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.

Lawrence Returning to Football

PITTSBURG —
When Tim Beck was named as Pittsburg State’s football coach, he left an opening at offensive coordinator.And in the offseason, Beck brought in a pair of high school coaches with offensive coordinator experience.There’s just one thing: one of those coaches won’t be picking which players will start. Instead, Tyler Lawrence will be fighting for a starting spot of his own.
A former quarterback at Kansas, Lawrence comes to the Gorillas via Highland Park High School in Topeka, where Lawrence served as offensive coordinator after graduating. But because Lawrence took just three years to graduate, he has the equivalent of four semesters, or two seasons, of eligibility as a Pitt State player...read more here.

Week Eight Review

Three Up

SM East

The Lancer's 13-12 victory over SM Northwest was one of the bigger upsets of the season in the Sunflower League. After a tumultuous 0-3 start it looked as if the Lancers were on pace for another very mediocre season. Since that time the team has gone 4-1, and with their victory Friday night they sealed a playoff berth.

Olathe Northwest

Olathe Northwest may have represented themselves poorly against the other Olathe schools, but they will be making the playoffs in 2009, which is ultimately the bigger goal. Granted, the Raven's two district wins have come against teams that are a combined 0-16, but the dominate fashion of their victories provides evidence that the team may be clicking.

Olathe North (below)

The Eagles took care of business for the eight time this season, and their star running back James Franklin was able to rest the entire second half. The victory over Blue Valley West sealed the district crown, and with a win against Olathe South on Friday the Eagles will also stake claim to an outright Sunflower League title. It would be the school's first since 2004.

Three Down

SM Northwest

By losing to SM East on Friday the Cougars were officially eliminated from playoff contention. No one saw this coming. The team played inconsistent football throughout the year, but it appeared the duo of Matt Nowak and John Hauk would be enough to propel the team to the playoffs. In the end the end the Cougars had no such luck.

Olathe South

Much like SM Northwest, the Falcons possessed a decent group of talent, but were haunted by inconsistency and a difficulty schedule. When reviewing the Falcon's stats more closely it also became obvious that the team struggled to score as many points as their stats would indicate. Tanner Dutton routinely passed for 250+ yards, but often that would only equate to one or two touchdown passes. With defensive liabilities the Falcons couldn't come through in district play.

SM South

At one point in time it looked like SM South had turned the corner and had a decent shot of improving to 4-3 through seven games. Things did not go their way and two consecutive losses have eliminated the Raider's playoff chances. With Olathe East on tap for week nine, that fourth win looks even more elusive.

Individual Highlights

**SM East's Kevin Hertel caught touchdown passes of 14 and 43 yards--the Lancers only scores of the game. The last touchdown was ultimately the score that elevated SM East to the win.

**Olathe North's James Franklin only ran the ball in the first half, but still totalled 159 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

**Josh Lemke, Brandon Bouvilom, and Cullen Phillips combined for seven touchdowns in Olathe Northwest's 63 point offensive performance. Phillips had touchdowns runs of 10 and 49 yards, Bouvilom had runs of 1 and 24 yards, and Lemke threw touchdown passes of 23, 29, and 34 yards.

**SM West's DJ Balazs collected his 20th career victory as a starting quarterback in the Viking's 49-7 victory Friday night. Balazs joins an elite group of Sunflower League quarterbacks who have accomplished the feat. Here is a list of some of the most recent members:

Name, school, graduation year, wins

Derek Miller, Olathe East, 2006, 31

DJ Balazs, SM West, 2010, 20

Tyler Lawrence, SM West, 2006, 20

**Olathe East's Hayden Groves ran the ball 22 times for 166 yards and one touchdown. He also caught a 19 yard touchdown pass in the Hawk's victory.

Week Nine Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (8-0): The Eagles are one win from claiming their first Sunflower League crown since 2004.

2. Lawrence Free State (6-2): The Firebirds will be looking to give Olathe Northwest a reality check.

3. SM West (7-1): The Vikings are peaking at the right time; their 49-7 win on Friday shows that both their offense and defense are well prepped for the playoffs.

4. Olathe East (5-3): If the Hawks take care of business against SM South they will be looking at their eighth straight playoff appearance.

5. Olathe South (4-4): A season that once showed alot of promise will be over all-to-soon for the Falcon faithful.

6. Olathe Northwest (4-4): The Ravens are already in the playoffs, but their game against Lawrence Free State will be a gut check.

7. SM East (4-4): The Lancers have already qualified for the playoffs and get a chance at their rival SM West on Friday, a team they haven't beaten in over a decade.

8. SM Northwest (4-4): The Cougars are a better team than their 4-4 record shows, but they were never able to put it all together in 2009.

9. SM South (3-5): The Raiders have nothing to lose against Olathe East; a four win season should be good motivation for the Green and Gold.

10. SM North (2-6): The Indians two wins came against winless Lawrence and Leavenworth.

11. Lawrence (0-8): It's time to see who wants it more.

12. Leavenworth (0-8): See Lawrence.

Early March News and Notes

The start of the football season still sits a good five months away, but here are some news and notes to chew on in the mean time.

**SM West running back Darron Harvey inked to play at Butler County Community College. Butler C.C. has won the past two NJCAA championships, and won a total of five titles since 1998. No word on whether Harvey will remain at the running back position where he totalled 1,600 yards rushing as a senior.

**Former SM West and current Kansas quarterback Tyler Lawrence has elected to graduate in three years and forgo his final two years of elgibility at KU. Lawrence signed with Kansas out of high school in 2006, before redshirting his freshman season. He was part of Orange and Insight.com Bowl victories during his time with the team.

**The recruitment of Olathe North junior defensive end Lucas Vincent continues to heat up. He has now received written offers from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kansas and Kansas State.

**The construction projects for new stadiums at Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State are coming along quite nicely. 2008 was the final season in which the historic Haskell Stadium in Lawrence hosted the home games of both teams. The new stadiums (located on campus at both schools) aren't as large as the SM Stadiums, ODAC, or CBAC, but they offer a scaled down facility well suited for each school. Construction of the two stadiums is due to be completed August 15.