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: Free State's defense was developing a stingy nickname until Franklin came to town. His made his 287 rushing yards and four touchdowns look easy in his team's victory. He has now rushed for 1,3469 yards (224.3 ypg) and 18 touchdowns on the season. At this rate he will break Darren Sproles' career rushing record at Olathe North by season's end.

2. DJ Balazs, quarterback, SM West: Balazs had another solid game passing for 99 yards and and one touchdown. He is now just two wins short of 20 career wins as a starting quarterback, a number many great quarterbacks in the league have fallen short of.

3. Camren Torneden, quarterback, Lawrence Free State: Torneden (below) completed nine of 19 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns on Friday, but on the ground (the area where he usually makes the biggest impact) he was held to just 20 yards. Torneden drops one spot, but could easily jump back to #2 next week with a good game.

4. Brandon Willingham, running back, Olathe East: Against Leavenworth Willingham received limited playing time to reduce the chance of injury, and to give other players more reps. Regardless, he still rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown, and recorded nine tackles on defense.

5. Matt Nowak, quarterback, SM Northwest: Nowak bumped himself back into the Top Five Ratings with a stellar bounce back game against Olathe Northwest. Nowak rushed the ball eight times for 23 yards and a touchdown, in addition to completing six of nine passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also successfully booted two field goal attempts.

Honorable Mention: Kirk Resseguie, Lawrence Free State; Tre Walker, Olathe North; Lucas Vincent, Olathe North; Tanner Dutton, Olathe South; Hayden Groves, Olathe East

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 (6-0)

2. Lawrence Free State (4-2)

3. SM West (5-1)

4. Olathe East (4-2)

5. Olathe South (4-2)

6. SM Northwest (4-2)

7. SM South (3-3)

8. Olathe Northwest (2-4)

9. SM North (2-4)

10. SM East (2-4)

11. Lawrence (0-6)

12. Leavenworth (0-6)

Stat Check

Sunflower League Leaders

Passing Yards

Tanner Dutton, Olathe South: 1,418

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 685

DJ Balazs, SM West: 684

Matt Nowak, SM Northwest: 674

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: 629

Carter McEntee, Olathe East: 552

Robby Moriarty, SM East: 441

Josh Lemke (below), Olathe Northwest: 410

David Blazevic, Olathe North: 313

Grant Hilton, SM South: 312

Mark Dabeck, Leavenworth: 283

Chris Gaston, Lawrence: 131

Rushing Yards

James Franklin, Olathe North: 1,349

Hayden Groves, Olathe East: 718

Kirk Resseguie, Lawrence Free State: 625

Tyrae Jenkins, Lawrence: 592

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 580

Johannes Swanepoel, SM South: 571

Camren Torneden, Lawrence Free State: 522

Kendall Kelly, SM North: 477

Brandon Bouvilom, Olathe Northwest: 439

Cordi Pascal, SM West: 433

Barry Sargent, Olathe South: 388

Will Livingston, SM West: 365

KC Waterman, SM Northwest: 358

Receiving Yards

Marquis Addison, Olathe South: 517

Chris Fields, Olathe East: 310

Antonio McFadden, SM South: 273

Kendal Harland, Olathe South: 253

Will Maynard, SM North: 230

Keene Niemack, Lawrence Free State: 215

Connor Stremel, Lawrence Free State: 209

Grant Ellis, SM East: 208

Kevin Webster, SM West: 207

Chris Mansker, SM Northwest: 198

Arthur Rucker, SM North: 198

Jason Peete, Olathe North: 191

Charles Davis, Leavenworth: 186

Griff Gans, SM East: 183

Justin Austin, SM West: 182

Tackles

Austin Folson, Olathe East: 86

Adam Olsen, SM South: 73

Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 61

Darrin Sorrem, Lawrence: 61

Gavin Blankenship, SM South: 60

Dylan Hanson, Olathe South: 58

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 58

Trip Hiller, Olathe South: 54

Chandler Smith, Olathe Northwest: 53

Rodney Harris, Olathe East: 52

Derrick Crandall, SM South: 50

Seth Krug, Olathe Northwest: 47

Paden Murray, Olathe East: 46

Games Scores and Notes

Week Six Game Results

Olathe North 38, Lawrence Free State 20 (All Star Video Sports Highlights)

Olathe North all but sealed their first Sunflower League crown in five years with an outstanding victory Friday night in Lawrence. The Eagles came out with a plan to pound the ball and did just that. Olathe North ran the ball 60 times for 461 yards and didn't even complete a pass in the game in totalling their 38 points. Olathe North's James Franklin (below) rushed for 284 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.

SM Northwest 27, Olathe Northwest 17

SM Northwest was able to capitalize on several Olathe Northwest turnovers in the first half, ultimately resulting in the 10 point margin of victory. SM Northwest was led by running back John Hauk's 158 rushing yards and touchdown. On one scoring drive, Hauk carried the ball eight consecutive times for 73 yards.

Olathe South 34, SM East 30

The Falcons from Olathe South played another up-and-down game, but came out on top after two consecutive fourth quarter touchdowns. Olathe South was trailing 30-20 with just over four minutes to play when Nick Sands took a Tanner Dutton pass 57 yards for a score. The Olathe South defense held SM East and the Falcons regained possession with 2:14 remaining. Dutton led the offense down the field and capped off the drive with a 10 yard touchdown pass to Marquis Addison. The score sealed the deal on the game, preventing SM East from winning their third straight game.

SM West 31, Lawrence 0

SM West put forth a bone-crushing defensive effort on their homecoming and not only shutout Lawrence, but also held the Chesty Lions to a mere 104 yards of total offense. SM West's Adam LeBlanc played a stellar game, scoring three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) and collecting an interception on defense. Lawrence now sits winless at 0-6.

SM South 20, SM North 17 (All Star Video Sports Highlights)

It took overtime to decided the outcome of this heated Shawnee Mission School District matchup. Trailing 14-7, SM North's Arthur Rucker completed an 80 yard touchdown pass to Ryan Finazzo to tie the game up at 14 all. SM North opened overtime with a 27 yard Ryan Goodburn field goal, but SM South's Johannes Swanepoel punched in a rushing touchdown to give SM South a 20-17 OT victory. Swanepoel ran the ball 29 times for 143 yards and the touchdown.

Olathe East 53, Leavenworth 3

Olathe East used a balanced attack to lay half-a-hundred on Leavenworth in the final game before district play. Olathe East's Carter McEntee completed 15 of 20 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground Austin Fulson led the Hawks with 154 rushing yards and two touchdowns on three carries.

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.