Week Eight Review

Three Up

SM East

The Lancers broke a 15+ year losing streak to SM West, claimed a share of the Sunflower League title, and sealed a spot in the playoffs with their big win.

Olathe Northwest

Olathe Northwest (featuring Leonard Parks, right) finally eked out a close win over a quality opponent and in doing so kept their playoff hopes alive.

SM North

SM North took out the frustration of their 14-game losing streak on Wyandotte, coming away with a 42-0 victory and a shot at making the playoffs with a win this Friday.

Three Down

SM West

SM West's streak of consecutive wins against their rival SM East came to an end Friday; more pertinent is that SM West needs to beat a feisty Blue Valley North team on Friday to make the playoffs.

Lawrence

Lawrence came up a yard short of grabbing a late lead over Olathe Northwest and they have lost three straight games since their upset victory over Olathe East.

Lawrence Free State

Free State has played the most difficult schedule in the Sunflower League, but yet, they haven't managed to win any of their big games since their week one win over Olathe south.

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's Tanner Gentry ran the ball twice for 75 yards and a touchdown, and caught two passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.

**Brandon Willingham led Olathe East with 19 carries for 193 yards and two touchdowns, and he threw a nine-yard touchdown pass.

**SM Northwest quarterback Stephen Mangelsdorf completed 16-of-21 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns and he also rushed for a touchdown.

Week Nine Power Rankings

1.Olathe East (7-1): Olathe East got back on track against Blue Valley Northwest and now they face Olathe South for the district title.

2. Olathe North (7-1): The Eagles had no problems dispatching a solid Free State club and the team is peaking at the right time.

3. SM East (7-1): The Lancers are on cloud-nine right now and this may be the best season in Lancer football history.

4. SM West (6-2): The Vikings have gone from a six game win streak to a do-or-die district finale against Blue Valley North.

5. Olathe South (6-2): Olathe South now holds the league's longest winning streak at six games, and with a playoff spot in hand they have nothing to lose against top ranked Olathe East on Friday.

6. Lawrence Free State (4-4): The Firebirds are in good position to make the playoffs despite their bad loss this past week.

7. SM Northwest (4-4): SM Northwest can use their game this week against Wyandotte as a tune-up for the playoffs.

8. Olathe Northwest (3-5): Olathe Northwest kept their playoff hopes alive with their win over Lawrence but beating Olathe North is a tall order.

9. Lawrence (3-5): Lawrence can make the playoffs if they beat Free State by 14 points and Olathe Northwest loses.

10. SM South (2-6): The Raiders' disappointing season could end on a bright note if they somehow managed to upset SM East.

11. Leavenworth (1-7): Leavenworth can make the playoffs with a win against SM North on Friday.

12. SM North (1-7): SM North began 2009 with two wins, lost 14 straight, and now has a chance to end 2010 with two wins in a row.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

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