Wier Likely to Return to Olathe North

Gene Wier

It appears as though Olathe North's "delay" in naming a new head coach was strategic after all.  According to Tod Palmer of the Kansas City Star, Gene Wier will be rehired as the head football coach at Olathe North, pending the approval of the Olathe School District Board of Education on Thursday night.

His hiring will fill the void left by Pete Flood, who resigned from the head coaching position with the Eagles after six years on the job.

The younger generation of Sunflower League players and fans may not remember just how dominant Wier was at Olathe North--in fact, nine seasons have passed since Wier last graced the league in 2002--but his status as a coaching legend in Kansas still stands tall.

Wier spent 22 seasons as Olathe North's head coach, starting in 1981 and going until 2002.  During that time he compiled a 188-36 record, winning six state championships.

Wier left Olathe North following the 2002 season to take over the head coaching duties at Richland High School in Richland, Texas, where he's spent the past nine seasons.  He also doubled as the athletic director at Richland.

Wier's current coaching tree includes head coaches Tim Callaghan of SM West, Ryan Lonergan of SM South and John McCall of Blue Valley North.  All three were coaches on Wier's staff in 2002 when Olathe North went 13-0 winning its third-straight 6A title.

Week Seven Game Previews

Olathe South (6-0) at Blue Valley Northwest (3-3) (Thursday Night Game)

Olathe South quarterback Frankie Seurer will play
a key role in how well Olathe South is able to control
the ball and keep the Blue Valley Northwest offense
off the field.  Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star.



Their record doesn't indicate it, but Blue Valley Northwest is not a team to be taken lightly, and I can assure you Olathe South is putting in as much preparation and work into this game as they did last week against Olathe North.  The Huskies from BV Northwest came within a blocked PAT of tying and possibly upending undefeated Blue Valley last week.  Add in the fact that they have a talented quarterback in Garrett Fugate operating a spread system that Olathe South has probably only seen once, against Lawrence, and you have yourself what could be a pretty close ballgame.

Leavenworth (0-6) at Wyandotte (2-4) at Wyandotte

Leavenworth should finally be able to garner their first victory of the season here against Wyandotte.  Last season it was their only win of the year, however, it gave them momentum and they nearly beat SM North in the final week of the season to make the playoffs.  We'll see if a victory here can propel the Pioneers in a similar direction this time around.

Lawrence (4-2) at Olathe North (5-1) at ODAC

This game might feature as many top athletes as we've seen in a SL contest all season long.  Olathe North is coming off their low-point in the season thus far, a 29-10 loss at the hands of Olathe South.  Lawrence may be coming off their high-point, after handling SM South 42-17 with relative ease.  Regardless, it's district time and a win here will be key, because the other two district members (Olathe Northwest and Free State) will certainly not be easy wins.

Blue Valley West (3-3) at Olathe East (5-1) at CBAC

Blue Valley West has been anything but impressive on the season.  Their three wins have come against a winless Blue Valley North, a one-win Blue Valley Southwest, and a blowout non-conference game against Christian High School in St. Louis.  However, don't expect Jeff Meyers and his Hawks to take the Jaguars lightly.  With Blue Valley Northwest and Olathe South remaining on the schedule, a slip up here by the Hawks could prove fatal for their playoff hopes.

SM East (3-3) at Blue Valley North (0-6) at BVDAC

By all means SM East has the personnel to handle Blue Valley North and push their own record to 4-3.  The coaching familiarity is the main question mark at this point in time.  Blue Valley North's head coach, John McCall, was head coach at Olathe North from 2003-2004, winning a 6A championship in 2003.  He knows the Sunflower League's style well, and his son, Bryan McCall, is a coordinator at Olathe North and may have a few tips for his pops on how to contain the Lancers.

SM North (1-5) at SM Northwest (1-5) at SM North District Stadium

The Hula Bowl, for the first time in awhile, looks like it could be a pretty evenly matched game.  SM North has lost four straight games after a week on victory, while SM Northwest has been just as bad, having only won one game, which came on a last-second field goal.  Both units would love a victory over their arch-rival, and a 1-0 start to district play.  And just for the record, SM North hasn't beat SM Northwest since 2001, accumulating seven straight losses in the nine seasons since then.

SM South (1-5) at SM West (3-3) at SM South District Stadium

Technically, this is a matchup between two members of former Olathe North head coach Gene Wier's coaching tree.  SM West head coach Tim Callaghan was an assistant under Wier from the mid-90s through the early part of the 2000s, and SM South head coach Ryan Lonergan was an assistant at Olathe North under Weir in 2002.  While neither team has had a tremendous season, both will be employing similar styles of play and it should be fun to watch.

Game of the Week
Lawrence Free State (4-2) at Olathe Northwest (3-3) (Thursday Night Game) at CBAC

I like what both teams bring to the table in this game, and for that reason I've chosen it as the Game of the Week.  A win here is absolutely crucial.  The other two teams in the district include Lawrence and Olathe North, two of the Sunflower League's best.  The loser of this game will have to defeat both of those teams to make the playoffs, which will be a tall order.  The winner on the other hand will only have to win one of their remaining two games.

Week Six Review

Lawrence Free State's Kyle McFarland was bottled
up for much of the game against SM East.  Photo
courtesy the Lawrence Journal World.

Three Up

Olathe South
The results say it all for the Falcons.  At 6-0 they're off to their best start since 2005, when they finished the season 9-2.  The only downside for the Falcons is that they won't be able to claim the league title or gain bragging rights over all of Olathe, until they face Olathe East in week nine.

SM East
The Lancers lost ugly last week, but won ugly this week.  Given the injuries suffered, SM East will take being 3-3 heading into districts.  On paper they'll be favored to go 3-0 to close out the season.

Olathe Northwest
After a decent victory on Friday the Ravens are sitting at .500 heading into district play.  If only they could develop something resembling a defense (they've given up 40 or more points four times in six games) they might be able to pull out a couple victories and make the playoffs.

Three Down

Olathe North
We saw this same sort of thing happen last year when Olathe East downed Olathe North 25-0 in late September--and it really didn't make a difference down the stretch.  The only thing is, outside of Olathe East, Olathe North really hasn't beat many good teams.

Lawrence Free State
Overshadowing Free State's last-minute 97-yard touchdown drive was the fact that the team wasn't able to convert a game tying two-point conversion late, or that they missed a PAT earlier which forced them to go for the two-point conversion.  It's little miscues like those that have haunted Free State for years.

SM South
After a solid first half effort the Raiders weren't able to come away with any points in the second half of their 42-17 loss at Lawrence.  If SM South has a shot at making the playoffs it's going to have to come with consistent scoring from their offense--because the defense hasn't bailed them out at all this year.

Week Six Players of the Week

Brad Strauss, Lawrence: In the mold of fomer Sunflower League greats like Derek Miller and Dustin Moomau, Strauss is playing offense, defense, and special teams, and dominating.  He scored six touchdowns on Friday.  One came on a kickoff return, four were on rushing scores, and one was on a pass.

Armani Williams, SM West: Williams has taken quite a few shots from the media and fans alike, and, to be honest, he came into a situation with pretty high standards for the Vikings.  His predecessors included Tyler Lawrence (a 20-game winner who played at KU), Blake Lawrence (a Simone finalist who was offered to play quarterback at Missouri) and DJ Balazs (a 21-game winner).  Williams finally played a great game, tossing three touchdowns passes and running for another in SM West's 28-point win Friday night. 

Week Seven Power Rankings

1. Olathe South (6-0): The Falcons' latest performance was easily their most impressive of the season.  The team's seemingly endless stable of running backs makes them a preparation headache for any school.

2. Olathe North (5-1): In some ways the Eagles may benefit from their loss to Olathe South.  They won't have as much pressure as the top dog, and you know what they say about how hard it is to beat a good team twice--assuming they meet up again with Olathe South in the playoffs.

3. Olathe East (5-1): With all the attention given to their neighbors to the North and South, Olathe East has quietly snuck up at 5-1, with an offensive attack that gets stronger every week.

4. Lawrence (4-2): Lawrence's district poses a good challenge, but regardless of how well they do, be sure to keep an eye on Brad Strauss.  You don't see kids putting up his type of numbers very often in the Sunflower League.

5. SM East (3-3): The Lancers can make up for some of their early season losses by sweeping their district and rolling into the playoffs at a very respectable 6-3... but we've seen what the expectation bug has done to the team in the past.

6. Lawrence Free State (4-2): As has been the case for the last six years, Bob Lisher found an athlete, stuck him at quarterback (Kyle McFarland being the athlete this year), and now has a team with one of the best offenses in the league.

7. SM West (3-3): We'll see if the Vikings can finally string together a two-game winning streak.  They'll be favored against SM South, but they also haven't faced an opponent whose head coach has as intricate of a knowledge of their own strengths and weaknesses as SM South's Ryan Lonergan.

8. Olathe Northwest (3-3): This is Todd Dain's eighth year at Olathe Northwest, and you could make the case that this is his best team yet.  Their district doesn't do them any favors, but to be among the best you have to beat the best.

9. SM Northwest (1-5): You can open your eyes now, Cougars.  The non-district stretch of your season is over.  Awaiting you in your district are three teams with a combined record of 3-15.

10. SM North (1-5): While they did lose to Olathe Northwest, the Indian's showed alot of fight and came within a touchdown of tying the game up in the fourth quarter.  Mason Perez is also a bigtime playmaker that would be getting mentioned among the league's best if he played for a better team.

11. SM South (1-5):  The Raiders should close out the season with at least one more win.  However, despite their poor record, I think things are boding well for the program now and into the future.

12. Leavenworth (0-6): It's do or die time for the Pioneers.  Hopefully they can beat Wyandotte this week and claim at least one victory on the season.  Heck, they may even pull an upset out in one of their next two games and make the playoffs.

Thursday Report

SM East's Elliot Faerber.

Week One Matchups
All games times 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

SM East at SM Northwest (Thursday Night Game) at SM North District Stadium

The first game of the 2011 Sunflower League schedule has the potential to be a very competitive matchup. While SM Northwest doesn’t return any big names on paper, I can guarantee you their head coach, Aaron Barnett, has been using the game against the Lancers as a proverbial carrot on a string all offseason. 

Last year SM East came in and embarrassed SM Northwest, 24-0, in the opening game of the season. The Cougars stumbled to an 0-3 start before they regained their bearings. SM East, led by wide receiver Elliot Faerber, is the favorite, but SM Northwest would love to return the favor they were given in week one last year.

Olathe Northwest at Leavenworth at Leavenworth

An opening week victory—which one of these teams will collect—is a tremendous confidence booster, and could do wonders for either club in the early stages of the season. If Olathe Northwest wins they’ll head to SM South in week two, where they will likely be favored, and a 2-0 start would be feasible. For Leavenworth, a victory would signify major strides in year two under Kevin Kopecky, and it would be a great booster before their game against Lawrence Free State in week two.

SM West at Lawrence at Lawrence

The one thing we know in this game is that neither team will be breaking in an inexperienced quarterback or running back (assuming both sides stay injury free). Lawrence’s Brad Strauss will have all eyes on him as he works to build on his tremendous sophomore season, while Armani Williams will be working to silence the critics who blamed SM West’s poor end to the 2010 season on his accuracy problems. At the running back position, Lawrence will be featuring returning starter Charles Jackson while SM West will be led by Tre Burt.

Lawrence Free State at Olathe South at ODAC

Last season these two teams played each other in week one and what most people remember from the game is how Lawrence Free State ran wild, scoring 42 points with ease and handing Olathe South an early loss. Olathe South is the favorite in this one, and they have the advantage of playing at home at ODAC.  All signs point to an Olathe South victory, but Free State is a wildcard, and we'll see how they perform with a relatively new crop of skill position players.

SM South at SM North at SM North District Stadium

This will be the first game as head coach for SM South’s Ryan Lonergan, and you know he and the SM South faithful would love nothing more than a victory over a conference rival in the first game of the season. These teams have played some great game in the past and this one should be a competitive, fun contest to watch.  One key thing of note will be observing how much of SM West's offensive and defensive philosophies Lonergan brought with him to SM South.

Game of the Week
Olathe North at Olathe East at CBAC

This contest was selected as the Hy-Vee High School Game of the Week on KC Metro Sports, which means the eyes of the metro will be on these two teams. The action kicks off before the game with the 810 WHB and Metro Sports sponsored “High School Gameday,” which is essentially the high school version of ESPN’s College Gameday—a very cool addition to the Game of the Week, if I might add. As far as the actual game goes, it doesn’t get much better than this in the Sunflower League. These two powers will give us a good showing in week one and we’ll have a much better understanding of how much reloading each team did in the offseason.

August First and Ten

Elliot Faerber is the first SL
wide receiver to receive a D1
offer since SM West's David
Leonard headed to Wyoming
in 2007.

With practices in the state of Kansas and the Sunflower League kicking off today, it means that in just three short weeks, on September 2, the high school football season will begin (September 1 if you want to split hairs).  In the meantime here are 10 of the top storylines heading into what appears to be a another great year of football in the Sunflower League.

1. Is this a great season for top-flight talent in the SL?  Hardly, at least on paper.  Aside from the two division one commits (Elliot Faerber of SM East to Illinois and Matthew Baltimore of Olathe East to Northern Illinois) there isn't a bundle of returning players that we know will tear the league up.  This does mean we should see an influx of new talent as the season matures, however.

2. The league's only new head coach is Ryan Lonergan, who took over the play calling duties at SM South this past summer after eight years as an assistant at SM West.  The longest tenured coach in the league is Olathe East's Jeff Meyers, who will be entering his 20th season as head coach of the Hawks in 2011.

3. Biggest riser?  Lawrence High is the preseason favorite to make a big jump in the SL rankings.  If junior quarterback Brad Strauss can continue to make big strides the Chesty Lions could be in for their first playoff victory(s) since 2006. 

4. We'll be hard-pressed to see a Simone Award winner come out of the league this season.  Generally the award goes exclusively to quarterbacks or running backs, and throughout the SL there is no returning starter at either of those positions who's developed a big name in the metro.  Olathe North's Treshawn Root and SM West's Tre Burt could be battling it out for top running back in the league, however.

5. One of the top games on the fall schedule takes place in week one, when Olathe North travels to CBAC to battle it out with Olathe East.  It's the Hy-Vee High School Game of the Week on KC Metro Sports, and it will be broadcast to the metropolitan area.  It will also be a great chance to see which of Olathe's top two programs has more swagger early on (particularly the battle between defensive ends Tanner Gentry of Olathe North and Baltimore of Olathe East).



Free State's Ryan Murphy set off a string of
dynamic quarterbacks for the Firebirds that
has continued for the better part of the last
five seasons.  We'll see if that trend contin-
ues in 2011.

6. Possible sleepers?  Lawrence Free State and SM Northwest.  Neither of those teams is generating a great deal of preseason hype but these two programs generally get stronger as the season goes along.  The reason for this may lay in their offensive systems.  It doesn't matter who either team puts at quarterback--they continue to put up gaudy numbers and perform like the league's elite. 

Free State's quarterback spot has gone from Ryan Murphy, to Craig Rosenstangle, to Camren Torneden to Dylan Perry without dropoff.  SM Northwest's past three quarterbacks, Alex Carder, Matt Nowak and Stephen Mangelsdorf all developed into top notch talents.  If these trends continue, it wouldn't be surprising to see either team exceed their preseason hype, or lack thereof.

7. Two players who will go into 2011 with chips on their shoulders are Lawrence High's Anthony Buffalomeat and SM West's Armani Williams.  Buffalomeat's 2010 season was cut short by an ankle injury, which prevented him from helping LHS in district play.  Williams received much of the blame for SM West's poor ending to last season, despite the fact that he wasn't even the week one starter for the Vikings. 

 8. Perhaps the lack of a truly dominant team will be equalled in the bottom half of the league, where there might not be a complete cellar dweller.  Leavenworth enters season two under Kevin Kopecky, and it would be hard to imagine the Pioneers having not made substantial improvements during the offseason.  SM North will be in year two under Kevin Grayless, and SM South's coaching change looks like a step in the right direction.


9. An Olathe school has represented the East side of the bracket in 13 of the past 15 6A state championship games (the two exceptions were SM West in 2006 and Free State in 2008).  Olathe North and Olathe East both look like they have the potential to continue that dominance, and Olathe South may be in the race too if their new running backs develop well.

10. The defining feeling heading into the 2011 season is that I can't recall a year in the past where there was fewer returning stars or less dominant teams.  Generally speaking, in August there are usually two, three, or sometimes even four teams in the SL that you could legitimately see winning a state title.  This year I'm not sure there's even one!  There is also a lack of big name talent returning, as mentioned earlier.  The league is up for the taking--we'll see who wants it most.

Lonergan Named New SM South Coach

SM South's head coaching search didn't take long.  On Thursday the school named SM West assistant Ryan Lonergan their new head coach.  Lonergan served various roles as an assistant to Tim Callaghan, but his most notable contribution was his work with the Viking's varsity offensive and defensive line units.

Lonergan entered the coaching field in 2002 as an assistant alongside Callaghan at Olathe North under the legendary Gene Wier.  In 2003 Callaghan accepted the head coaching position at SM West and Lonergan followed.

In his 10 years as an assistant Lonergan has been part of a combined 74 wins and only 23 losses, including two state championship appearances (2002 at Olathe North and 2006 at SM West).

Prior to his coaching career, Lonergan played football at Pittsburg State University.

Author's Note: I had the pleasure of playing under Coach Lonergan during my four years at SM West and, in my opinion, SM South landed one of the top assistant coaches in the Kansas City area.  It's surprising he hadn't been picked off earlier. 

Lonergan was always a player-favorite and he brought a passion to the game that was unrivaled.  Plus, he coached under Gene Wier and Tim Callaghan, and it's hard to find two better coaches to learn from than those two.

How will Lonergan's game play and schemes vary from Callaghan's at SM West?  It's hard to say for sure, and we may not see the full extent of everything in year one, but Lonergan was known for adding "jive" to SM West's offense when he was in charge of play calling at the JV level.  Ultimately, he'll do a great job of getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers and letting them run wild.  And, given his pedigree, the Raiders will have an increased emphasis on running the football and playing tough defense.

Photo courtesy Sun Sports