Playoff Buzz

Statistical Breakdown
Here is a look at some statistical measures of the four teams remaining in 6A East bracket. Individuals listed lead the respective statistical category for each team.

Olathe North

Rushing Yards: James Franklin, 2,074; Victor Simmons 739

Passing Yards: David Blazevic, 605

Receiving Yards: Jason Peete, 365

Average Points Scored per Game: 44.8

Average Points Allowed per Game: 12.9

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Lost to Lawrence Free State, 10-6

State Championships: 7

Lawrence Free State

Rushing Yards: Kirk Resseguie, 1,099; Camren Torneden, 839

Passing Yards: Camren Torneden, 1,096

Receiving Yards: Keene Niemack, 305

Average Points Scored per Game: 37.3

Average Points Allowed per Game: 13.4

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Beat Olathe North, 10-6

State Championships: 0

Blue Valley Northwest

Rushing Yards: Koby Chadick, 1,085

Passing Yards: Koby Chadick, 1,812

Receiving Yards: Matt Ornduff, 962; Casey Strohl 633

Average Points Scored per Game: 33

Average Points Allowed per Game: 17.5

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Lost to Blue Valley, 24-20

State Championships: 0

Blue Valley

Rushing Yards: Justin Fulks, 717

Passing Yards: Anthony Abenoja, 2,095

Receiving Yards: PJ DeBey, 772; Jacob McDermott, 403

Average Points Scored per Game: 30.6

Average Points Allowed per Game: 20.5

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Beat Blue Valley Northwest, 24-20

State Championships: 4

Other Notes

**The 6A East Sectional grouping is the same as 2008. If this year's game are anything like they were last season, we're in for some great football on Friday.

**Olathe North's James Franklin (above) needs 59 rushing yards to break Olathe North's school record for rushing yards set by Darren Sproles in 2000.

**Each of the four team's has a legit Simone candidate playing. Olathe North's James Franklin is being mentioned as the current favorite in the KC Metro, but a big game from Free State's Camren Torneden, Blue Valley's Anthony Abenoja or Blue Valley Northwest's Koby Chadick could sway some key votes in their favor.

Sunflower League Extra

Top Five Player Ratings
*Player ratings subject to change on a week-to-week basis.

1. James Franklin, running back, Olathe North: Franklin finished off his last ever regular season game at Olathe North by rushing for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He now needs a mere 192 rushing yards to break the school record for career rushing yards set by Darren Sproles.

2. DJ Balazs, quarterback, SM West: In collecting his 21st victory as a starting quarterback, Balazs pushed his season passing total to 1,067 yards. It marks the second year in a row Balazs has passes for over 1,000 yards.

3. Camren Torneden, quarterback, Lawrence Free State: Torneden (below) had a seven yard rushing score, and a nine yard touchdown pass, and record an intereption on defense in his team's 35-14 victory over Lawrence Free State. Torneden has totalled 778 rushing yards on 120 carries thus far.

4. Hayden Groves, running back, Olathe East: Groves finished off the season rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Groves fourth quarter touchdown--a 10 yard run--pushed Olathe East ahead by two scores, and ultimately sealed the deal on the victory. The rushing yardage bumped his season total to 1,064 yards on 174 carries.

5. Brandon Willingham, running back/linebacker, Olathe East: Willingham was forced to leave the Olathe East game in the third quarter, but he won't be bumped off the list for a one game injury. His 909 rushing yards on 128 carries are big numbers, but his 64 tackles on defense have made him even more valuable to the Hawks.

Honorable Mention: Kirk Resseguie, Lawrence Free State; Victor Simmons, Olathe North; John Hauk, SM Northwest

Final Power Rankings

*See previous post for commentary on rankings

1. Olathe North (9-0)

2. Lawrence Free State (7-2)

3. SM West (8-1)

4. Olathe East (6-3)

5. SM East (4-5)

6. SM Northwest (5-4)

7. Olathe South (4-5)

8. Olathe Northwest (4-5)

9. SM South (3-6)

10. SM North (2-7)

11. Lawrence (1-8)

12. Leavenworth (0-9)

Sunflower League Extra

Three Up

Olathe North

The Eagles (below) won the Sunflower League title and closed out an undefeated regular season for the first time since 2004. After five years of ups and downs Olathe North is once again a heavy favorite to win a state championship.

Lawrence

The Chesty Lions had one of their worst seasons in school history, but were able to aviod a winless season with an overtime victory against Leavenworth. For that reason alone the Chesty Lions get a thumbs up for the week.

Sunflower League teams in the playoffs

Overall the Sunflower League did well, qualifying for six of a potential eight playoff positions in the Class 6A playoff bracket, including the top three seeds.

Three Down

Olathe South

At one point in the season the Falcons stood at an impressive 4-2, but the team took a nosedive in district play. Olathe South's three losses to end the season will leave the program with a nasty taste in it's mouth during the offseason.

SM North

Olathe South's three losses seem bad, but pale in comparison to the Indian's seven straight. The problem with all the losses was that SM North never appeared to be that bad of a team. They just never seemed to get any lucky breaks when it really mattered.

Olathe Northwest

For now it looks like the two game explosion was more a product of the opponents than the Olathe Northwest talent. The team received a reality check at the hands of Free State this past weekend, and it will take alot for the team to bounce back against Blue Valley Northwest.

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's James Franklin eclipsed 5,000 career rushing yards with a 20 carry 168 yard game on Friday. He also added two touchdowns and now has 1,927 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on the season.

**Lawrence Free State's Kirk Resseguie rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown in his team's victory. Resseguie has gone from relative obscurity being one of the league's top backs in the course of one season--quite an impressive feat.

**In his last high school game SM Northwest's John Hauk battered SM North for 221 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries.

**SM West running back Will Livingston score three rushing touchdowns for SM West, and ultimately broke SM East's upset chances on a 90 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

**Lawrence Free State's Keene Niemack (below) scored three touchdowns via three different methods. He had an 86 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 16 yard touchdown run, and caught an eight yard touchdown pass.

Final Regular Season Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (9-0): The Eagles took the outright Sunflower League crown and look primed for a title run.

2. Lawrence Free State (7-2): Last year's playoff run is still fresh on the Firebird's minds.

3. SM West (8-1): The Viking's defense has been tops in the league and will be key in the teams's matchup with the high powered Blue Valley offense this Friday.

4. Olathe East (6-3): The Hawks have now qualified for the 6A state playoffs eight straight years.

5. SM East (4-5): SM East is quickly losing their "Smurf" image and this year's playoff berth is promising for the program.

6. SM Northwest (5-4): The Cougars inconsistancies got the best of them in the end, but they were still one of the better teams in the Sunflower League.

7. Olathe South (4-5): The Cardiac Kids couldn't put it all together this season; the one thing we do know is that Jeff Gourley's aerial attack is steadily improving within the program.

8. Olathe Northwest (4-5): The Raven's still can't manage to win big games; they have a chance to change that image this week against the one-loss Blue Valley Northwest Huskies.

9. SM South (3-6): The Raiders of 2009 were definitely the best team Brandon Claypool has put together thus far as the head coach at SM South.

10. SM North (2-7): How good, or bad were the Indians in 2009? It's hard to say, but at least they took care of business against the two opponents they should have beat.

11. Lawrence (1-8): A collective sigh from LHS alumni could be heard around Lawrence, KS after the Chesty Lions punched in their game winning touchdown in overtime.

12. Leavenworth (0-9): Leavenworth finished without a win, but their last loss to Lawrence could have gone either way.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Nine Game Results

Olathe North 48, Olathe South 7

No, Olathe South didn't exactly "lay down and die" in their final game of the season. Rather, Olathe North took their own game to another level in their final tune-up before the start of the playoffs. Simone Award favorite James Franklin ran the ball 20 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the all out domination. The 168 yards pushed Franklin's career total for rushing yards to 5,038--the 5,000 yard plateau has only been accomplished by one other Olathe North play, Darren Sproles. Franklin will need 192 yards to break Sproles all-time rushing mark of 5,230 yards.

Olathe East 20, SM South 13

It wasn't necessarily the flashiest way to qualify for the playoffs, but the Hawks from Olathe East got the job done. SM South's Johannes Swanepoel put the Raiders up 3-0 in the first quarter with a 31 yard field goal, but Olathe East would respond. Touchdowns by Carter McEntee and Hayden Groves (below) helped Olathe East gain a 14-6 halftime advantage. They held the lead throughout the rest of the game.

Lawrence Free State 35, Olathe Northwest 14

Down 21-0, with little time remaining the first half Olathe Northwest's Cullen Phillips returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown to move the Ravens within 14. On the ensuing kickoff Free State's Keene Niemack returned a kick of his own 82 yards to the house to push the lead back to 21. It was that kind of a night as the two teams battled for the district crown. Ultimately, Olathe Northwest never appeared to have an answer for Free State who was led by Kirk Resseguie's 182 rushing yards and touchdown.

Lawrence 13, Leavenworth 6 (OT)

For awhile it looked like neither team was going to collect a win for the season. A 26 yard touchdown pass from Chris Gaston to Taylor Coleman tied the game at 6 all in the fourth quarter, before Lawrence botched the extra point attempt. With the teams deadlocked at the end of the fourth quarter the game went into overtime. Lawrence's Tyrae Jenkins--one of the lone bright spots the team has had all season--punched in a touchdown to give Lawrence a touchdown advantage. Leavenworth failed to score giving LHS it's first victory of 2009.

SM Northwest 28, SM North 12

Neither team could qualify for the playoffs, but that didn't stop the game from being an all out battle. SM Northwest's John Hauk was the top dog for the Cougars rushing the ball 36 times for 221 yards and two touchdowns. For SM North, quarterback Ryan Goodburn completed 20 of 37 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown. In the end the battering attack of Hauk and the Cougars was enough to claim the Hula Bowl title for 2009.

SM West 28, SM East 12 (Thursday Night Game) (All Star Video Sports Highlights)

SM East had several big surges throughout the game, but ultimately the Vikings were able to hold their composure and collect the W. SM West's Will Livingston had touchdown runs of 6, 47, and 90 yards, the last of which crushed any hopes the Lancers had at mounting a fourth quarter comeback. SM West, now 8-1, was eight points from an undefeated regular season, while SM East made a huge turnaround after starting 0-3. Both teams will be making appearances in the 6A state playoffs starting next week.

Playoff Notes

Regional playoff matchups for Class 6A are as follows:

East

Olathe North (9-0) vs. SM East (4-5)

Lawrence Free State (7-2) vs. Olathe East (6-3)

Blue Valley Northwest (8-1) vs. Olathe Northwest (4-5)

SM West (8-1) vs. Blue Valley (3-6)

West

Manhattan (9-0) vs. Maize (3-6)

Wichita Heights (5-4) vs. Wichita South (5-4)

Wichita Northwest (7-2) vs. Derby (6-3)

Dodge City (7-2) vs. Topeka (6-3)

Sunflower League Extra

Top Five Player Ratings

Player Ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

1. James Franklin, running back, Olathe North: Franklin's 241 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries pushed his season rushing total to 1,600 yards. He has now scored 21 touchdowns for the Eagles.

2. DJ Balazs, quarterback, SM West: Balazs (below) looked nearly flawless in passing for 106 yards Friday night, but it was his 69 yard touchdown run out of the shotgun formation that really raised some eyebrows. Balazs is now one win short of recording his 20th career victory as a starter.

3. Camren Torneden, quarterback, Lawrence Free State: Torneden had another amazing game scoring five touchdowns in three different manners. He passed for 155 yards and one touchdown, rushed for 21 yards and three touchdowns, and returned a punt 71 yards for a score.

4. Brandon Willingham, running back/defensive back, Olathe East: In his team's week seven loss Willingham ran the ball 29 times for 163 yards. Willingham was the go to player for the Hawks all night, gaining crucial yardage throughout the contest, and almost willing the team to a comeback victory.

5. Kirk Resseguie, running back, Lawrence Free State: Resseguie rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns in Free State's 55-0 victory over Leavenworth. Resseguie's touchdowns came on runs of 1, 3, and 10 yards.

Honorable Mention: Tanner Dutton, Olathe South; Matt Nowak, SM Northwest; Tre Walker, Olathe North

Week Seven Power Rankings

*Power Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

**See previous post for commentary on Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (7-0)

2. Lawrence Free State (5-2)

3. SM West (6-1)

4. Olathe East (4-3)

5. Olathe South (4-3)

6. SM Northwest (4-3)

7. Olathe Northwest (3-4)

8. SM South (3-4)

9. SM East (3-4)

10. SM North (2-5)

11. Lawrence (0-7)

12. Leavenworth (0-7)

Stat Check

Sunflower League Leaders

Passing Yards

Tanner Dutton, Olathe South: 1,795

Ryan Goodburn, SM North: 801

DJ Balazs, SM West: 790

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: 784

Carter McEntee, Olathe East: 748

Matt Nowak, SM Northwest: 723

Robby Moriarty, SM East: 532

Josh Lemke, Olathe Northwest: 456

John Schrock, SM East: 419

David Blazevic, Olathe North: 359

Grant Hilton, SM South: 337

Mark Dabeck, Leavenworth: 310

Chris Gaston, Lawrence: 131

Rushing Yards

James Franklin, Olathe North: 1,600

Hayden Groves, Olathe East: 780

Kirk Resseguie, Lawrence Free State: 757

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 742

Tyrae Jenkins, Lawrence: 657

Johannes Swanepoel, SM South: 610

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: 543

Kendall Kelly, SM North: 513

Cordi Pascal, SM West: 508

Brandon Bouvilom (below), Olathe Northwest: 484

Barry Sargent, Olathe South: 472

Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 455

John Hauk, SM Northwest: 452

Josh Lemke, Olathe Northwest: 426

Warren Brown, Leavenworth: 393

Receiving Yards

Marquis Addison, Olathe South: 728

Chris Fields, Olathe East: 459

Kendal Harland, Olathe South: 349

Antonio McFadden, SM South: 273

Grant Ellis, SM East: 245

Chris Mansker, SM Northwest: 244

Connor Stremel, Lawrence Free State: 242

Will Maynard, SM North: 230

Keene Niemack, Lawrence Free State: 222

Aundre Allen, Lawrence Free State: 221

Jason Peete, Olathe North: 219

Kevin Hertel, SM East: 214

Kevin Webster, SM West: 213

Arthur Rucker, SM North: 204

Tackles

Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 95

Adam Olsen, SM South: 88

Darrin Sorrem, Lawrence: 71

Gavin Blankenship, SM South: 69

Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 67

Trip Hiller, Olathe South: 63

Dylan Hanson, Olathe South: 62

Chandler Smith, Olathe Northwest: 62

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 61

Derrick Crandall, SM South: 56

Delon Barbour, Olathe East: 53

Rodney Harris, Olathe East: 53

Seth Krug, Olathe Northwest: 52

Interceptions

Brad Gourley, Olathe South: 5

Stephan Mangelsdorg, SM Northwest: 3

Jason Peete, Olathe North: 3

Stephem Anselmi, Olathe Northwest: 2

Ricky Ashley, SM South: 2

Delon Barbour, Olathe East: 2

Will Greenhaw, SM Northwest: 2

Kevin Hertel, SM East: 2

Adam LeBlanc, SM West: 2

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 2

Sunflower League Extra

Top Five Player Ratings

Player Ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

1. James Franklin, running back, Olathe North: Franklin continued his stellar season with a 23 carry, 200 yard rushing performance Friday. He also addded three rushing touchdowns, boosting his season total to 14.

2. Camren Torneden, quarterback, Lawrence Free State: Torneden once again showed his versatility, rushing for 142 yards and a touchdown, in addition to returning a punt 52 yards for a touchdown.

3. DJ Balazs, quarterback, SM West: Balazs came back from a disapointing game against Free State with one of his best performances of the season. The senior signal caller completed 12 of 20 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown in leading SM West to a 23 point victory.

4. Brandon Willingham, running back/defensive back, Olathe East: Willingham (below) gets a bump up to the #4 spot after rushing for 168 yards on 19 carries in Olathe East's victory. Willingham's emergence from the woodwork this season has been quite impressive, and he has seemingly become one of the most complete players in the Sunflower League.

5. Kirk Resseguie, running back, Lawrence Free State: Ressguie has been on a tear the past few weeks and because of that he makes his first appearence on the list. In Free State's victory Friday Resseguie rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Honorable Mention: Matt Nowak, SM Northwest; Tre Walker, Olathe North; Lucas Vincent, Olathe North; Hayden Groves, Olathe East; Tanner Dutton, Olathe South

Week Six Power Rankings
*Power Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis.
*See previous post for commentary on power rankings

1. Olathe North (5-0)

2. Lawrence Free State (4-1)

3. SM West (4-1)

4. Olathe East (3-2)

5. Olathe South (3-2)

6. SM Northwest (3-2)

7. Olathe Northwest (2-3)

8. SM North (2-3)

9. SM South (2-3)

10. SM East (2-3)

11. Lawrence (0-5)

12. Leavenworth (0-5)

Stat Check

Sunflower League Leaders

Passing Yards:

Tanner Dutton, Olathe South: 1,114

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 612

Matt Nowak, SM Northwest: 592

DJ Balazs, SM West: 584

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: 533

Robby Moriarty, SM East: 402

Carter McEntee, Olathe East: 361

David Blazevic, Olathe North: 313

Josh Lemke, Olathe Northwest: 309

Grant Hilton, SM South: 283

Mark Dabeck, Leavenworth: 145

Chris Gaston, Lawrence: 89

Rushing Yards:

James Franklin (below), Olathe North: 1,062

Hayden Groves, Olathe East: 595

Kirk Resseguie, Lawrence Free State: 595

Tyrae Jenkins, Lawrence: 556

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: 502

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 500

Johannes Swanepoel, SM South: 428

Brandon Bouvilom, Olathe Northwest: 400

Kendall Kelly, SM North: 388

Cordi Pascal, SM West: 366

Will Livingston, SM West: 365

KC Waterman, SM Northwest: 358

Barry Sargent, Olathe South: 327

Receiving Yards:

Marquis Addison, Olathe South: 498

Antonio McFadden, SM South: 237

Chris Fields, Olathe East: 233

Will Maynard, SM North: 230

Kevin Webster, SM West: 201

Griff Gans, SM East: 183

Keene Niemack, Lawrence Free State: 170

Justin Austin, SM West: 169

Chris Mansker, SM Northwest: 165

Tackles:

Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 67

Adam Olsen, SM South: 65

Darrin Sorem, Lawrence: 51

Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 49

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 49

Dylan Hanson, Olathe South: 48

Chandler Smith, Olathe Northwest: 46

Trip Hiller, Olathe South: 44

Delon Barbour, Olathe East: 41

Gavin Blankenship, SM South: 41

Taylor Coleman, Lawrence: 41

Rodney Harris, Olathe East: 41

Interceptions:

Brad Gourley, Olathe South: 4

Stephen Anselmi, Olathe Northwest: 2

Stephan Mangelsdorg, SM Northwest: 2

Chris Pinne, SM East: 2

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 2

Week Five Review

Three Up

1. Lawrence Free State

The Firebirds roasted SM Northwest 42-0 on Friday and their running back Kirk Resseguie is making people forget about Chucky Hunter. Camren Torneden has hit his mid-season stride and is playing at a Simone level once again. All in all, it looks like Free State is about as prepared as they can be for their showdown with Olathe North Friday.

2. SM West

The hangover from the Vikings loss last week carried throughout the first half, as they were tied at six all with SM South. In the second half the Vikings finally put it all together and outscored SM South 31-8. Also, it looks like the running back combination of Cordi Pascal and Will Livingston is getting stronger ever week.

3. Olathe North

The Eagles are in control of their own destiny when it comes to winning the Sunflower League crown. Their showdown at Lawrence Free State this Friday may be the game of the year in the conference, and with a victory it looks like Olathe North will have a fairly simple route to an undefeated regular season.

Three Down

1. SM Northwest

Just when it looked like the Cougars were hitting on all cylinders they go and lose by 42 points to Lawrence Free State. SM Northwest's efforts against their two toughest opponents have been unimpressive to say the least (they lost to Olathe North 41-12 in week two).

2. Olathe Northwest

For another season, Olathe Northwest (below) will be the lowest on the Olathe school totem pole. Although their defensive effort against Olathe East was impressive on Friday their offense left quite a bit to be desired. The Ravens 0-3 mark against fellow Olathe schools is a sour note on what was looking to be a decent season.

3. SM North

Early on it looked like SM North might be primed for their best season in years. But the last three weeks have exposed the Indians. The Indians two wins have come against teams that are a combined 0-10, and the 42 point loss to Olathe North on Friday was not a great sign.

Individual Highlights

**Lawrence Free State's Camren Torneden rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown, in addition to a 52 yard punt return for a touchdown.

**In addition to Torneden's totals, Free State running back Kirk Resseguie totalled 201 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. In his last three games he has rushed for 503 yards and nine touchdowns.

**Olathe North's James Franklin ran the ball 23 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a mere three quarters of work.

**SM West's DJ Balazs completed 12 of 20 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown, and collected his 17th career victory as a starter--tops among active quarterbacks in the Sunflower League.

Lawrence Free State's new stadium (above) will be the site of the big clash this Friday.

Week Six Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (5-0): The Eagles face their biggest test of the regular season this Friday.

2. Lawrence Free State (4-1): See Olathe North

3. SM West (4-1): The Vikings still haven't peaked, but did look impressive following their week four stumble.

4. Olathe East (3-2): The Hawks may be primed to run the table on the rest of the regular season.

5. Olathe South (3-2): This time around it was Olathe South who made a big comeback to win the game.

6. SM Northwest (3-2): Cougars latest performance leaves much to be desired; especially with SM West coming up in two weeks.

7. Olathe Northwest (2-3): The Ravens once again sit as the low-team on the Olathe school totem pole but amendments can always be made come playoff time.

8. SM North (2-3): The Indians have a good chance of getting back on track with school district rivals SM East and SM South coming up the next two weeks.

9. SM South (2-3): The Raiders fell apart after a solid first half against SM West.

10. SM East (2-3): The Lancers two victories have come against winless Lawrence and Leavenworth, but perhaps the momentum will carry.

11. Lawrence (0-5): Lawrence came close to beating Olathe South Friday but they still weren't able to get it all together.

12. Leavenworth (0-5): The Pioneers held SM East scoreless in the first quarter of their game Friday before the Lancers took off.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Five Game Results

Olathe North 42, SM North 0

While Olathe North kept it's title as the lone undefeated team in the Sunflower League, the Indians from SM North lost their third straight game. The contest might as well have been called the James Franklin show. He ran the ball 23 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns in just three quarters of work. Olathe North will now begin preparing for their upcoming showdown with the red-hot Free State Firebirds--a game that has stood out on the Sunflower League calendar for weeks.

Olathe South 26, Lawrence 23

Despite playing their best game yet, the Lawrence Lions were unable to notch a victory against Olathe South's spread attack. Lawrence jumped out to a 15-0 lead on touchdown runs from Tyrae Jenkins and Christopher Gaston, but the lead would not hold. Olathe South scored 26 unanswered points before the Lawrence chipped in a fourth quarter score.

Olathe East 7, Olathe Northwest 0

Olathe East's Brooks Smith punched in an 11 yard touchdown run in the first quarter for the Hawks, and that would turn out to be all she wrote. The Sunflower League's lowest scoring affair thus far was the epitome of smashmouth football. Olathe East's Brandon Willingham rushed for 168 yards on 19 carries, while Olathe Northwest's Brandon Bouvilom led the Ravens with 63 yards rushing on 15 carries. Ultimately, Olathe East's opening drive score was the game winner.

Lawrence Free State 42, SM Northwest 0

Everyone knows that Lawrence Free State has been playing well lately, but their clobbering of SM Northwest really put an exclamation point on the idea. The Firebirds rushed for 445 yards in the game, 201 coming from running back Kirk Resseguie (below), and 152 coming from Camren Torneden. SM Northwest quarterback Matt Nowak's 76 yards passing and 15 yards rushing weren't nearly enough to keep the Cougars competitive in the game.

SM West 37, SM South 14

After a less-than-impressive first half, SM West outscored SM South 21-0 in the third quarter to grasp control of the game. Leading the Vikings were DJ Balazs who completed 12 of 20 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown, and running back Cordi Pascal who ran the ball 16 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

SM East 34, Leavenworth 7

Leavenworth, like Lawrence, displayed their best for parts of their game Friday. The Pioneers were able to hold SM East scoreless in the first quarter before the Lancers took off en route to 34 points. Leavenworth's lone score came in the fourth quarter on a three yard run by Cody Frazee. SM East on the other hand has won its last two games after beginning the season 0-3.

Week Four Review

Three Up

1. SM Northwest

After taking care of Leavenworth 34-0 on Thursday, the Cougars sit at 3-1 with their one loss coming to conference powerhouse Olathe North. More importantly, it appears that SM Northwest has hit their stride, feeding off the abilities of Matt Nowak, John Hauk, and KC Waterman.

2. Lawrence Free State

Since stumbling in week one, the Firebirds have looked more and more like the team their 6A state runner-up team from 2008. After putting on an impressive display in a victory over SM West Saturday, it looks like Free State is capable of beating anyone in the league. Their much anticipated battle with Olathe North in two weeks should sum things up well.

3. Olathe South

For once it was the Falcons who made a comeback to collect a victory. Olathe South used a versatile aerial attack to come back from a 14 point halftime deficit to defeat SM North. The Falcon's offense is legit, its just a matter of when they get things together on the defensive side of the ball.

Three Down

1. SM North

After a great 2-0 start, Kendall Kelly (below) and SM North have been less than impressive in the past two weeks. The Indians followed up a blowout loss to Lawrence Free State by blowing a 14 point halftime lead against Olathe South. Maybe the most disheartening thing for the Indians was that they were outscored 28-7 in the second half of their loss to Olathe South.

2. SM West

The Vikings inability to score has been their achilles heel this season and it finally caught up with them against Lawrence Free State. SM West had an ample amount of opportunities to match Free State's 22 points, but failed to do so on several occasions.

3. Olathe East

The Hawks have played, without a doubt, the toughest schedule of any team in the Sunflower League and now sit at a disappointing 2-2. Their four opponents have a combined record of 12-4 (two of the losses Olathe East dished out), but after playing Olathe North on Friday it appears the Hawks will have a much easier run to finish off the season.

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's James Franklin carried the ball 25 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdowns came on runs of 35 and 63 yards. Teammate Tre Walker (below) also chipped in 19 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.

**SM Northwest quarterback Matt Nowak had another solid game, completing 10 of 13 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns.

**Lawrence Free State running back Kirk Resseguie had 22 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns. In the past two weeks combined Resseguie has rushed for 302 yards and six touchdowns.

**Olathe North's Jason Peete only had one catch Friday, but it was a big one--a 71 yard touchdown that put Olathe North up 14-0 on Olathe East.

Week Five Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (4-0): The Eagles finished off their rival Olathe East fairly easily, and still remain the team to beat in the Sunflower League, and Class 6A.

2. Lawrence Free State (3-1): The Firebirds have been getting more impressive every week and with the exception of Olathe North, you really can't say that about any other team in the league.

3. SM West (3-1): SM West is still a top three team in the league, but their offensive woes need to be addressed.

4. Olathe East (2-2): The Hawks finished off their brutal stretch 2-2; winning out the rest of the regular season is a definite possibility.

5. SM Northwest (3-1): Two consecutive wins have been impressive by the Cougars, and it looks like they are coming together as a unit.

6. Olathe South (2-2): Unfortunately, offense generally isn't noted for winning championships. The Falcons have a great offense, but the improvement needs to happen defensively.

7. Olathe Northwest (2-2): Olathe Northwest had a nice 25-7 victory over SM South, but to get respect in Olathe they need to defeat their city foes.

8. SM North (2-2): The Indians are backpedaling after a great start to the season. Facing Olathe North this Friday probably won't help the situation.

9. SM South (2-2): The Raiders are working hard to capture their first respectable season in years.

10. SM East (1-3): The Lancers finally garner a victory for new head coach, Chip Sherman. Now let's see if they are capable of doing it again versus Leavenworth.

11. Lawrence (0-4): The Chesty Lions 0-4 start is quite the contrary to where their program was at 15 years ago.

12. Leavenworth (0-4): Leavenworth's battle to not be the worst Sunflower League team ever is getting tricky. They have now been outscored 195-6.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Four Game Results

Olathe North 28, Olathe East 14 (All Star Video Sports Highlight Video)
Trailing 14-0 with minutes left before halftime, Olathe East's Hayden Groves sprang loose for a 64 yard run, which led to a Hawk touchdown with 29 second remaining in the half. Olathe North on the other hand would not faulter, and went on to outscore Olathe East 14-7 again in the second half for their fourth win of the season. The Eagles were led by none other than James Franklin, who rushed for 218 yards on 25 carries, and scored two touchdowns. Tre Walker chipped in 80 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles, with his last score putting the cap on a victory over their crosstown rival.

Lawrence Free State 22, SM West 15
Despite being outgained 362 to 210 in terms of total offense, SM West was in position to make another comeback againt Free State on Saturday. A long pass from DJ Balazs to Kevin Webster put SM West in position to tie things up with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, but ultimately the Free State defense held for the victory. Free State was led by Kirk Resseguie who rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

SM Northwest 34, Leavenworth 0
For the third week in a row Leavenworth failed to score any points. But the true story of the game was dominance of SM Northwest seniors John Hauk and Matt Nowak. Nowak completed 10 of 13 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns, and Hauk carried the ball 17 times for 77 yards and two touchdown of his own. The combo accounted for all of SM Northwest's touchdowns and helped the team to a 20-0 halftime lead, before adding two second
half touchdowns.

SM East 25, Lawrence 7
The fourth straight loss for Lawrence High turned out to be downright ugly. A plethora of first half turnovers and mistakes helped SM East to build a 19-0 lead. In the second half both teams scored a touchdown keeping the deficit of loss at 19 for Lawrence. Tyrae Jenkins' (below) 20 carries for 104 yards were little solace for the Chesty Lions who now, along with Leavenworth, remain winless on the season.


Olathe South 35, SM North 28
SM North gained a 21-7 lead at the half after a Kendall Kelly touchdown run, and two Ryan Goodburn touchdown passes but the 14 point cushion wasn't enough. Olathe South used their big play ability in the second half to outscore the Indians 28-7. Tanner Dutton put in two passing touchdowns and a rushing score for the Falcons, who improved to 2-2 on the season.

Olathe Northwest 17, SM South 7
Things looked good early for the SM South. After thwarting a promising Olathe Northwest drive, the Raiders completed an 81 yard drive of their own, highlighted by a 79 yards pass from Nick Johnson to Ricky Ashley, and capped off with a four yard run by Johannes Swanepoel. But the seven early points proved to be all the Raiders would manage. Olathe Northwest quarterback Josh Lemke used his ground abilities to add 79 yards and two touchdowns. A Nick Prologo field goal also contributed to the Raven victory.

Week Three Review

Three Up

1. Lawrence Free State

For all intents and purposes, the Firebirds appear to be back to their dominant form. After a stumble in week one against Olathe East, Lawrence Free State has come together much better as a unit, and their stats speak for themselves. Their 560 yards of total offense against SM North on Friday speak to how stellar of an offense they have this season.

2. SM Northwest

The Cougars were beaten up pretty good against Olathe North in week two. Their latest performance against Lawrence is a pretty good indication that they put the beatdown behind them. Dominant play from John Hauk and Matt Nowak will obviously do wonders for the Cougars the rest of the season.

3. Olathe East

The Hawks have probably played the toughest schedule to date (Free State, SM West, and Olathe South). The fact that they came out of that stretch with a 2-1 record speaks volumes, especially given the fact that they returned very few starters on both sides of the ball. Now they get to take on Olathe North.

Three Down

1. Leavenworth

The Pioneers failed to score against SM West, while giving up 49 points. They have now been outscored 6-161 on the season. Unless some drastic changes take place, this Leavenworth team is on pace to be one of the worst teams in Sunflower League history.

2. SM North

The Indians had an impressive 2-0 start to the season come to an abrupt jolt on Friday, after they lost to Free State 56-14. SM North can go one of two ways from here on out, and it will be interesting to see how they respond to the big loss.

3. Olathe Northwest

After an impressive victory in week one, the Ravens have been disappointing, now sitting at 1-2. It's not so much that they lost to a dominant Olathe North team on Friday, but rather the fact that they seemed to play uninspired football in the game--their homecoming against a rival opponent.

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's James Franklin (above) broke the school record for rushing yards in a game with 340 against Olathe Northwest. When you consider the great running backs that have gone through Olathe North (Darren Sproles, Maurice Mack, Beno Gore, Jim Bouknight, Josh Gore, etc.), you begin to realize how impressive of a feat his 340 rushing yards were. To compliment the yardage total, Franklin added 4 rushing touchdowns.

**Lawrence Free State running back Kirk Resseguie rushed for 193 yards and four touchdowns.

**SM Northwest quarterback Matt Nowak returned to form Friday night, completing eight of 11 passes for 168 yards, and rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown.

**Olathe East running backs Brandon Willingham and Hayden Groves combined for 418 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

**Olathe South receiver Marquis Addison (below) caught nine passes for 147 yards in his team's loss. At the half he had totalled 102 yards on five catches.

Week Four Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (3-0): The Eagles continue to roll, and have now outscored their opponents 152-31.

2. SM West (3-0): The Vikings finally showed off some of their offensive abilities in a dominating victory.

3. Olathe East (2-1): The Hawks looks to have found their niche with the running back duo of Brandon Willingham and Hayden Groves.

4. Lawrence Free State (2-1): Firebirds are regaining the form that carried them to a 6A title game appearence in 2008.

5. SM Northwest (2-1): Ultimately the play of quarterback Matt Nowak will dictate just how well the Cougars perform on a weekly basis.

6. Olathe South (1-2): Although their passing numbers were impressive, the Falcons blew another large lead in their loss on Friday night.

7. SM North (2-1): Friday's blowout loss to Free State should come as a wake up call to the squad from Merriam.

8. SM South (2-1): Raiders notch another nice victory, but until they beat a team that isn't winless, it will be tough to gauge their success.

9. Olathe Northwest (1-2): Ravens have been disappointing the past two weeks, but can make up for it against SM South this Friday.

10. Lawrence (0-3): The Chesty Lions play the 0-3 Lancers of SM East this Friday. Somebody has to come away with the victory.

11. SM East (0-3): See Lawrence.

12. Leavenworth (0-3): Being outscored 6-161 is embarrassing, but allowing the all-out beatings to continue would be worse.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Three Game Results

Olathe North 40, Olathe Northwest 13

Olathe North continued their dominance of the Sunflower League with a 27 point victory over rival Olathe Northwest, but the Eagles actually trailed in this game. That's right, Olathe Northwest's Devon Boyce returned the opening kickoff 96 yards to spot the Ravens a 6-0 lead on Olathe North (the second week in a row this has happened to the Eagles). But, that ultimately proved to be the last straw in Olathe Northwest's upset bid. Olathe North's James Franklin rushed for a school record 340 rushing yards, while adding four rushing touchdowns. In total, Olathe North rushed for 525 yards and only allowed Olathe Northwest to rush for 23 yards.

SM West 49, Leavenworth 0

SM West (who is quickly becoming the least publicized undefeated team in the history of the conference) finally showed off some offensive fireworks of their own with a 49 point victory over Leavenworth. Viking quarterback DJ Balazs threw two touchdown passes of 19 and 48 yards, and also chipped in a one yard rushing score. SM West running back Will Livingston scored twice on the ground for the Vikings, who led 35-0 at the half.

Olathe East 34, Olathe South 31

Despite jumping out to a 17-6 lead, Olathe South was not able to retain the lead as Olathe East came back to win by three in the end. The story of the game was Olathe East's running game, which totalled 429 rushing yards. Olathe East junior Brandon Willingham rushed for 245 yards while Olathe East senior Hayden Groves (below) threw in his own 173 yards rushing. Olathe South's Tanner Dutton produced as usual throwing for 282 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough to take down the rival Hawks.

Lawrence Free State 56, SM North 14

The gaudy offensive abilities that Lawrence Free State showed off last season appear to have returned. In the first game played at their new home stadium, the Firebirds rolled to 560 yards of total offense in a crushing defeat of SM North. Free State quarterback Camren Torneden completed nine of 10 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Free State running back Kirk Resseguie racked up 193 yards and four touchdowns. Torneden added 75 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground as well. In total, the game appeared to be a wake-up call to the previously unbeaten Indians of SM North, who only totalled 163 yards of total offense.

SM Northwest 35, Lawrence 7

While their city rival appears to be back on the right track, Lawrence High is still struggling to achieve their first victory. SM Northwest came out fired up after being slightly embarrassed by Olathe North last week. The Cougars dominated on both sides of the ball and reached a level of play they hadn't played at all season. SM Northwest's quarterback Matt Nowak had a terrific game, completing eight of 11 passes for 168 yards and rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown. Cougar running back John Hauk totalled 75 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

SM South 21, SM East 13

While SM South collected their second win of the season, SM East once again will have to go through a week with a zero in the win column. The Lancers offense seemed anemic as they dropped their third straight game. For SM South, their second win in as many weeks was the product of two Grant Hilton touchdown passes to Antonio McFadden, and a 38 yard touchdown run by Johann Swanepoel.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Two Game Results

Olathe North 41, SM Northwest 12
SM Northwest gained the lead on the opening kickoff with a 98 yard return for a touchdown by Chris Mansker. Olathe North's Adonis Saunders responded on the ensuing kickoff with a 99 yard touchdown return of his own. After that, it was all Olathe North. Eagle running back James Franklin rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns, on runs of 7, 27, and 28 yards. Meanwhile, Tre Walker led the Olathe North defense with two sacks and an interception. In total, SM Northwest was held to a mere 135 yards of total offense.


SM West 17, Olathe East 14
For the second week in a row SM West was down two touchdowns early, and for the second straight week the Vikings fought back to win. Olathe East quarterback Carter McEntee found Chris Fields and Aaron Johnson for touchdown passes to build a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. However, that would be all the scoring the Hawks would come up with. SM West running back Cordi Pascal scored on a 15 yard run in the second quarter to bring the Vikings to within seven. After a field goal had closed the gap to three points, SM West quarterback DJ Balazs found Keifer Holliman for a 12 yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings up for good in the fourth quarter.


Olathe South 24, Olathe Northwest 17
This week Olathe South quarterback Tanner Dutton only passed the ball 30 times. He connected on 19 of those passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Despite a 17-0 lead at halftime, Olathe South had to do all in their power in the second half to prevent Olathe Northwest from coming back and winning the game. Olathe Northwest's Cullen Phillips scored on a four yard touchdown run with 9:51 remaining in the fourth quarter to get the score within seven points at 24-17, but the Ravens weren't able to get on the scoreboard again.


SM North 41, Leavenworth 0
For the first time in Ryan Majors time at the helm at SM North, the Indians are 2-0. An early 41 yard touchdown run by Arthur Rucker set the tone for the game, as SM North went on to score five more unanswered touchdowns.


Lawrence Free State 36, SM East 3 (Thursday Night Game)
On Thursday night the Firebirds of Lawrence Free State showed off the talent they possess in a thorough domination of SM East. Free State's Camren Torneden (below) carried the ball 16 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to a 68 yard punt return for a touchdown. Free State running back Kirk Resseguie complimented Torneden with 19 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, SM East was only able to put out 149 yards of total offense.





SM South 28, Lawrence 7 (Thursday Night Game)
The start to the 2009 season is not going well for Lawrence High. On Thursday night they were soundly defeated by the Raiders of SM South. Lawrence scored first, gaining a 7-0 advantage before SM South took control. The Raider's Grant Hilton scored 3 touchdowns, while fellow teammate Johann Swanepoel added 117 rushing yards on 19 carries. On the other side of the ball Lawrence's Tyrae Jenkins was only able to come away with 50 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Friday Morning Report

Thursday Night Results

Lawrence Free State 36, SM East 3
On Thursday night the Firebirds of Lawrence Free State showed off the talent they possess in a thorough domination of SM East. Free State's Camren Torneden carried the ball 16 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to a 68 yard punt return for a touchdown. Free State running back Kirk Resseguie complimented Torneden with 19 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, SM East was only able to put out 149 yards of total offense.

SM South 28, Lawrence 7
The start to the 2009 season is not going well for Lawrence High. On Thursday night they were soundly defeated by the Raiders of SM South. Lawrence scored first, gaining a 7-0 advantage before SM South took control. The Raider's Grant Hilton scored 3 touchdowns, while fellow teammate Johann Swanepoel added 117 rushing yards on 19 carries. On the other side of the ball Lawrence's Tyrae Jenkins was only able to come away with 50 rushing yards on 15 carries.


**Due to weekend conflicts, I won't be able to make my next post until Sunday night.