rushing mark, while Hayden Frazier is a reliable third back to add to the attack.  Junior Williams is mostly known for his defensive prowess where he leads the SL in interceptions with seven, but he also has the ability to make a big play on offense evidence by his 51-yard touchdown run last week against SM West.

Olathe South
Running back Jordan Ward has been a dominant figure all season but he's taken his game to another level in the last three weeks (one of those games came against Olathe East).  He has the confidence to run against Olathe East's defense and he'll get his fair share of carries.  Fellow running back Teddy Colbert will also get his touches, as it was his 60-yard touchdown run through the heart of the Olathe East defense in week nine which set the tone for the Olathe South victory.  You also can't discount junior quarterback Frankie Suerer.  He's passed for over 1,300 yards this season and he has a knack for completing big passes after defenses get lulled to sleep stopping the run.

Historical Stat
Generally speaking, the best Olathe games in the past ten years or so have come when these teams were each facing Olathe North, not one and other.  The last time these two schools met up in the playoffs was in the Sectional Round of the 2007 playoffs.  Olathe East had won the regular season contest, 35-14, but Olathe South took home the victory in the playoffs winning 21-17.  The victory helped propel the Falcons to a 6A state championship game appearance that year. 

I also remember the 2005 regular season finale between these two being a pretty hyped game.  Both squads were undefeated.  Olathe East was led by quarterback Derek Miller while Olathe South relied heavily on the leadership of their quarterback, Brady Croucher.  Olathe East just had too much speed to burn in that game, as they came away with a 28-14 victory, and eventually made it to the 6A state championship game.

What to Expect
When these two teams met up in week nine it was certainly more of a "do-or-die" situation for Olathe South.  Not only did they need to win to make the playoffs, but they also had to win by 13 points.  Olathe South led 7-6 at halftime, and then they put together a big second half, scoring 29 more points and holding Olathe East to just two more touchdowns, winning 36-18.  Needless to say, the scenario has changed in this game and it's do-or-die for both teams.  Not to say Olathe East didn't play their hardest in week nine, but I think we'll see a game that's much closer throughout.

If Olathe East is going to come out on top this time, it's going to start with the core of their defense.  The Hawks' have been weak up the middle all season long.  Olathe South was able to take full advantage of this deficiency last time around.  As you move outside the Olathe East defense gets stronger, led by and outstanding secondary of Williams, Kelly, and Marcus Banks.  But Olathe South isn't going to live by the pass.  They're going to run straight at Olathe East, and if the Hawks can't contain the rushing attack it's going to be a long night.

When Olathe East has the ball they're going to be running out of their modified three back formation, a sort of Power-I + 1 look.  The Hawks have had success with it throughout the season, but it's been shut down against team's that load the box and have outstanding linebacker personnel--see Olathe South.  The Falcons' linebacking corps, led by Remington Whitley and Chase Hanson, showed the ability to stuff the Olathe East running game in week nine, and they will be relied on to do the same again.

I feel this game is matching up the two best 6A teams on this side of the state and I'm excited to see the outcome.  It's incredibly challenging to beat a top team twice, but it just seems that Olathe South has that extra moxy they may need to carry them the distance.  Moreoever, the winner of this game won't be able to celebrate for long, as Wichita Heights (a 28.4 point favorite over Derby) very likely awaits in the 6A state championship.

Head to Head Stat Comparison

Olathe East

Passing Yards
John Blazevic: 794 yards, 7 TDs

Rushing Yards
John Kelsh: 1,154, 12 TDs
Kendall Kelly: 1,077 20 TDs
Hayden Frazier: 423, 6 TDs

Receiving Yards
Chad Johnson: 638, 6 TDs
DJ McCray: 100

Tackles
Junior Williams: 63
Nathan Guthrie: 55
Matthew Baltimore: 52

Interceptions
Junior Williams: 7
Marcus Banks: 4
Sam McReynolds: 2

Olathe South

Passing
Frankie Seurer: 1,355, 11 TDs

Rushing
Jordan Ward: 1,244, 16 TDs
Teddy Colbert: 885, 8 TDs
Matt Elliott: 356, 3 TDs

Receiving
Drew Johnson: 581, 6 TDs
Matt Elliott: 483, 3 TDs
Teddy Colbert: 114

Tackles
Remington Whitley: 144
Dylan DeVries: 108
Chase Hanson: 99

Interceptions
Matt Elliott: 4
Greg Fry: 3
Drew Johnson: 3
Remington Whitley: 3

Stats courtesy Mid-Statesports.com

6A East Sectional Recaps

Olathe East 46, SM West 16

Olathe East's Junior Williams set the tone early when he
scored on a 51-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star.

At one point midway through the first half it looked like this game had a chance of being a pretty good one.  Olathe East had scored two touchdowns, one on a 51-yard run from Junior Williams and then another on a one-yard run from quarterback John Blazevic.  SM West had chipped in a 31-yard field goal from Mark Whitrock and a eight-yard touchdown run from Brett Sterbach.  The game sat at 13-10 in the second quarter when Olathe East decided to blow the doors off.

First, Kendall Kelly broke loose and took a carry 41-yards for a touchdown.  That was followed up by a 22-yard touchdown run from John Kelsh which gave Olathe East a 27-10 lead.  Seconds before halftime, fullback Ryan Woodson broke loose on what looked like yet another touchdown score, but he fumbled on his way to the endzone.  Olathe East offensive lineman Matt Gorby was in the right place at the right time, collecting the fumble and racing four yards for the touchdown.  It was that kind of day for Olathe East, as they led 34-10 at the half.

The Hawks added a five-yard touchdown run from Kelly in the third quarter, and a one-yard touchdown run from Hayden Frazier in the fourth to go up 46-10.  SM West's final score came late when Sterbach added a three-yard touchdown run.

Olathe South 55, SM East 42

Talk about an offensive showcase--you know it's bad when a team scores 42 points and still loses by double digits.  But that's what we had on Friday night, as Olathe South once again beat SM East in the playoffs, this time earning themselves a Sub-State appearance.  The most telling statistic of the game was Olathe South's 51 rushes for 534 yards and six rushing touchdowns.

The Falcons set the tone early scoring three rushing touchdowns to start the game to jump to a 21-0 lead.  The rushing scores came on runs of 74, six, and 38 yards, the first and last courtesy of Jordan Ward, and the middle the product of Frankie Suerer.  SM East answered with a drive and a three-yard touchdown run from Adam Lowe, to make things 21-7.  However, Olathe South came right back in the first quarter adding another Ward touchdown run from four yards out. 

In the second quarter SM East actually outscored Olathe South 14-7, with their two touchdowns coming on a four-yard pass from Dakota Collins to Elliot Faerber, and a 26-yard pass from Collins to Connor Rellihan.  Olathe South's touchdown came from--who else--Ward again, this time from 24 yards out.  Olathe South had a comfortable 35-21 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter Olathe South scored two touchdowns, the first when Drew Johnson picked off a Collins pass and took it 58-yards to the house, and the second on a three-yard scamper from Seurer.  Collins found Faerber later in the quarter on a 23-yard touchdown strike to make things 48-28.  SM East would add two more touchdowns on short runs from Lowe, but they weren't able to get an closer, as Olathe South tacked on one more fourth quarter score to keep a comfortable lead.

Kansas 6A East Regional Recaps

The Olathe South defense made life miserable for the LHS
offense all Friday night.  Photo courtesy the Lawrence
Journal World.

Olathe South 37, Lawrence 14

It was going to take a stellar effort on the defensive side of the ball for Lawrence to win this game, but Olathe South didn't let that happen.  The Falcons came out on their first offensive possession of the game and capped off an eight-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run from Fritz Wilbur.  Lawrence sent out Tyrone Jenkins to man the quarterback position, but after they had little success with that they gave the reins to Brad Strauss.  On his first drive at quarterback, early in the second quarter, Strauss marched Lawrence 80 yards down the field capping things off with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Cleavinger.  The touchdown tied the game at 7 early in the second quarter.

Olathe South made some in game adjustments, including increased pressure on the injured Strauss, and the results were dynamite.  The Falcons reeled off three straight touchdowns on a 33-yard run from Wilbur, a 36-yard pass from quarterback Frankie Suerer to Matt Elliott and a 31-yard run from Elliott with just over a minute remaining in the first half.  Olathe South led 25-7 at halftime.

Early in the third quarter Strauss aggravated his ankle when he was tackled, effectively removing him from the game for good.  Olathe South capitalized with a 22-yard touchdown pass on their next drive from Seurer to Drew Johnson, to gain a 32-7 lead.  Early in the fourth quarter Olathe South tacked on another touchdown on a 24-yard run from Jordan Ward.  Lawrence's final touchdown of the season came on a four-yard run from Isaiah Ross in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. 

SM West 52, Leavenworth 7

SM West was clearly ready to get their playoff win drought out of the way.  Taking advantage of playing Leavenworth in the first round of the playoffs, the Vikings led 31-0 at halftime, and rolled to a 45-point victory.  The Vikings scored first when Armani Williams capped off a drive with a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.  Joel Spiller added a 43-yard touchdown run, which was followed up with a four-yard touchdown run from Brett Sterbach.  Before the half was over Williams found Andre Maloney on a 51-yard touchdown pass to make things 28-0.  Kicker Mark Whitrock added a 33-yard field goal before halftime to make things 31-0.

In the third quarter SM West scored touchdown on runs of 42 and 54 yards from Sterbach and Ricco Hopkins, respectively.  Leavenworth's lone touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Judson Cole was able to sneak in a touchdown run from 15 yards out.  SM West closed things out with a six-yard touchdown run from Juanaye Stallings.

Olathe East 40, Olathe Northwest 23

Olathe Northwest's late-season run ended when they dug themselves into a first half hole that they weren't able to climb out of.  Olathe East struck early on a 30-yard touchdown run from John Kelsh in the first quarter to go up 6-0.  Olathe Northwest countered early in the second quarter on a 27-yard field goal from Riley Adam to make things 6-3.  That was as close as the Ravens would come in this one.  Olathe East broke open the game with three consecutive touchdowns from Kendall Kelly, Kelsh and quarterback John Blazevic, all on touchdown runs of less than 10 yards.  Cornerback Junior Williams added two first half interceptions that helped to shut down Olathe Northwest, and at halftime Olathe East led 27-3. 

Olathe Northwest played a good second quarter, scoring a touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Dalton Rook to Willie Cauley and holding Olathe East scoreless.  The Hawks still led by 17 at 27-10 entering the fourth quarter, however.  Olathe East began the fourth quarter scoring on a three-yard run from Kelly to go up 34-10, and basically put things out of reach.  Olathe Northwest's Connor Middleton scored on a five-yard touchdown run to pull the Ravens back within 17, but Olathe East's Hayden Frazier returned the ensuing onside kick 56-yards for a touchdown.  Middleton scored once more for the Ravens late in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard touchdown run, but it wasn't nearly enough.

SM East 38, SM Northwest 21

Like the other three winners, a strong first half from SM East set the tone en route to their sixth victory of the season.  A Jeff Cole touchdown run from two yards out gave SM East an early 7-0 lead.  Later on in the first quarter Dakota Collins found Logan Rose on a 35-yard touchdown pass which extended the lead to 14-0.  SM Northwest answered with an eight-yard touchdown run from Austin Vanderpool to make things 14-7, midway through the second quarter.  SM East was able to get on the board one more time before the half when Collins found receiver Connor Rellihan on an 80-yard touchdown pass.  The Lancers led 21-7 at the half.

SM East extended their lead to 28-7 in the third quarter when Cole scored on another short touchdown run.
SM Northwest made things a bit more interesting, scoring on a nine-yard touchdown run from Danny Manning which made things 28-14, but they were never able to get closer than 14.  SM East's Jake Libeer scored next on a 35-yard touchdown run to make the score 35-14.  SM Northwest's final answer came when Colton Dirks found Manning on a 21-yard touchdown pass.  SM East closed things out with a 32-yard field goal from Sean Luenz.

Week Eight Review

Olathe East's Kendall Kelly scored four touchdowns
on Friday,  helping Olathe East to their seventh straight
 victory.  Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star.

Three Up

SM West
The Vikings are finally showing some semblance of a being a good football team.  Their victory over SM East was their third straight, and in doing so SM West clinched a playoff berth and a district championship.

Lawrence Free State
As we've grown accustomed to with Bob Lisher's teams, the Firebirds have continued to develop as a team at an incredible rate.  Let's be honest, after Free State struggled to beat Leavenworth 23-12 in week two, did anyone think they would be capable of beating Olathe North 19-14 just six weeks later?

Olathe East
The Hawks used a smashmouth attack to claim their seventh straight victory, this one coming over BV Northwest.  They face Olathe South on Friday and a win will earn the Hawks a share of the Sunflower League Championship, and guarantee a district championship.

Three Down

Olathe North
No one is really sure what's wrong with Olathe North right now, but they don't look good.  By way of a miracle, the Eagles still haven't been eliminated from the playoffs and they have a chance to sneak in with a big win Friday against Olathe Northwest.

Lawrence
Quarterback Brad Strauss went down with an injury and the Chesty Lions proceeded to put up a mere three total points in the game.  Simply put, without Strauss Lawrence is a completely different team.  There is no official word on the severity of his injury.

SM East
The Lancers didn't help their chances when they decided to go on a turnover spree against SM West.  With the loss, the Lancers are now 4-4 and in a must-win situation against SM South if they want to make the playoffs.

Week Eight Players of the Week

Mason Perez, SM North: Perez played one his best games of the season on Friday, making sure his Indian's would stay in contention for a playoff berth.  Perez caught six passes for 113 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to returning a punt 28 yards for a score.  He scored the first five touchdowns of the game for SM North.

Elliot Faerber, SM East: Faerber has had some tough breaks on the season.  A few injuries, combined with rotating starting quarterbacks hasn't helped the cause, but Friday night he finally looked to be back in his normal form.  His team lost, but Faerber wasn't to blame as he caught 16 passes for 241 yards.  A healthy Faerber, with a healthy Dakota Collins to throw to him could make for a dangerous late-season combo if the Lancers can make the playoffs.

Week Nine Power Rankings

1. Olathe East (7-1): Stop the Hawks three-headed rushing attack and you have a chance at a win; the problem is, only one team (Olathe North) has been able to do that, and that was in early September.

2. Olathe South (7-1): The Falcons can make everyone forget about their loss to BV Northwest, win the Sunflower League title outright, and roll into the playoffs with good momentum with a win Friday against Olathe East.

3. Lawrence Free State (6-2): Who would have thought the Firebirds would already have more regular season wins that they had in all of 2010?  Due to a uber-quick maturity of some new starters that's where Free State is at, and they're looking good.

4. Lawrence (5-3): Lawrence was decimated by injuries in 2010, and if Strauss' injury is as bad as it looked, 2011 could be a repeat.  Losing running back Charles Jackson was tough, but they were able to overcome it.  Not having Strauss against Free State could be a killer.

5. Olathe North (5-3): The Eagles have slipped fast, but their playoff hopes are still alive if Free State beats Lawrence, and they take care of business against Olathe Northwest, and have the point totals work in their favor.

6. SM West (5-3): After a nice victory against SM East, the Vikings have a very solid chance at finishing the season with a better-than-expected record of 6-3.  Perhaps, if the prognostications turn out as expected, the Vikes would be able to return some much needed revenge to an EKL foe come playoff time.

7. SM East (4-4): SM East has certainly painted themselves as being a better team than SM South, but as we arrive at week nine that disparity doesn't look too great.  The Lancers are still the favorite, but another off week and they're out of the playoffs with a 4-5 record.

8. Olathe Northwest (4-4): Sure the Ravens benefited from not facing a Strauss-led Lawrence team for an entire game, but you could also point out that they very well could have beat Free State with a healthy Dalton Rook the previous week.  A win against Olathe North would be colossal for the program.

9. SM Northwest (3-5): SM Northwest can be very thankful for their district.  After barely beating SM North and Leavenworth the past two weeks, they take on a pitiful Wyandotte team, and we can all but book a 4-5 regular season for the Cougars.

10. SM North (2-6): The 63-point victory was nice, and now it's time for the Indians to play well in a meaningful game.  They were in this same position last season... we'll see if it translates to this year.

11. SM South (2-6): The Raiders control their own destiny at this point in time which is always good heading into the final week of district play.  There's been some bad blood between SM South and SM East in recent years and this game, which will determine who gets the district's final playoff berth, will be a good one.

12. Leavenworth (1-7): The Pioneers surely remember how painful it was losing to SM North and not qualifying for the playoffs last season.  This time around they can reverse that feeling.  We'll see if they have the horses to do it.

Week Eight Game Recaps

Lawrence Free State's Shawn Knighton
was key in the Firebird's 19-14 win over
Olathe North on Friday.  Photo courtesy
the Lawrence Journal World.

Lawrence Free State 19, Olathe North 14

Two losses in a row from Olathe North was shocking, but three seems inexplicable.  Free State struck first in the second quarter when Kyle McFarland finished off a drive with a one-yard touchdown run after Shawn Knighton had taken a carry 97-yards to set up the score.  Later in the quarter, McFarland found Ryan Patterson on a 38-yard touchdown pass to make things 13-0, Free State at the half.  Orange Mooney added the next two scores of the game for Olathe North, scoring first on a four-yard run then on a 23-yard catch from Jordan Bruce, which gave the Eagles a 14-13 advantage.  Free State regained possession with 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter and drove 80 yards, scoring on a seven-yard touchdown pass from McFarland to Patterson to win the game.

Olathe Northwest 21, Lawrence 3

Olathe Northwest's first momentum boost came on a seven-yard run from Avery Parker in the first quarter which put them up 7-0.  There second was when Lawrence quarterback Brad Strauss went down with an injury at the start of the second quarter--he did not return.  Lawrence's second-string quarterback had been injured during the week in practice, so receiver Drake Hofer was thrown into the quarterback position.  While he played well given the circumstances, it wasn't Strauss out there.  Lawrence managed one score on a field goal from Anthony Rosen, but they were shutout besides that.  Olathe Northwest's next two scores came on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Dalton Rook to Cody Sestrich and an 88-yard pass from Rook to Willie Cauley.

Olathe East 48, Blue Valley Northwest 27

It didn't matter what Blue Valley Northwest did, they weren't able to shut down Olathe East's dominant rushing attack.  The Hawks scored seven rushing touchdown in the game, en route to their 21-point statement victory over the Huskies.  Kendall Kelly scored four touchdowns on runs of three, two, three and nine yards.  John Kelsh added touchdowns on runs of 17 and 87 yards.  Austin Frazier completed the scoring trio of scoring with six-yard touchdown run.

SM South 35, Blue Valley North 18

SM South jumped to a comfortable 21-12 lead at halftime, and finished off the game with two second half touchdowns.  In the first half Gabe Guild scored on runs of 46 and 64 yards.  Alex Forslund added a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nick Oliver for the third touchdown.  SM South's two second half touchdowns came on a 25-yard run from Ra'Keim Abdul and an eight-yard run from Forslund.  With their victory the Raiders set up a win-or-go-home scenario with SM East to cap off the regular season.

SM Northwest 24, Leavenworth 22

This was a pretty evenly matched game after all.  SM Northwest scored twice in first half--once on a 41-yard field goal from Alex Allen and then again on a seven-yard run from Austin Vanderpool.  Leavenworth's first half score came on a 38-yard pass from Jason Randall to Judson Cole.  In the second half SM Northwest scored twice, first on a four-yard run from Vanderpool, and later on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Colton Dirks to Jake Horner.  Cole added a 32-yard touchdown run, and Randall scored on a 14-yarder late in the fourth quarter.

Olathe South 46, Blue Valley West 29

This game was hardly a defensive struggle, but Olathe South managed to win by more than 13 points, keeping their playoff hopes alive.  Olathe South's first half scores came on a 69-yard punt return by Matt Elliott, an eight-yard run from Teddy Colbert and a one-yard run from Frankie Seurer.  They led 21-13 at the half.  In the second half the Falcons added four touchdowns on a 14-yard run from Colbert, an 89-yard pass from Seurer to Drew Johnson, and runs of six and 13 yards from Jordan Ward.

SM West 30, SM East 25

A big second quarter combined with a turnover-ridden SM East club turned out to be enough from SM West to win a district championship, and regain the Nut Cup.  After surrendering a safety early on, SM West scored on a 31-yard field goal from Mark Whitrock, a 75-yard touchdown pass from Armani Williams to Ben Lake and a 20-yard touchdown run from Brett Sterbach.  The Vikings led 17-2 at the half. 

SM East had a big third quarter, scoring touchdowns on a run from Jeff Cole and a 53-yard pass from Dakota Collins to Connor Rellihan.  SM West's lone third quarter score came on a 37-yard Whitrock field goal.  The Vikings led 20-17 heading into the final quarter of play.  SM East started things off with another safety, before SM West's Whitrock added his third field goal of the day from 37 yards out.  On SM East's next possession Robert Rice picked off a Collins pass and took it 63-yards for a touchdown.  The two scrores gave SM West a 30-17 lead.  SM East 's final stab came on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Rellihan. 

SM North 69, Wyandotte 6

SM North's 69 points were the most scored in a single game from a Sunflower League team all season.  The player of the game, without a doubt was SM North's Mason Perez.  He scored the first five touchdowns of the game on receptions of 25, 25, 34 and 29 yards, then a 28-yard punt return.  With the win, the Indians boosted their record to 2-6, and with a win on Friday over Leavenworth they'll qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Week Five Game Recaps

Olathe South's Taylor Sheffield.  Photo courtesy the
Kansas City Star.

Olathe South 44, Olathe Northwest 41

Playing an inspired game after losing starting cornerback Zach Sheffield to major kidney injury last week, Olathe South managed to make a late push and ultimately claim a victory on their homecoming.  Early on it was all Olathe Northwest.  The Ravens scored three consecutiveve touchdowns on a two touchdown passes from Dalton Rook, and a three-yard touchdown run by Connor Middleton.  Down 20-0, Olathe South first scored when Teddy Colbert took a kickoff back 87-yards for a touchdown.  Middleton added another touchdown run for Olathe Northwest to push things to 27-7, before Olathe South scored two touchdowns to end the half.  The first was a 64-yard run from Jordan Ward and the second a two-yard run from Russell White.  At the half Olathe Northwest led 27-21. 

Ward scored the only points of the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run to give Olathe South a 28-27 lead.  Olathe Northwest came back with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Rook to Corey Kipp to make things 33-28.  Frankie Suerer found Matt Elliott on a 34-yard touchdown pass for the Falcons, before Middleton scored his third touchdown of the day for Olathe Northwest.  At that point Olathe Northwest led 41-34.  Olathe South's Taylor Sheffield (the twin of the injured Zach) had the play of the day on the ensuing kickoff returning it 70 yards for a score and tying the game.  Olathe South was able to regain possession and in the waning seconds Jared Douglas connected on a 37-yard field goal to give his team a three-point win, and a 5-0 record.

Lawrence 31, SM East 0

Brad Strauss chose a good time to play the best game of his career, as it helped his Chesty Lions to a 30-0 trouncing of SM East, a team that on paper looked to be similar to Lawrence in terms of talent.  Lawrence scored once in the first quarter on a 54-yard touchdown run from Strauss.  In the second quarter Tyrone Jenkins added a one-yard touchdown run, and that was followed up by a 21-yard field goal from Anthony Rosen.  The Chesty Lions capped off the half with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Strauss to Erick Mayo, giving Lawrence a 24-0 halftime lead.  Their final score came on a 72-yard run from Strauss in the fourth quarter.  For the day, Strauss put up 378 yards of total offense and three touchdowns.

Olathe East 28, SM West 21

SM West had a little surge in the second half, but it proved to be too little, too late.  Olathe East's first two scores came on touchdown runs of three and four yards from Kendall Kelly, to give the Hawks a 14-0 lead.  In the second quarter John Kelsh broke free and took a carry 50-yards for a score to put Olathe East up 21-0.  SM West finally responded with a two-yard touchdown run from Brett Sterbach, to make things 21-7, Olathe East, at the half.

In the third quarter Olathe East added a touchdown run from 19 yards out by Kelly to jump to a 28-7 advantage.  SM West was able to score two more times--both on one-yard touchdown runs from Armani Williams--to make things 28-21 in the fourth quarter, but that was all she wrote.

SM South 42, SM Northwest 35

With a 28-14 edge at halftime it looked like SM Northwest was on their way to claiming win number two on the season.  Colton Dirks had led the way for the Cougars with four touchdowns on passes of 19 and 22 yards to Devin Shockley, and runs of one and 77 yards.  SM South's two touchdowns came on a 33-yard run from Alex Forslund and a 73-yard run from Gabe Guild.  Forslund and Guild added back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter to pull the game to a 28-28 tie.  Jake Horner returned the ensuing kickoff back 87-yards for a touchdown to give SM Northwest a 35-28 lead, but it would be their last.  SM South scored on touchdown runs from Forslund and Guild, again, to collect a 42-35 lead.

Lawrence Free State 35, SM North 0

While their competition hasn't been the greatest, the Firebirds from Free State continue to collect wins and did so again on Friday against SM North.  Free State set the tone early scoring three first quarter touchdowns.  Shawn Knighton scored on a 25-yard run, which was followed up by a 27-yard pass from Kyle McFarland to Tye Hughes, before McFarland added a 65-yard touchdown run to give his team a 21-0 lead.  The scoring held off until the third quarter when Knighton found Ryan Patterson on a 30-yard touchdown pass.  McFarland chipped in a 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.

Olathe North 44, Leavenworth 0 (Thursday Night Game)

It was business as usual for the Sunflower League's top team.  The Eagles were led by Tanner Gentry, who caught three touchdown passes on scores of eight, 15 and 35 yards, all on passes from Jordan Bruce.  Orange Mooney scored touchdowns on runs of 15 and 22 yards, helping the Eagles to their fifth victory on the season.  They face an undefeated Olathe South team this Friday in one of the more highly anticipated matchups of the season.

Week Four Game Recaps

Lawrence 35, Leavenworth 13

Leavenworth's Judson Cole battling for yardage.  Photo
courtesy the Lawrence Journal World.

Lawrence High played a sloppy game fumbling the ball four times (losing two) and throwing two interceptions, but in the end they were able to hold on for a three-touchdown victory.  The Chesty Lions capped off their first two drives with two-yard touchdown runs from Charles Jackson to claim a 14-0 lead (Jackson suffered what appeared to be a pretty severe injury later in the game and was carted off the field).  Late in the first quarter Brad Strauss connected with Anthony Buffalomeat on a 35-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 21-0.

In the second quarter an LHS fumble set up Leavenworth to score on a 49-yard touchdown run from Jason Randall.  LHS responded before the half with another touchdown pass, this time a 13-yarder from Strauss to Drake Hofer.  The Chesty Lions led 28-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter Leavenworth narrowed the LHS lead to 15 points when Anthony Truelove recovered a fumble and ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown, making the score 28-13.  Lawrence was able to hold off the late surge, and closed out the game with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Strauss to Buffalomeat late in the fourth quarter. 

Olathe East 44, Olathe Northwest 20

Running back Kendall Kelly's decision to transfer from SM North to Olathe East this year is looking like a pretty solid decision.  Not only have he and the Hawks reeled off three-straight victories, but Kelly is starting to put up the big numbers he's capable of.  Olathe East left no doubts early, scoring three rushing touchdowns in the first half to gain a 21-0 lead at halftime.  The scores came on a two-yard run from John Kelsh, then runs of 10 and 15 yards from Kelly. 

In the second half Olathe Northwest got creative on a running back pass from Connor Middleton to Williey Cauley which resulted in a 31-yard touchdown score.  Olathe Northwest trailed 21-7, but that was about as close as they came throughout the night.  Olathe East's John Blazevic found Junior Williams on a 22-yard touchdown pass to make things 28-7.  Olathe Northwest came back with a drive and a one-yard touchdown run from Middleton to pull to within 14 again, but then Olathe East poured it on to close things out.  The Hawks scored first on a two-yard run from Kelly, then recorded a safety, then running back Hayden Frazier took a carry 40-yards for another score.  Olathe Northwest's final points came late in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run from Middleton, his third touchdown of the night.

Olathe North 56, SM South 21

Another week, another blowout victory for Olathe North.  The Eagles are cruising through their schedule with ease as they put on yet another route Friday night.  Olathe North opened up with three straight touchdowns on runs of three and 38 yards from Orange Mooney, and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Bruce to Tanner Gentry.  SM South finally answered with a five-yard run from Gabe Guild to make things 21-7. 

Olathe North hit the accelerator again, scoring three more touchdowns in a row.  The first on a four-yard run from Treshawn Root, the second on a 17-yard pass from Bruce to Willie Helig, and the third on a 71-yard run from Mooney.  Olathe North led 42-7 at that point in the third quarter.  From there, the scoring was back and forth.  SM South added touchdowns on a 61-yard run from Guild and a 21-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Adolph Matthew.  Olathe North's scores came on two touchdown runs from Elbert Johnson, his second going for 72 yards.

Olathe South 29, SM East 21

Olathe South continues to come up victorious, this time claiming a Saturday afternoon contest on their homecoming.  SM East scored first in the game on a four-yard run from Jeff Cole to go up 7-0.  Olathe South responded that quarter with 75-yard touchdown run from Matt Elliott to even the score.  SM East scored once more in the first quarter on a 27-yard pass from Nick Pirotte to receiver Connor Rellihan.  Olathe South came back with a drive and a one-yard touchdown run from Chris Wright to tie things again.  Perhaps the play of the game came just before the half when Olathe South's Elliott intercepted a Pirotte pass and took it back 79-yards for a touchdown.  The Falcons missed the PAT, but went into halftime up 20-14. 

SM East put together a 12-play drive that ended with a three-yard run from Cole to begin the third quarter.  The score put the Lancers up 21-20, but it was the last lead they would hold in the game.  Olathe South came back in the fourth quarter with a 68-yard touchdown strike from Frankie Seurer to Drew Johnson.  Later in the fourth the Falcons' Jared Douglas booted a 27-yard field goal to go up 29-21.

Lawrence Free State 42, SM Northwest 7

Free State appears to have found their offensive mojo.  The Firebirds torched the SM Northwest defense for 516 yards, with 445 coming on the ground.  Free State added three rushing touchdowns in the first half--a 14-yard run from T.J. Cobbs, a 15-yard from from Kyle McFarland, then a 10-yarder from McFarland.  SM Northwest kept the game honest with a touchdown run of four yards late in the second quarter by Danny Manning.  Free State led 21-7 at the half.

In the third quarter McFarland added his third touchdown of the night on a 50-yard run to give Free State a 28-7 edge.  Shawn Knighton added a four-yard touchdown run, then followed that up with a 51-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to give the Firebirds 42 points.

SM West 20, SM North 14

It wasn't pretty, but SM West managed to capitalize on a few first-half turnovers from SM North to gain a lead and ultimately claim the victory.  SM West scored first when Brett Sterbach took a carry 32-yards for a touchdown, giving the Vikings a 7-0 lead.  SM North fumbled the ball on their next offensive possession, and SM West's Sean Dilley scooped up the ball and took it 26 yards for a touchdown, giving SM West a 13-0 lead.  SM North fumbled yet again on another possession in the first quarter, and that was recovered by SM West's Lee Spight who took the ball back 22 yards for a second defensive touchdown.  The score gave SM West a 20-0 lead. 

SM North was able to cut into the lead with a six-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter from Brock Burrows.  The Indians added another touchdown in the second quarter on a 22-yard pass from Ryan Theis to Mason Perez, which pulled SM North within seven, at 20-13.  That, however, proved to be the last score of the game for either team as SM West came away with the win.

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.

Week Nine Review

Three Up

SM East

Most wins in school history? Check. District Championship? Check. A claim of the Sunflower League crown? Check. Now we'll see how much the Lancers can accomplish in post-season play.

SM North

The Indians (right) were able to pull ahead and claim a playoff berth after trailing Leavenworth in the fourth quarter--the win marked the Indians' second in a row.

Olathe North

The Eagles beat their district opponents by a combined score of 114-16; clearly Olathe North is playing equally well on both sides of the ball.

Three Down

SM South

The Raiders played one of if not the easiest schedules in the Sunflower League and still only managed to come away with two wins.

Olathe Northwest

With their loss to Olathe North the Ravens' all-time record against Olathe opponents dropped to 1-20, and unfortunately for Olathe Northwest, the Olathe standard is what they are held to.

Lawrence

After their big upset win over Olathe East in week five the Chesty Lions went on to finish the season with four straight losses.

Individual Highlights

**SM North's Kendall Kelly took an inside reverse 69 yards for a touchdown to give SM North a fourth quarter lead over Leavenworth, and ensure the school of it's first playoff trip in seven years.

**Lawrence Free State's quarterback Dylan Perry had an amazing game on the ground rushing for 187 yards and four touchdowns. The 187 yards put him over the century mark for the season.

Final Regular Season Power Rankings

1. Olathe East (8-1): The Hawks did an excellent job of shutting down Olathe South, and in the process ended the Falcons' six game winning steak and claimed a share of the Sunflower League title.

2. Olathe North (8-1): The Eagles captured a share of the Sunflower League crown with their blowout victory Friday night, and looked impeccable on the defensive side of the ball.

3. SM East (8-1): John Schrock's absence will be felt, but Robby Moriarity showed that he is plenty capable of managing the position. The Lancers also claimed a share of the Sunflower League title by winning on Friday.

4. SM West (7-2): Early on it looked like yet another Blue Valley school would trip up the Vikes, but they put that scare to rest and physically beat up on Blue Valley North.

5. Olathe South (6-3): The Falcons' six game winning streak is over; now would be a good time to start another winning streak.

6. Lawrence Free State (5-4): The Firebirds' second half fireworks on both sides of the ball proved too much for their cross town rival.

7. SM Northwest (5-4): SM Northwest rolled through the easiest 6A district in the state--we'll see how much they've actually improved this Friday.

8. Olathe Northwest (3-6): Perhaps next season will be Olathe Northwest's chance to shed the title of "little brother" amongst the Olathes.

9. Lawrence (3-6): Lawrence played well Friday considering the amount of injuries they've encountered and the relative youth of their roster.

10. SM South (2-7): The Raiders were a better team than their two wins showed, but their 0-3 district record ended the season on a sour note.

11. SM North (2-7): SM North won two games, lost 14, and has now won two more games ... win number three won't be easy against Olathe North.

12. Leavenworth (1-8): The Pioneers were a score away from beating SM North and claiming a playoff spot; the team showed alot more heart late in the season.

Photos courtesy the Shawnee-Dispatch

Thursday Report

Week Four Matchups

All games times 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

SM South (1-2) at Olathe South (1-2) (Thursday night game)

After a difficult two game stretch to begin the season Olathe South may finally be settling into their offense--which is a scary thought for the Raiders. SM South played poorly in their 28-7 loss at Lawrence last week, and while their offense should do better against the Falcons it's hard to say if they will be able to shut down Jake Crist (right), Nick Sands and the Olathe South running game. Olathe South's 396 rushing yards last week are a hint as to what the Falcon's approach may be in this game.

Leavenworth (0-3) at Olathe East (3-0)

Olathe East goes from playing a team with a 15-game winning streak in week three to playing Leavenworth, a team with an 18-game losing streak in week four. It's quite the change around in opponents. The only concern Olathe East could have going into this game is letting their guard down and not playing to their potential--regardless, this will be Olathe East's first game to prove themselves as the "top dog" in the Sunflower League.

SM West (2-1) at Olathe Northwest (2-1)

If I had to evaluate both of these school's performances this season I would say Olathe Northwest is playing at a consistently high level given their quality of talent, while SM West still hasn't put everything together for an entire four quarters. The Vikings appear to be the better team on paper, but another lackadaisical effort could prove costly this week against a motivated Olathe Northwest team.

Lawrence (2-1) at SM Northwest (0-3)

Will this be the week SM Northwest finally claims a victory? The Cougars are head and shoulders better than the two other winless teams in the league (Leavenworth and SM North) and they have a solid core of skill position seniors in Stephen Mangesldorf, Drew Goodger, and Kenny Mings. But, Lawrence is saying "not so fast my friend!" The Chesty Lions have looked impressive in their two wins and they are easily capable of sticking loss number four to the Cougars.

Lawrence Free State (2-1) at SM North (0-3)

This game could get ugly if the Indians don't come prepared to play some defense. Free State is operating the league's top ranked offensive at 397 yards and just under 40 points per game. SM North on other hand is giving up just under 34 points per game, and ranks second worst in the league in total defense. The past few seasons have shown us that it's hard to stop Free State's offense once it gets rolling, and it very well may on Friday. Kyle Goodburn and Kendall Kelly must step it up early for SM North if they have any chance in this one.

Game of the Week

SM East (3-0) at Olathe North (2-1)

Most didn't expect SM East to have more wins than Olathe North by the time of their week four meeting, but that's where we stand. SM East handled their first three opponents with ease, winning by a combined score of 99-37. Meanwhile, Olathe North is coming off their first loss in 16 games. Both teams have alot to play for, espcially SM East whose fanbase is amped at the prospects of knocking off the heavyweight Olathe North (a Facebook page has even been started to build up more hype for the game). A key matchup to watch? SM East leads the Sunflower League in passing at 239 yards per game, while Olathe North ranks second against the pass on defense and has only given up 10 completions. Whoever controls this aspect of the game could very well determine the winner.

Photo courtesy OSfootball.com