Game Scores and Notes

Week Seven Game Results

Lawrence Free State 35, Olathe Northwest 21

Olathe Northwest did their best to hang with Lawrence Free State, but in the end the Firebirds offense was too much to match. Free State scored the game's first two touchdowns on passes from Dylan Perry to Shawn Knighton and Desmond Wyatt of six and 24 yards, respectively. Olathe Northwest got on the board with a five-yard run from Leonard Parks (right) in the second quarter to pull within seven. Perry struck again through the air to Wyatt on a 20-yard pass to pull ahead two touchdowns. Parks added a nine-yard run for the Ravens before the half to once again pull within seven. Parks also opened scoring in the second half on a one-yard plunge which tied the game at 21. Perry, proving to be too much, broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run later in the third, and Henry Vaeono's touchdown run in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach for Olathe Northwest.

SM West 23, SM South 7

While SM West didn't put up the gaudy offensive numbers they had in past weeks, the Vikings handled business accordingly in their district opener. They got on the board midway through the first quarter when quarterback Armani Williams found receiver JJ Shara on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Before halftime kicker Mark Whitrock booted a 37-yarder to put the Vikes up 10-0. In the third quarter the Vikings found the endzone again through the air, this time on a 56-yard pass from Williams to DeAndre Graves. SM South, trailing 17-0, compiled a nice drive later in the quarter and quarterback Alex Forslund put the final touches on it with a 6-yard touchdown run. From then on neither team had much success offensively, but SM West was able to add two more Whitrock field goals, from 27 and 34 yards.

Olathe East 28, Blue Valley West 24

Olathe East's first drive of the game was easy--it totalled 76 yards and ended with a five-yard touchdown run by Brandon Willingham. Blue Valley West answered with a 35-yard field goal from Connor Childress to pull within four. Both teams added touchdowns before the half and Olathe East led 14-10 at the intermission. Blue Valley West opened up the scoring in the second half when Devin Rose found DeSean Warren on a 25-yard touchdown pass to gain a 17-14 lead. Olathe East responded with a long drive capped off by a 17-yard touchdown run from Austin Fulson to regain the lead, 21-17. The Jaguars countered that in the fourth quarter when Rose found Zach Epps on an eight-yard pass to jump ahead 24-17. Blue Valley West regained possession and looked poised to score, but Darion Lindsey fumbled on a carry and Olathe East capitalized, scoring four plays later on a 21-yard run from Fulson to gain the lead, 28-24, for good.

Olathe North 41, Lawrence 3

Lawrence High's injuries proved costly against Olathe North, as they had no answer for the the Eagles potent scoring attack. Olathe North's Adonis Saunders scored on runs of four and 15 yards in the first half, before Victor Simmons added a touchdown on a run of 48 yards. The Eagles led 20-3 at the half. Saunders broke open the third quarter with a 77-yard touchdown run, and that was all she wrote as Olathe North added two more touchdowns in the victory.

SM East 55, Blue Valley North 34

While SM East's defense left some room to be desired, the Lancer's offense was nearly unstoppable, producing 480 yards of total offense. John Schrock led the Lancers scoring three rushing touchdowns on nine carries, and also completing 15-of-19 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Adam Lowe added two more rushing scores for the Lancers (6-1) who face SM West (6-1) next week in what could be the best Sunflower League game of the regular season.

Olathe South 28, Blue Valley Northwest 10

This game was closer than 18-point disparity in the final score. Olathe South struck first on a three-yard run by Nick Sands in the first quarter. Blue Valley Northwest matched that in the second quarter on a one-yard pass from Garrett Fugate to Eli Woerpel. Sands punched in a 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give the Falcons a 14-7 lead, but the Huskies wouldn't go away, adding a field goal to make the score 14-10 heading into the fourth. From there, Olathe South was able to establish themselves, adding two more touchdown runs from Sands to put the game out of reach.

SM Northwest 35, SM North 7

The Hula Bowl was lopsided in SM Northwest's favor, once again. The Cougars piled on 35 straight points before SM North would answer. Stephen Mangelsdorf had a great game for SM Northwest, throwing three touchdown passes and running for another. The Indians lone touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Kyle Goodburn connected with Mason Perez on a 21-yard touchdown pass.

Leavenworth 26, Wyandotte 6

At last, Leavenworth's losing streak is over. The Pioneers ended the 21-game streak with a solid victory over a Wyandotte team that had collected two wins on the season. Judson Cole opened the scoring for Leavenworth with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Pioneers regained possession after a defensive stop, and soon after Jason Randall broke a 43-yard touchdown run to put the Pioneers up 12-0. The score carried through until the end of the third quarter when Cole hit Alec Zeck on a 30-yard touchdown pass to go up 20-0. Cline Baker caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Cole to tack on the final score of the night.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

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

2010 Player Spotlights: Kendall Kelly

Kendall Kelly
SM North

Position: Running Back
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170lbs.
Class: Junior

State to Note
Kelly was one of the few bright spots during SM North's 2-7 season in 2009. The sophomore rushed for 609 yards on 148 carries.

Scouting Report
New SM North head coach Dennis Grayless has quite a task at hand trying to rejuvenate the Indians football program. The team hasn't made the playoffs since 2003, but it's players like Kelly that Grayless will be relying on.

Kelly was one of the few sophomores in the Sunflower League who had a feature role with their team last season, and he did pretty well rushing for over 600 yards. Assuming the junior receives enough carries, he should rush for over 1,000 yards this upcoming season. Kelly's excellent balance and decent speed makes him a threat in the return game as well.

SM North lost some playmaker like Arthur Rucker to graduation, but overall the program's talent pool didn't lose too much. Kelly will be teaming up with senior-to-be Kyle Goodburn to try and make big strides in year one for Grayless.