2011 Player Spotlights: Tre Burt

Tre Burt

SM West

Position: Running Back

Height: 5-foot-7

Weight: 175 lbs.

Year: Senior

Stat to Note

Burt's breakout game (seen on the right) came in a week four contest against Olathe Northwest when he rushed for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. 

Scouting Report

If Adam Lowe is known for his quickness, Burt is certainly noted for his shiftiness as a runner.  Using his smaller frame to his advantage, Burt was one of the more elusive running backs in the Sunflower League in 2010.

Burt didn't have a major impact for SM West until midway through last season, and even after that he still split carries with fellow running back Will Livingston.  Despite this, Burt rushed for 782 yards and seven touchdowns, which was good enough for Second Team All-Sunflower League honors.

SM West operates a run-heavy offense which means two things.  One, Burt will get as big of a workload as he can handle, and two, Burt's production line will be positively correlated to how well the Vikings do.  Last year Burt and Livingston combined to rush for 1,570 yards and 14 touchdowns, but neither back suited up for the Vikings in their Regional playoff game against SM Northwest, and the team lost.

Like always, alot will be riding on the focal running back in SM West's offense, and it remains to be seen how well Burt will hold up throughout an entire season as the primary ballcarrier.  What we do know is that he's one of the top returning backs in the league, and he has the potential to do big things for SM West in 2011.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

Sunflower League Extra

Top 5 Player Ratings -Final

1. Brandon Willingham, Running Back, Olathe East
Week Nine: 27 carries, 179 yards, 3 TDs

Willingham (right) ended the regular season with yet another big game on the ground. His three rushing touchdowns put him at 18 for the season, and he now sits just 72 yards short of the 1,500 yard mark.

2. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North
Week Nine: 25 carries, 171 yards, 2 TDs; 1 defensive interception

Saunders played extremely well on both sides of the ball against Olathe Northwest. His interception in the game provided a preview of what Kansas coaches envision Saunders doing at the next level.

3. Dylan Perry, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State
Week Nine: 26 carries, 187 yards, 4 TDs

Perry only completed three-of-nine passes for nine yards but he didn't need to do any more than that. As usual, his speed was too much for the opponent and he found a way to manufacture four rushing touchdowns.

4. John Schrock, Quarterback, SM East
Week Nine: Injured, Did Not Play

Schrock's injury still has some question marks surrounding it, and the length of time he is out for remains in question. With Schrock SM East can beat anyone--we'll see how well they can play without him.

5. Victor Simmons, Quarterback, Olathe North
Week Nine: 21 carries, 162 yards, 2 TDs

Simmons makes it back onto the list after several weeks on the honorable mentions scroll. He had a big game Friday and this was about the point in time last season where Simmons really lifted his game to the next level. Let's see if he does it again.

Honorable Mention: Austin Fulson, Stephen Mangelsdorf, Will Livingston

Final Regular Season Power Rankings
*Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis
**See previous post for commentary on Power Rankings

1. Olathe East (8-1)
2. Olathe North (8-1)
3. SM East (8-1)
4. SM West (7-2)
5. Olathe South (6-3)
6. Lawrence Free State (5-4)
7. SM Northwest (5-4)
8. Olathe Northwest (3-6)
9. Lawrence (3-6)
10. SM South (2-7)
11. SM North (2-7)
12. Leavenworth (1-8)

Stat Check

Passing Yards
John Schrock, SM East: 1634, 9 TDs
Stephen Mangesldorf, SM Northwest: 1,345, 13 TDs
Brad Strauss, Lawrence: 1,321, 10 TDs
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 964, 7 TDs
Alex Forslund, SM South: 852, 6 TDs
Armani Williams, SM West: 814, 10 TDs
Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 690, 5 TDs
Corey Kipp, Olathe Northwest: 512, 3 TDs
Frank Suerer, Olathe South: 409, 4 TDs
Judson Cole, Leavenworth: 368, 3 TDs

Rushing Yards
Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 1,428, 18 TDs
Nick Sands (right), Olathe South: 1,332, 14 TDs
Adonis Saunders, Olathe North: 1,260, 16 TDs
Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 1,067, 7 TDs
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 1,022, 13 TDs
Will Livingston, SM West: 788, 7 TDs
Tre Burt, SM West: 782, 7 TDs
Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 747, 12 TDs
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 672, 6 TDs
Adam Lowe, SM East: 620, 5 TDs

Receiving Yards
Elliot Faerber, SM East: 650, 5 TDs
Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 494, 3 TDs
Krey Bradley, SM East: 442, 2 TDs
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 413, 6 TDs
Shawn Laurent, SM South: 388, 3 TDs
Desmond Wyatt, Lawrence Free State: 370, 5 TDs
Grant Ellis, SM East: 356, 1 TD
Austin Flory, Lawrence: 342, 3 TDs
Jordan Chapman, SM West: 305, 3 TDs
AJ Spencer, SM Northwest: 296, 2 TDs

Tackles
Denzell Simpson, SM West: 98
Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 95
Kyle Swartz, Olathe North: 88
Tristan Opie, Olathe Northwest: 85
Josh Mais, SM East: 79
Dylan Hanson, Olathe South: 75
Seth Hartman, SM East: 74
Vince Gerstner, Olathe East: 70
Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 66
Sam Todd, Olathe North: 66

Interceptions
Mason Perez, SM North: 6
Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 3
Grant Ellis, SM East: 3
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 3
Taylor Sheffield, Olathe South: 3
Dylan Smith, SM West: 3
Ryan Theis, SM North: 3 (1 TD)

Kick Return/Punt Return Touchdowns
Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 1 KR TD
JaQuan Brunt, SM East: 1 KR TD
Kendal Harland, Olathe South: 1 PR TD
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 1 PR TD
Cordi Pascal, SM West: 1 KR TD
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 1 KR TD, 1 PR TD
AJ Spencer, SM Northwest: 1 PR TD

Field Goals
Mark Whitrock, SM West: (7/7)
Nick Prologo, Olathe Northwest: (5/6)
Daniel Gutierrez, Olathe North: (5/8)
Sean Jones, SM West: (3/3)
Jared Douglas, Olathe South: (3/4)
Anthony Rosen, Lawrence: (2/2)
Alex Allen, SM Northwest: (2/3)

Photos courtesy the Kansas City Star

SM West Wins, Claims Playoff Berth

SM West 34, Blue Valley North 10
It was a scary start for the Vikings. Blue Valley North successfully pulled off a flee-flicker on their opening possession that resulted in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Danny Dolen to Michael Widgrig to give the Mustangs a 7-0 advantage. SM West answered the score with a 51-yard touchdown run from Will Livingston on their next possession. The Vikings added two Mark Whitrock field goals as well as a five-yard touchdown run from Cordi Pascal to head to halftime up 20-10. In the third quarter Armani Williams found DeAndre Graves on a 24-yard touchdown pass to basically ice the game. A one-yard touchdown run from Danny Dowling in the fourth quarter gave the Vikings the 34-10 edge. With the victory, SM West qualified for the 6A state playoffs and closed out the regular season with a record of 7-2. It's the seventh year in a row that SM West has had a winning regular season record.

Sunflower League Extra

Top 5 Player Ratings

Player ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

1. Brandon Willingham, Running Back, Olathe East

Week Four: 8 carries, 115 yards, 4 TDs

Willingham (right) little trouble slicing through the rain and the Leavenworth defense. His rushing scores from three, 32, one, and 41 yards out took up half of the eight carries he received in total in the game. Willingham did not play in the second half.

2. Dylan Perry, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State

Week Four: 10 carries, 41 yards; 7-of-9 passing, 107 yards, 1 TD

Perry only played the first half on Friday, partially do to an ankle injury suffered in week three, and partially due to the 32-0 lead he led the Firebirds to. Perry is completing 61% of his passes, which is best among Sunflower League quarterbacks.

3. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North

Week Four: 14 carries, 136 yards, 1 TD

Saunders broke loose for another long touchdown run against SM East, this time from 61 yards out. Saunders' speed is hard to corral and it helps to explain his rushing average of 9 yards per carry.

4. Victor Simmons, Quarterback, Olathe North

Week Four: 14 carries, 38 yards; 25-yard touchdown pass

For the second consecutive week a defense did an admirable job of containing Simmons.Simmons was held in check for the majority of the game Friday, and his only touchdown came on a 25-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Two weeks of average play drop Simmons two spots.

5. John Schrock, Quarterback, SM East

Week Four: 17-of-36 passing, 196 yards, 1 TD; 1 rushing TD

Schrock makes his first appearance on the Top 5 Player Ratings despite his team's loss. While Schrock's completion percentage (52%) and touchdown to interception ratio (6:5) could be better, he still accounts for the biggest reason why SM East is 3-1 and a contender in the Sunflower League.

Honorable Mention: Will Livingston, Tre Burt, Nick Sands, Austin Fulson, Preston Schenck

Week Five Power Rankings

*Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

**See previous post for commentary on Power Rankings

1. Olathe East (4-0)

2. Olathe North (3-1)

3. SM West (3-1)

4. SM East (3-1)

5. Lawrence Free State (3-1)

6. Olathe South (2-2)

7. Olathe Northwest (2-2)

8. SM Northwest (1-3)

9. Lawrence (2-2)

10. SM South (1-3)

11. SM North (0-4)

12. Leavenworth (0-4)

Eli's Week Four Q & A

Submit your Sunflower League questions to Eli at eunder@ku.edu

Q: Why do the Olathe schools dominate the Sunflower League? As far as I can tell their enrollments aren't larger. I have been puzzled by this, and am curious about your opinion? - Aaron

A: This is a great question and it probably has an underlying answer that nobody is 100% sure of. The best I can offer is reasoning I have collected as a fan/player/writer through the years.

My own opinion is that the culture of football in Olathe is one which is much more conducive to successful high school football programs. There seems to exist more of an aura around the football programs in the Olathe high schools (namely North, East, and South) that you don't find in most of the other Sunflower League schools--and much of that is based on past successes. You don't develop a football culture unless the success is there. And let's be honest, outside of the Olathes, which school has had constant success throughout the last decade?

I can say from my own experiences at SM West that the football culture within the school has greatly increased from the time Tim Callaghan took over in 2003 to now. And that's because the football team was good, experienced success, and it led to increased participation and interest in the sport within the school, and in the community. You can take a look at SM East right now and compare the enthusiasm of their fanbase today with what it was two years ago. The difference is success, and the hope of greater successes. The big three Olathe football powers have had notable success throughout the past decade and it helps to explain the culture that exists.

I feel the football culture is ultimately what keeps a program on top but there are key factors at play which get that culture going. Gene Wier's success in the form of six state championships at Olathe North was not by accident, and it's reasonable to believe that his influence is the reason Olathe North is still the caliber of program they are today. The same can be said for Jeff Meyers' lengthy stint as head coach at Olathe East. The moxy associated with these two schools in particular was started with great coaching, and it has carried through with great coaching.

Player ability also contributes a great deal. It helps to explain the fact that Olathe North has more Simone Award winners (six) than any team in the Kansas City Metropolitan and as many state championships. But then again, SM Northwest has produced more NFL players (Chace Johnson, Ryan Lilja, Ryan Torain, and Mike Rivera) than any other Sunflower League school over the past decade and they haven't even fielded a Sub-State berth during that span.

Ultimately, it seems, a foundation is necessary for a dominant football program to emerge. The big three Olathe schools were the ones with the right coaches in place at the time of Lawrence High's split in 1995, and those three schools were able to take the reigns on the league. Since that time, SM West and Lawrence Free State have been the only schools to challenge the big three.

Stat Check

Passing Yards

John Schrock, SM East: 882, 6 TDs

Stephen Mangelsdorf, SM Northwest: 612, 3 TDs

Brad Strauss, Lawrence: 571, 5 TDs

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 499, 3 TDs

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 319, 2 TDs

Armani Williams, SM West: 300, 2 TDs

Alex Forslund, SM South: 279, 1 TD

Corey Kipp, Olathe Northwest: 271, 3 TDs

Ryan Lundgren, Olathe Northwest: 203, 3 TDs

Trent Kuhl, Olathe East: 190, 1 TD

Rushing Yards

Nick Sands, Olathe South: 560, 3 TDs

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 553, 8 TDs

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 470, 6 TDs

Adonis Saunders, Olathe North: 468, 5 TDs

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 401, 6 TDs

Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 391, 2 TDs

Tre Burt, SM West: 342, 3 TDs

Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 327, 6 TDs

Charles Jackson, Lawrence: 324, 3 TDs

Jake Crist, Olathe South: 307, 2 TDs

Receiving Yards

Elliot Faerber, SM East: 312, 3 TDs

Krey Bradley, SM East: 219, 2 TDs

Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 209, 2 TDs

Desmond Wyatt, Lawrence Free State: 208, 3 TDs

Anthony Buffalomeat (right), Lawrence: 187, 1 TD

Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 176, 2 TDs

Mason Perez, SM North: 170, 1 TD

Grant Ellis, SM East: 164, 1 TD

Aaron Gile, Lawrence: 145

Shawn Laurent, SM South: 140, 1 TD

Tackles

Denzel Simpson, SM West: 53

Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 43

Josh Mais, SM East: 40

Tristan Opie, Olathe Northwest: 40

Kyle Swartz, Olathe North: 40

Brock Burrows, SM North: 38

Dylan DeVries, Olathe South: 36

Dylan Hanson, Olathe South: 35

Sam Todd, Olathe North:33

Taylor Sheffield, Olathe South: 29

Interceptions

Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 3

Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 2

DeAndre Graves, SM West: 2

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 2 (2 TDs)

Kick Return/Punt Return TDs

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 1 KR TD, 1 PR TD

Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 1 KR TD

JaQuan Brunt, SM East: 1 KR TD

Kendal Harland, Olathe South: 1 PR TD

Field Goals

Daniel Gutierrez, Olathe North: (3/5)

Jared Douglas, Olathe South: (2/3)

Sean Jones, SM West: (2/2)

Nick Prologo, Olathe Northwest: (2/3)

Alex Allen, SM Northwest: (1/2)

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: (1/3)

Anthony Rosen, Lawrence: (1/1)

Chase Woofter, SM East: (1/2)

Stats courtesy Mid-Statesports.com

Photos courtesy (from top) OE Hawks football, the Lawrence Journal-World

Sunflower League Extra

Top 5 Player Ratings
Player ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

1. Brandon Willingham, Running Back, Olathe East

Week Three: 28 carries, 188 yards, 3 TDs

Last week Willingham dropped two spots in the rankings, and I wrote that he could shoot back up the list with a big game against Olathe North. Needless to say, Willingham delivered. He scored on two touchdowns runs of two yards, and one of 40 yards which put the final nail in the coffin on Olathe North's win-streak.

2. Victor Simmons (right), Quarterback, Olathe North

Week Three: 14 carries, 79 yards

For this first time in a long time, Simmons looked just ordinary in a football game. He only rushed for 79 yards and did little through the air. The bewildered look on Simmon's face at the right as he was tripped up captures his team's 25-0 loss to Olathe East perfectly. Regardless, Simmons could make amends this Friday if he has a big game against SM East.

3. Dylan Perry, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State

Week Three: 22 carries, 193 yards, 2 TDs; 10-of-17 passing, 185 yards, 1 TD

Perry continues to rack up big numbers and it's very impressive that he ranks second in the league in both rushing yards, and passing yards. Perry accounted for all three of Free State's touchdowns against SM West, and his 80-yard touchdown run in the second half could have sealed the deal on the game, but special teams mistakes proved costly for the Firebirds.

4. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North

Week Three: 16 carries, 48 yards

Saunders, like Simmons, played much worse than what we're used to. By comparison, Saunders had runs in each of the first two games which gained more yardage on one carry than the total yardage he collected this past game. His 3 yard average per carry for the game may be the lowest we'll see from him all season.

5. Will Livingston, Running Back, SM West

Week Three: 16 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD

Among the top ten rushers in the league Livingston has the second lowest average yards per carry at 4.8, and he is only averaging 86 yards per game, but Livingston has kept SM West rolling despite Drew Humphreys' hand injury. Livingston has scored six of the Vikings 11 touchdowns, including a 20-yard run that pushed SM West to within six points of Free State on Friday.

Honorable Mention: John Schrock, Austin Fulson, Preston Schenck

Week Four Power Rankings

*Power Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

**See previous post for commentary on Power Rankings

1. Olathe East (3-0)

2. Olathe North (2-1)

3. SM West (2-1)

4. SM East (3-0)

5. Lawrence Free State (2-1)

6. Olathe South (1-2)

7. Olathe Northwest (2-1)

8. SM Northwest (0-3)

9. Lawrence (2-1)

10. SM South (1-2)
11. SM North (0-3)
12. Leavenworth (0-3)

Eli's Week Three Q and A

Submit your Sunflower League questions to Eli at eunder@ku.edu

Q: Can SM East make it two losses in a row for Olathe North?

A: Let's put it this way: so far SM East has shown they have the ability to compete with any team in the league, but Olathe North losing two weeks in a row is a tall order. Whether the shutout loss Olathe North suffered last week was a product of being overconfident (or Olathe East being that good) remains to be seen, but I can assure you the Eagles won't be overlooking or under preparing for this week's game against the Lancers.

SM East (led by senior quarterback John Schrock, right) is going to get Olathe North's best effort, and visa-versa. The Lancers haven't had a spotlight game of this magnitude since they faced an undefeated SM West team in 2005. That game was the KC Metro Sports Game of the Week, and SM East's homecoming. The Lancers lost 17-7. Olathe North on the other hand is used to the big game attention, and it shouldn't affect their preparation or create early game jitters. It should also be noted that SM East was very competitive with Olathe North in the first half of last year's Regional playoff game, so the team's aren't completely unfamiliar with eachother.

This is the biggest game so far in the Chip Sherman era at SM East and the Lancers have a chance to make a big statement if they win. Likewise, Olathe North has a chance to erase any doubt from last week with a big win of their own.

Q: Have any statistics stuck out across the board this season?

A: Missed PATs and two point conversions. Through three weeks of play their have been 22 occasions where touchdowns were scored but the PATs or two point conversion were unsuccessful. As good as Olathe East looked in their win Friday, they still managed to botch three of their four PAT attempts. I guess it's just not the year of the kicker in the Sunflower League.

It's also noteworthy that through three games Lawrence Free State ranks atop the league in total offense at 397 yards per game, and total defense, only giving up 167 yards per game.

Stat Check

Passing Yards

John Schrock, SM East: 686, 5 TDs

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 392, 2 TDs

Stephen Mangelsdorf, SM Northwest: 359, 3 TDS

Brad Strauss, Lawrence: 328, 3 TDS

Armani Williams, SM West: 219, 2 TDs

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 213, 1 TD

Alex Forslund, SM South: 205, 1 TD

Ryan Lundgren, Olathe Northwest: 203, 3 TDs

Trent Kuhl, Olathe East: 190, 1 TD

Corey Kipp, Olathe Northwest: 153, 3 TDs

Rushing Yards

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 438, 4 TDs

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 429, 5 TDs

Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 353, 2 TDs

Adonis Saunders, Olathe North: 332, 4 TDs

Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 295, 6 TDs

Nick Sands, Olathe South: 281, 1 TD

Jake Crist, Olathe South: 277, 2 TDs

Will Livingston, SM West: 260, 5 TDs

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 258, 4 TDs
Charles Jackson (right), Lawrence: 223, 3 TDs

Receving Yards

Elliot Faerber, SM East: 271, 3 TDs

Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 203, 2 TDs

Krey Bradley, SM East: 187, 1 TD

Desmond Wyatt, Lawrence Free State: 143, 1 TD

Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 141, 2 TDs

Grant Ellis, SM East: 128, 1 TD

Aaron Gile, Lawrence: 103

Shawn Laurent, SM South: 103

Nate Davis, Lawrence Free State: 91

Tackles

Kyle Swartz, Olathe North: 34

Dylan DeVries, Olathe Soutth: 31

Brock Burrows, SM North: 30

Tristan Opie, Olathe Northwest: 29

Taylor Sheffield, Olathe South: 29
Tanner Ginavan, Olathe South: 28
Sam Todd, Olathe North: 28

Connor Mashek, Olathe North: 26

Josh Mais, SM East: 25

Vince Gerstner, Olathe East: 24

Interceptions

Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 2
DeAndre Graves, SM West: 2
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 2

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 2 (2 TDS)

Kick/Punt Return TDs

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 1 KR TD, 1 PR TD

JaQuan Brunt, SM East: 1 KR TD

Field Goals

Daniel Gutierrez, Olathe North: 2/3

Jared Douglas, Olathe South: 1/2

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 1/3

Sean Jones, SM West: 1/1

Anthony Rosen, Lawrence: 1/1

Chase Woofter, SM East: 1/2

Stats courtesy Mid-statesports.com

Photos courtesy (from top) the Kansas City Star, the Shawnee Dispatch, the Lawrence Journal World

Sunflower League Extra

Top 5 Player Ratings
Player Ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

1. Victor Simmons, Quarterback, Olathe North
Week Two: 19 carries, 156 yards, 1 TD; 4-of-8 passing for 85 yards

Simmons gets the promotion to the #1 spot after another stellar game. The Kansas commit highlighted his team's 30-7 victory with a 80-yard touchdown run in the second half of the game. Simmons also had the best passing day of his career, and we should see more of it down the road.

2. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North
Week Two: 16 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs

Saunders broke loose for another long run on Olathe North's first offensive play of the game--this time it was a 79-yarder . The run marks the third touchdown run of over 70 yards that Saunders has had this season. It would be interesting to see if Saunders or Simmons is faster in pads.

3. Brandon Willingham (right), Running Back, Olathe East
Week Two: 31 carries, 123 yards

Willingham slips two spots mostly due to the emergence of fellow running back Austin Fulson. In this weekend's game it was Fulson who scored all three of Olathe East's touchdowns, and Willingham's average of 3.9 yards per carry was below what we've come to expect from the talented senior. A big game in week three against Olathe North could shoot Willingham back up the list.

4. Will Livingston, Running Back, SM West
Week Two: 20 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDS

Livingston has become the go-to-man for SM West. He recorded his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the season against SM Northwest--one of which came on a 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. His rushing totals aren't great (97.5 yards rushing per game) but his scoring production is.

5. Dylan Perry, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State
Week Two: 10 carries, 104 yards, 2 TDs; 4-of-10 passing, 57 yards, 1 TD; 91-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown

Perry scored four touchdowns in a whirlwind victory over Leavenworth. Perhaps the most impressive of the four was when Free State's Preston Schenck (who is knocking at the door of the Top 5 Player Ratings) blocked a Leavenworth field goal attempt and Perry scooped the fumble up and took it back 91 yards for a Free State touchdown.

Honorable Mention: Preston Schenck, John Schrock, Austin Fulson

Week Three Power Rankings
*Power Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis
**See previous post for commentary on Rankings

1. Olathe North (2-0)
2. Olathe East (2-0)
3. SM West (1-1)
4. SM East (2-0)
5. Lawrence Free State (2-0)
6. Olathe South (0-2)
7. SM Northwest (0-2)
8. Olathe Northwest (1-1)
9. Lawrence (1-1)
10. SM South (1-1)
11. SM North (0-2)
12. Leavenworth (0-2)

Eli's Week Three Q and A
Submit your Sunflower League questions to Eli at eunder@ku.edu

Q: Which team(s) has been the most surprising thus far, good or bad?

A: If you were to have asked me three weeks ago if I thought Olathe South and SM Northwest would be battling it out for their first wins of the season in week three, I would have said no way. Yet, in week three both teams are on their heels looking for their first "W." That's been a huge surprise.

Lawrence Free State has also been a surprise. The team has literally not missed a beat at the quarterback position from last year. Dylan Perry's successes have been very impressive so far, especially for a first year starter at the position. Preston Schenck (right) has also been a huge surprise--probably not to the Free State faithful, but to the rest of us.

Q: Is SM East for real?

A: It's way too early to decide that, but I feel the Lancers have alot of things going for them that would point to an eventual yes. First off, SM East's head coach Chip Sherman is one of the best in the business, and you can never question a guy who has three state championship rings. Their strong start is much the product of the productive offseason Sherman put the team through. The Lancer's quarterback John Schrock looks like the real deal, and the team seems to be feeding off his playmaking ability. It's not a stretch to call Schrock the best passing quarterback in the league. The Lancer fanbase is also getting excited about the team, and I can't stress how much good a strong fanbase does for a program.

SM East should take care of SM North in the Nut Bowl in week three, and be 3-0 when they travel to take on Olathe North. That game, and the week after when SM East travels to play Lawrence Free State will be good measuring sticks for where the program is at.

Q: Which will end sooner, Olathe North's 15-game winning streak or Leavenworth's 17-game losing streak?

A: This is a tough one. Leavenworth plays a home game against Wyandotte (currently 0-2) in week seven, and I'll make the bold prediction that the Pioneers will end their losing streak that night, if they haven't already. Olathe North has two games that appear to pose a decent threat, as of right now in week three. Their home game this week against Olathe East won't be easy, and their week eight contest with Lawrence Free state should be a challenge.

Stat Check

Passing Yards
John Schrock, SM East: 538, 4 TDs
Brad Strauss, Lawrence: 267, 2 TDs
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 207, 1 TD
Ryan Lundgren (right), Olathe Northwest: 203, 3 TDs
Armani Williams, SM West: 197, 2 TDs
Stephen Mangelsdorf, SM Northwest: 193, 1 TD
Trent Kuhl, Olathe East: 131, 1 TD
Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 123
Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 104
Alex Forslund, SM South: 99

Rushing Yards
Adonis Saunders, Olathe North: 284, 4 TDs
Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 279, 5 TDs
Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 274, 2 TDs
Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 250, 1 TD
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 236, 2 TDs
Alex Forslund, SM South: 199, 1 TD
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 196, 4 TDs
Will Livingston, SM West: 195, 4 TDs
Justin Pamatmat, Olathe Northwest: 166, 1 TD
Kendall Kelly, SM North: 139

Receiving Yards
Elliot Faerber, SM East: 209, 2 TDs
Krey Bradley, SM East: 157, 1 TD
Austin Flory, Lawrence: 113, 1 TD
Grant Ellis, SM East: 101, 1 TD
Nick Bandy, Olathe Northwest: 85, 2 TDs
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 81
Leonard Parks, Olathe Northwest: 81, 1 TD
Tucker Fritzel, Lawrence Free State: 77
Will Livingston, SM West: 75, 1 TD
Danny Dowling, SM West: 67, 1 TD

Tackles
Tristan Opie, Olathe Northwest: 22
Denzell Simpson, SM West: 21
Brock Burrows, SM North: 19
RJ Boyle, SM South: 18
Seth Hartman, SM East: 16
Josh Mais, SM East: 16
Drew Boyce, Olathe Northwest: 14
Matt Denmark, SM North: 14
Greg Overmohle, SM West: 14
Mike Eichenberg, Olathe Northwest: 13

Interceptions
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 2, (2 TDs)
Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 2
DeAndre Graves, SM West: 2
Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 1
JaQuan Brunt, SM East: 1, (1 TD)
Kendall Kelly, SM North: 1
Ryan Theis, SM North: 1
Junior Williams, Olathe East: 1
Treshawn Root, Olathe East: 1
Colin Becker, Lawrence Free State: 1

Kickoff/Punt Return Touchdowns
Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 1 KR TD, 2 PR TDs
JaQuan Brunt, SM East: 1 KR TD

Field Goals Made/Attempted
Daniel Gutierrez, Olathe North: 2/3
Jared Douglas, Olathe South: 1/1
Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 1/3
Sean Jones, SM West: 1/1
Anthony Rosen, Lawrence: 1/1
Chase Woofter, SM East: 1/2

Stats courtesy Mid-Statesports.com

Photos courtesy (from top) the Kansas City Star, the Lawrence Journal World, the Kansas City Star

Game Scores and Notes

Week Two Game Results

SM South 19, SM North 3

Following a defensive stop and punt on SM North's opening possession, SM South was given a short field to score. Seven plays and thirty-four yards later the Raiders gained a 6-0 lead on a Gabe Guild touchdown run from two yards out. Midway through the second quarter SM South punched in another short touchdown run, this time a six yarder by Keaton Ward, to claim a 12-0 advantage. Kyle Goodburn gave the Indians their only points of the game on a 27-yard field goal before the half. SM South's Alex Forslund kept the ball on 35-yard option run to give the Raiders their third touchdown of the game in the second half.

Olathe North 30, Olathe South 7

Adonis Saunders clearly has a knack for taking the wind out of opponents early. On the second play of Friday's game Saunders took a handoff 79 yards for a touchdown. On Olathe North's ensuing possession Dominick Wilson scored on a run from 20 yards out to give the Eagles a 13-0 advantage. A Daniel Gutierrez field goal gave them a 16-0 lead minutes before halftime, when lightning halted the game until Saturday. The teams returned to the field Saturday and the game continued in Olathe North's favor. Saunders added a three yard touchdown run and Victor Simmons scored on an 80-yard burst in the second half. Olathe South's lone score came on a 64-yard run by Jake Crist.

Olathe East 21, Olathe Northwest 7

Capitalizing on a botched punt return by Olathe East, Olathe Northwest was able to jump out to a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter when Ryan Lundgren connected with Nick Bandy on a 14-yard touchdown pass. Olathe East responded on their next possession when Austin Fulson took a handoff 80 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Seconds before lightning postponed the game Fuslon added another touchdown run, this time from one yard out. On Saturday the only scoring came on Fulson's third touchdown run, this time from six yards out. Fulson concluded the game with 156 yards rushing, while fellow running back Brandon Willingham (right) added 126 of his own.

SM West 37, SM Northwest 13

SM West didn't take three and a half quarters to get things going this week. In the first quarter Will Livingston ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run for the Vikings for give the team a 7-0 advantage. Later in the second quarter Armani Williams connected with fullback Danny Dowling for a 22-yard touchdown pass. The bad weather hit, and SM West took a two touchdown lead to Saturday. The game stayed in SM West's favor on Saturday as well, as the Vikings added three touchdowns and a field goal. SM Northwest was able to add 13 points of their own, but it wasn't enough to overcome the initial deficit.

SM East 35, Lawrence 16

SM East got going early again on a play by Quan Brunt when he returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Lawrence responded with a 25-yard field goal by Anthony Rosen and then Aaron Gile picked off a John Schrock pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown. The score put Lawrence up 9-7, but SM East quickly responded with two quick scoring drives, both of which ended with touchdown passes from Schrock. Before lightning stopped the game the Lancers led 21-9. On Saturday SM East took complete control and didn't look back. Schrock torched the Chesty Lion's defense for some 389 yards passing in leading the Lancers to the 19-point victory.

Lawrence Free State 55, Leavenworth 7

The Firebirds from Free State had no trouble scoring on Friday, or Saturday. Before the game was halted on Friday night, Free State had a gained a 27-7 lead. The four Free State touchdowns came on a 44-yard punter return by Preston Schenck, a 91-yard blocked kick return by Dylan Perry, a one-yard Schenck run, and finally a 94-yard kick return by Schenck. Leavenworth's Mark DaBeck connected with Jason Randall on a 64-yard touchdown pass to put their team on the board before the lightning hit. On Saturday the results were much the same as Free State tacked on four more touchdowns.

Photo courtesy Shane Keyser, the Olathe News

Sunflower League Extra

Top 5 Player Ratings

Player Ratings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

1. Brandon Willingham, Running Back, Olathe East

Week One: 12 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD; 15 yard TD reception

Willingham played great in his senior debut Friday. On Olathe East's first offensive play of the game he took a carry 44 yards. A good omen to say the least. With the emergence of fellow senior running back Austin Fulson, it looks like Willingham will be splitting carries at the running back position again. This worked great for the Hawks last year, and if anything it allows Willingham to be more dynamic defensively and in the return game.

2. Victor Simmons (right), Quarterback, Olathe North

Week One: 23 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD; 1-of-5 passing, 19 yards

Based on statistics alone it doesn't appear that Simmons became a polished passer during the offseason--but it doesn't look like it will make much of a difference for the Eagles. Simmons was, as usual, nearly impossible to tackle on Friday. His highlight play came in the second quarter when he busted through the middle of the SM West defense for a 41 yard touchdown run.

3. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North

Week One: 6 carries, 160 yards, 2 TDs

Saunders first carry of the season went for 77 yards and a touchdown, and his first carry of the third quarter nearly matched it, when he ran 72 yards for a touchdown. It seems Olathe North has found the next running back to carry on the school's legacy at the position. It will be interesting to see how many yards Saunders can put up with more carries.

4. Will Livingston, Running Back, SM West

Week One: 22 carries, 69 yards, 2 TDs; 75 yard TD reception

Livingston's rushing yardage wasn't very impressive, but his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter were. SM West will need to develop more offensive threats to take some of the focus of opposing defenses off Livingston. On Friday, he was the Viking's offense.

5. Dylan Perry, Quarterback, Lawrence Free State

Week One: 9-of-13 passing, 150 yards, 1 TD; 22 carries, 132 yards; 1 defensive interception

Perry replaces Olathe South's Nick Sands in the #5 slot after a breakout home opener against the Falcons. It would have been hard to predict such a dominant performance from the Firebird's new quarterback, but he played as good of a game as any player in the Sunflower League in week one.

Honorable Mention: Preston Schenck, John Schrock, Austin Fulson

Week Two Power Rankings
*Power Rankings are subject to change on a week-to-week basis

**See previous post for commentary on Rankings

1. Olathe North (1-0)

2. Olathe East (1-0)

3. SM West (0-1)
4. SM East (1-0)

5. Lawrence Free State (1-0)

6. Olathe South (0-1)

7. SM Northwest (0-1)

8. Olathe Northwest (1-0)

9. Lawrence (1-0)

10. SM South (0-1)

11. SM North (0-1)

12. Leavenworth (0-1)

Stat Check

Passing Yards

John Schrock, SM East: 153

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 150

Ryan Lundgren, Olathe Northwest: 140

Armani Williams, SM West: 108

Brad Strauss, Lawrence: 101

Alex Forslund, SM South: 99

Kyle Goodburn, SM North: 78

Frank Seurer, Olathe South: 74

Stephen Mangelsdorf: 72

Trent Kuhl, Olathe East: 68

Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 17

Rushing Yards

Adonis Saunders, Olathe North: 160

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 132

Justin Pamatmat, Olathe Northwest: 128

Brandon Willingham, Olathe East: 127

Austin Fulson, Olathe East: 120

Victor Simmons, Olathe North: 118

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 112

Alex Forslund, SM South: 95

Nick Sands, Olathe South: 82

Kendall Kelly, SM North: 79

Will Livingston, SM West: 69

Receiving Yards

Leonard Parks, Olathe Northwest: 81

Elliot Faerber, SM East: 77

Will Livingston, SM West: 75

Shawn Laurent, SM South: 67

Kendall Kelly, SM North: 62

Drew Johnson, Olathe South: 61

Austin Flory, Lawrence: 54

Tucker Fritzel, Lawrence Free State: 53

Desmond Wyatt, Lawrence Free State: 46

Kenny Mings, SM Northwest: 38

Tackles

Matt Denmark, SM North: 9

Josh Mais, SM East: 9

Tristan Opie, Olathe Northwest: 9

Matt Cole, Lawrence Free State: 8

Brandon Bishop, SM North: 7

Drew Boyce, Olathe Northwest: 7

Jeff Cole, SM East: 7

Nate Davis, Lawrence Free State: 7

Mike Eichenberg, Olathe Northwest: 7

Mason Perez, SM North: 7

Interceptions

Quan Brunt, SM East: 1 (1 TD)

Kenny Mings (right), SM Northwest: 1

Mason Perez, SM North: 1

Dylan Perry, Lawrence Free State: 1

Matt Roenigk, SM Northwest: 1

Preston Schenck, Lawrence Free State: 1 (1 TD)

Stats Courtesy Mid-statesports.com; Photos Courtesy (from top) Kansas City Star, Shawnee-Dispatch

Week One Review

Three Up

Olathe North
The Eagles ran the ball 46 times for 353 yards (7.6 ypc) and four touchdowns against SM West, a school known for its defensive work. The dominating effort erased any doubt as to whether or not Olathe North would be able to run the ball as effectively as they did last season.

SM East
The Lancers couldn't have asked for much better of an effort in week one. Not only did they garner their first victory of the season, but they also shutout a district rival in the process. At the very least it looks like SM East has really improved from their 4-6 campaign last year.

Lawrence Free State (right)
The losses of Camren Torneden and Kirk Resseguie did little to dampen the Firebird's offense. In fact, their offense looked as potent as ever in the their 45-23 victory over Olathe South. If they can keep playing at that level few teams will be able to keep up.

Three Down

Olathe South
The Falcon's "new look" offensive run game did little to impress in week one, and it doesn't look like there was much focus on improving what was a horrendous defense in 2009.

SM Northwest
The Cougars had a great shot at revenge against the team that kept them out of the playoffs in 2009, but they failed to do so against SM East. Getting shut out just added insult to injury.

SM North
The Dennis Grayless era opened in a similar fashion to the way the past five seasons have gone for SM North--poorly. The Indians were playing a talented opponent in Olathe East, but that does little to cover the fact that the team didn't play well in their 42-7 loss.

Individual Highlights

**Lawrence Free State's quarterback/running back duo of Dylan Perry and Preston Schenck combined to rush for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Schenck also returned an interception for a touchdown.

**Olathe North's Adonis Saunders (right) rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. His rushing average for the game--22.3 yards per carry.

**SM East's quarterback John Schrock lived up to his preseason billing in week one. In leading his team to victory Schrock completed 12 of 26 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball nine times for 42 yards and a touchdown.

**Despite his team's loss, SM West senior Will Livingston had an amazing fourth quarter. In a span of seven minutes and 33 seconds, Livingston rushed for a 36 yard touchdown, caught a 75 yard touchdown pass, and added another touchdown run from five yards out.

Week Two Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (1-0): The Eagles picked up right where they left off in 2009.

2. Olathe East (1-0): The Hawks jump to the #2 spot after the SM West loss, and a complete domination of SM North.

3. SM West (0-1): The Vikings didn't looked focused from the start of their game vs. Olathe North. That must change in week two.

4. SM East (1-0): Chip Sherman's group could easily start the season 3-0 if they take care of business the way they should.

5. Lawrence Free State (1-0): The Firebirds were very impressive in their week one victory; Bob Lisher may have the best offensive system in the league.

6. Olathe South (0-1): The Falcon's didn't live up to the preseason hype in week one. Week two only gets more difficult against Olathe North.

7. SM Northwest (0-1): After an opening week loss to SM East the Cougars will regroup and try to even their record against another district rival in SM West.

8. Olathe Northwest (1-0): The Raven's opening win was nice, but they will experience their first true test in week two against Olathe East.

9. Lawrence (1-0): The team Lawrence displayed in their opening win was ten times more impressive than the group they fielded last year.

10. SM South (0-1): The loss of talent to graduation may have hit the Raiders worse than any team in the league.

11. SM North (0-1): Last season's the game between SM North and SM South was arguably the most exciting of the season. We'll see if 2010 is a repeat.

12. Leavenworth (0-1): The opening loss was bad, but on the bright side the Pioneers will get to play their first home game at their new stadium in week two.

Photos Courtesy (from top) Lawrence Journal World, Kansas City Star

Sunflower League Extra

A mere three weeks remain before the kickoff of the high school football season. The following is my first installment of Sunflower League player ratings for the 2010 season. Player ratings are similar to the team based Power Rankings. On a weekly basis I name the five players who I feel are performing best, in addition to honorable mentions. Player's ratings shift nearly every week.

At the end of the season the player who I have as tops in the Player Ratings is named my Sunflower League MVP for the season.

2010 Top Five Player Ratings - Preseason

1. Brandon Willingham, Running Back, Olathe East: Willingham (left) was one of the few juniors who appeared in my top five ratings last season. This year he begins atop the list. Blessed with great athleticism, Willingham will play running back, defensive back, and return kicks and punts for the Hawks. Last season he rushed for 909 yards and nine touchdowns on offense, and made 64 tackles and two interceptions on defense.

2. Victor Simmons, Quarterback, Olathe North: In June, Simmons made a verbal commitment to play football at Kansas. While his recruitment is more or less over, the pressure to perform will really begin heating up. Simmons will operate out of the quarterback position in Olathe North's vaunted Wildcat-Option attack again in 2010--last season he rushed for 1,034 yards. The defensive side of the ball, however, is where we may see the biggest improvement from Simmons. He is slotted as a defensive back again for Olathe North, and it will be the position he will play at Kansas.

3. Adonis Saunders, Running Back, Olathe North: First it was Arland Bruce, then Eniak Mpwo, Beno Gore, Darren Sproles, Maurice Mack, Jim Bouknight, Justin Gore, Josh Gore, James Franklin, and now Saunders (left, on left). The speedy senior will be taking over a position at Olathe North that has featured five Simone Award winners, and nine All-State performers since the 1995 season. The question is can Saunders carry on the torch? For now, his prospects look good. The former Class 6A 100-meter champ will receive plenty of carries, and should also be a stud from his cornerback position.

4. Will Livingston, Running Back, SM West: Livingston is prepped for a big senior year. He rushed for just over 700 yards as a junior, and his great set of wheels should make up for any shortcomings he has with his size (5-foot-7, 165). SM West's offensive game is based around running the football effectively, and Livingston will receive as many carries as he can handle.

5. Nick Sands, Running Back, Olathe South: Sands is kind of the wildcard of this list but with Olathe South's change to a running based offense, he could be in for a big season. Expect the low-centered power back to receive upwards of 25 carries a game. Olathe South head coach Jeff Gourley predicts Sands to surpass the 2,000 yard rushing plateau this season--if he does that, he may find himself atop the list in November.

Honorable Mention: Drew Humphreys, Drew Goodger, Kyle Swartz, John Schrock

2010 Player Spotlights: Will Livingston

Will Livingston
SM West

Position: Running Back
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 165lbs.
Class: Senior

Stat to Note
Last season as a junior, Livingston split carries in the SM West backfield and still managed to churn out 706 rushing yards on 105 carries, producing an impressive average of 6.7 yards per carry.

Scouting Report
Livingston's game, in many ways, is very similar to that of former SM West running back DJ Barnett. Barnett was short in size and stature, but he had an incredible burst and was always capable of taking a carry the distance. Livingston runs with a similar burst and may even possess better speed overall.

Barnett put out 1,900 yards carrying the workload for SM West as a senior in 2004, and while Livingston may be capable of totalling that many yards, he probably won't have to. Livingston will likely split carries again in the Viking's backfield with fellow senior Cordi Pascal. This dual running back system seemed to keep both backs fresher, longer, last season for SM West, and it should be just as effective in 2010.

In the final regular season game of the 2009 season against SM East, Livingston scored touchdowns on runs of six, 47, and 90 yards--the last of which crushed the Lancer's chances of an upset. Livingston's strong finish to last season is perhaps a snapshot of what we should expect from him in 2010.

2010 Player Spotlights: Drew Humphreys

Drew Humphreys
SM West

Positions: Quarterback/Safety
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 185lbs.
Class: Senior

Stat to Note
Humpreys (on the right making a tackle as a sophomore in 2008) played the entire 2009 season with a knee injury before getting it surgically repaired in the offseason. Despite this, he still came away with Second Team All-Sunflower League honors as a defensive back.

Scouting Report
Humphreys has started on defense for the Vikings since his sophomore year, and in 2010 it appears he will be adding the quarterback position to his duties. Humphreys will be playing a similar role for the Vikings as to what Blake Lawrence did for the team in 2006.

While Humphreys isn't as big of a defender, or as polished of a quarterback as Lawrence was, he has similar athleticism and range. Humphreys was excellent in run support from the seconday in 2009, and the team will be looking forward to similar contributions in 2010.

With running backs Will Livingston and Cordi Pascal returning in the backfield for the Vikings, Humphreys won't be facing a ton of pressure to make the big play offensively and it should help him to settle in at quarterback early in the season. After that, watch out.

Sunflower League Extra

Three Up

Olathe North

The Eagles (below) won the Sunflower League title and closed out an undefeated regular season for the first time since 2004. After five years of ups and downs Olathe North is once again a heavy favorite to win a state championship.

Lawrence

The Chesty Lions had one of their worst seasons in school history, but were able to aviod a winless season with an overtime victory against Leavenworth. For that reason alone the Chesty Lions get a thumbs up for the week.

Sunflower League teams in the playoffs

Overall the Sunflower League did well, qualifying for six of a potential eight playoff positions in the Class 6A playoff bracket, including the top three seeds.

Three Down

Olathe South

At one point in the season the Falcons stood at an impressive 4-2, but the team took a nosedive in district play. Olathe South's three losses to end the season will leave the program with a nasty taste in it's mouth during the offseason.

SM North

Olathe South's three losses seem bad, but pale in comparison to the Indian's seven straight. The problem with all the losses was that SM North never appeared to be that bad of a team. They just never seemed to get any lucky breaks when it really mattered.

Olathe Northwest

For now it looks like the two game explosion was more a product of the opponents than the Olathe Northwest talent. The team received a reality check at the hands of Free State this past weekend, and it will take alot for the team to bounce back against Blue Valley Northwest.

Individual Highlights

**Olathe North's James Franklin eclipsed 5,000 career rushing yards with a 20 carry 168 yard game on Friday. He also added two touchdowns and now has 1,927 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on the season.

**Lawrence Free State's Kirk Resseguie rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown in his team's victory. Resseguie has gone from relative obscurity being one of the league's top backs in the course of one season--quite an impressive feat.

**In his last high school game SM Northwest's John Hauk battered SM North for 221 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries.

**SM West running back Will Livingston score three rushing touchdowns for SM West, and ultimately broke SM East's upset chances on a 90 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

**Lawrence Free State's Keene Niemack (below) scored three touchdowns via three different methods. He had an 86 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 16 yard touchdown run, and caught an eight yard touchdown pass.

Final Regular Season Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (9-0): The Eagles took the outright Sunflower League crown and look primed for a title run.

2. Lawrence Free State (7-2): Last year's playoff run is still fresh on the Firebird's minds.

3. SM West (8-1): The Viking's defense has been tops in the league and will be key in the teams's matchup with the high powered Blue Valley offense this Friday.

4. Olathe East (6-3): The Hawks have now qualified for the 6A state playoffs eight straight years.

5. SM East (4-5): SM East is quickly losing their "Smurf" image and this year's playoff berth is promising for the program.

6. SM Northwest (5-4): The Cougars inconsistancies got the best of them in the end, but they were still one of the better teams in the Sunflower League.

7. Olathe South (4-5): The Cardiac Kids couldn't put it all together this season; the one thing we do know is that Jeff Gourley's aerial attack is steadily improving within the program.

8. Olathe Northwest (4-5): The Raven's still can't manage to win big games; they have a chance to change that image this week against the one-loss Blue Valley Northwest Huskies.

9. SM South (3-6): The Raiders of 2009 were definitely the best team Brandon Claypool has put together thus far as the head coach at SM South.

10. SM North (2-7): How good, or bad were the Indians in 2009? It's hard to say, but at least they took care of business against the two opponents they should have beat.

11. Lawrence (1-8): A collective sigh from LHS alumni could be heard around Lawrence, KS after the Chesty Lions punched in their game winning touchdown in overtime.

12. Leavenworth (0-9): Leavenworth finished without a win, but their last loss to Lawrence could have gone either way.

Friday Report

Week Nine Matchups
All game times 7 pm unless otherwise noted

Olathe South (4-4) at Olathe North (8-0)
The Falcons are eliminated from playoff contention, but don't expect them to lay down and die. A Sunflower League title is on the line for Olathe North, and Olathe South would love nothing more than to spoil that for their rivals to the north.

Lawrence Free State (6-2) at Olathe Northwest (4-4)
Olathe Northwest looked very impressive against winless Leavenworth and Lawrence teams, but tonight will truly gauge whether or not the team is really playing that well. Free State has been equally impressive against those two teams in district play, but we know the Firebirds are for real.

Olathe East (5-3) at SM South (3-5)
Olathe East still hasn't secured a playoff berth, but can do so tonight with a five point victory or a Blue Valley North loss (both seem likely at this point in time). For the Raiders on the other hand tonight will be about closing out a season that displayed many positives for the program.

Leavenworth (0-8) at Lawrence (0-8)
It's fitting that the "Toilet Bowl" of the Sunflower League slate comes in the last week of the season. There is really no sugar coating here--both teams have had quite disappointing seasons despite playing hard, week in and week out.

SM North (2-6) at SM Northwest (4-4)
This year's Hula Bowl has a different feel to it. Both teams had moments to celebrate earlier in the season, but now, in week nine, neither team can qualify for the playoffs. For what it's worth, the fact that both teams are eliminated from the playoffs may add a little spice the tonight's game.

SM West 28, SM East 12 (Thursday Night Game) (All Star Video Sports Highlights)
SM East had several big surges throughout the game, but ultimately the Vikings were able to hold their composure and collect the W. SM West's Will Livingston had touchdown runs of 6, 47, and 90 yards, the last of which crushed any hopes the Lancers had at mounting a fourth quarter comeback. SM West, now 8-1, was eight points from an undefeated regular season, while SM East made a huge turnaround after starting 0-3. Both teams will be making appearances in the 6A state playoffs starting next week.

Week Five Review

Three Up

1. Lawrence Free State

The Firebirds roasted SM Northwest 42-0 on Friday and their running back Kirk Resseguie is making people forget about Chucky Hunter. Camren Torneden has hit his mid-season stride and is playing at a Simone level once again. All in all, it looks like Free State is about as prepared as they can be for their showdown with Olathe North Friday.

2. SM West

The hangover from the Vikings loss last week carried throughout the first half, as they were tied at six all with SM South. In the second half the Vikings finally put it all together and outscored SM South 31-8. Also, it looks like the running back combination of Cordi Pascal and Will Livingston is getting stronger ever week.

3. Olathe North

The Eagles are in control of their own destiny when it comes to winning the Sunflower League crown. Their showdown at Lawrence Free State this Friday may be the game of the year in the conference, and with a victory it looks like Olathe North will have a fairly simple route to an undefeated regular season.

Three Down

1. SM Northwest

Just when it looked like the Cougars were hitting on all cylinders they go and lose by 42 points to Lawrence Free State. SM Northwest's efforts against their two toughest opponents have been unimpressive to say the least (they lost to Olathe North 41-12 in week two).

2. Olathe Northwest

For another season, Olathe Northwest (below) will be the lowest on the Olathe school totem pole. Although their defensive effort against Olathe East was impressive on Friday their offense left quite a bit to be desired. The Ravens 0-3 mark against fellow Olathe schools is a sour note on what was looking to be a decent season.

3. SM North

Early on it looked like SM North might be primed for their best season in years. But the last three weeks have exposed the Indians. The Indians two wins have come against teams that are a combined 0-10, and the 42 point loss to Olathe North on Friday was not a great sign.

Individual Highlights

**Lawrence Free State's Camren Torneden rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown, in addition to a 52 yard punt return for a touchdown.

**In addition to Torneden's totals, Free State running back Kirk Resseguie totalled 201 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. In his last three games he has rushed for 503 yards and nine touchdowns.

**Olathe North's James Franklin ran the ball 23 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a mere three quarters of work.

**SM West's DJ Balazs completed 12 of 20 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown, and collected his 17th career victory as a starter--tops among active quarterbacks in the Sunflower League.

Lawrence Free State's new stadium (above) will be the site of the big clash this Friday.

Week Six Power Rankings

1. Olathe North (5-0): The Eagles face their biggest test of the regular season this Friday.

2. Lawrence Free State (4-1): See Olathe North

3. SM West (4-1): The Vikings still haven't peaked, but did look impressive following their week four stumble.

4. Olathe East (3-2): The Hawks may be primed to run the table on the rest of the regular season.

5. Olathe South (3-2): This time around it was Olathe South who made a big comeback to win the game.

6. SM Northwest (3-2): Cougars latest performance leaves much to be desired; especially with SM West coming up in two weeks.

7. Olathe Northwest (2-3): The Ravens once again sit as the low-team on the Olathe school totem pole but amendments can always be made come playoff time.

8. SM North (2-3): The Indians have a good chance of getting back on track with school district rivals SM East and SM South coming up the next two weeks.

9. SM South (2-3): The Raiders fell apart after a solid first half against SM West.

10. SM East (2-3): The Lancers two victories have come against winless Lawrence and Leavenworth, but perhaps the momentum will carry.

11. Lawrence (0-5): Lawrence came close to beating Olathe South Friday but they still weren't able to get it all together.

12. Leavenworth (0-5): The Pioneers held SM East scoreless in the first quarter of their game Friday before the Lancers took off.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Three Game Results

Olathe North 40, Olathe Northwest 13

Olathe North continued their dominance of the Sunflower League with a 27 point victory over rival Olathe Northwest, but the Eagles actually trailed in this game. That's right, Olathe Northwest's Devon Boyce returned the opening kickoff 96 yards to spot the Ravens a 6-0 lead on Olathe North (the second week in a row this has happened to the Eagles). But, that ultimately proved to be the last straw in Olathe Northwest's upset bid. Olathe North's James Franklin rushed for a school record 340 rushing yards, while adding four rushing touchdowns. In total, Olathe North rushed for 525 yards and only allowed Olathe Northwest to rush for 23 yards.

SM West 49, Leavenworth 0

SM West (who is quickly becoming the least publicized undefeated team in the history of the conference) finally showed off some offensive fireworks of their own with a 49 point victory over Leavenworth. Viking quarterback DJ Balazs threw two touchdown passes of 19 and 48 yards, and also chipped in a one yard rushing score. SM West running back Will Livingston scored twice on the ground for the Vikings, who led 35-0 at the half.

Olathe East 34, Olathe South 31

Despite jumping out to a 17-6 lead, Olathe South was not able to retain the lead as Olathe East came back to win by three in the end. The story of the game was Olathe East's running game, which totalled 429 rushing yards. Olathe East junior Brandon Willingham rushed for 245 yards while Olathe East senior Hayden Groves (below) threw in his own 173 yards rushing. Olathe South's Tanner Dutton produced as usual throwing for 282 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough to take down the rival Hawks.

Lawrence Free State 56, SM North 14

The gaudy offensive abilities that Lawrence Free State showed off last season appear to have returned. In the first game played at their new home stadium, the Firebirds rolled to 560 yards of total offense in a crushing defeat of SM North. Free State quarterback Camren Torneden completed nine of 10 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Free State running back Kirk Resseguie racked up 193 yards and four touchdowns. Torneden added 75 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground as well. In total, the game appeared to be a wake-up call to the previously unbeaten Indians of SM North, who only totalled 163 yards of total offense.

SM Northwest 35, Lawrence 7

While their city rival appears to be back on the right track, Lawrence High is still struggling to achieve their first victory. SM Northwest came out fired up after being slightly embarrassed by Olathe North last week. The Cougars dominated on both sides of the ball and reached a level of play they hadn't played at all season. SM Northwest's quarterback Matt Nowak had a terrific game, completing eight of 11 passes for 168 yards and rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown. Cougar running back John Hauk totalled 75 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

SM South 21, SM East 13

While SM South collected their second win of the season, SM East once again will have to go through a week with a zero in the win column. The Lancers offense seemed anemic as they dropped their third straight game. For SM South, their second win in as many weeks was the product of two Grant Hilton touchdown passes to Antonio McFadden, and a 38 yard touchdown run by Johann Swanepoel.

Game Scores and Notes

Week One Game Results

Olathe North 71, Leavenworth 6

Clearly, Olathe North was able to flex their muscles in this game. Simone hopeful James Franklin totalled 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Joining him in the backfield was Kansas State commit Tre Walker, who added three rushing touchdowns of his own. The Eagles dropped half-a-hundred on Leavenworth by halftime, and went on to score three more touchdowns in the second half.

Olathe East 29, Lawrence Free State 20

This game came as a bit of a surprise, but after looking at the box score it makes sense why Olathe East came out on top. Lawrence Free State, the more seasoned of the two squads, committed five turnovers, four of which came on interceptions. Firebird quarterback Camren Torneden passed for 151 yards, and rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns, but ultimately the three interceptions he threw hurt the Firebirds quite a bit. Olathe East fed off the turnovers and played a very disciplined game in coming out on top.

SM West 29, Olathe South 23

Olathe South's steady passing game was nearly enough to take down the Vikings Friday night. Falcon quarterback Tanner Dutton completed 29 of 47 passes for 315 yards and one touchdown, but SM West showed alot of grit in winning the game. Olathe South started out hitting on all cylinders--to the tune of a 13-0 lead. But SM West, led by 166 rushing yards from junior Will Livingston, battled back to gain a halftime lead. A late pick six by SM West senior Alex Snook solidified the victory for the Vikings.

SM North 17, Lawrence 14

The Indians of SM North put a bit of a damper on the night that unveiled the new football stadium at Lawrence High. SM North used a balanced rushing attack of Kendall Kelly (below) and Arthur Rucker to wear down the Lawrence front seven. Lawrence also turned the ball over three times on fumbles in the loss.

SM Northwest 23, SM South 15
Despite having two key players injured (John Hauk and Trey Jacobson), the Cougars of SM Northwest were able to grind out a win. Quarterback Matt Nowak completed 12 of his 16 pass attempts for 135 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball six times for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Olathe Northwest 29, SM East 7 (Thursday Night Game)
Chip Sherman's first game as head coach at SM East, a Thursday night contest, ends in defeat. Olathe Northwest's Brandon Bouvilom rushed for two touchdowns and helped Olathe Northwest's head coach, Todd Dain, defeat his former school.

Olathe Northwest vs SM East All Star Video Sports Highlights