Sectional Round Review

The Good

**Olathe East and Olathe North (right)--the two prohibitive favorites throughout the season--will be meeting in the Sub-State round for the opportunity to advance to the state championship.

**The last time Olathe East and Olathe North met in the Sub-State round was in 2002. That game proved to be one of the best of the 2000s, with Olathe North claiming victory, 12-10, after Olathe East botched a last second field goal attempt.

The Bad

**The heavy winds and rain played more of a role on Friday than what most people wanted to see in a playoff games. While football is a game to be played in the elements, there's a reason all major BCS games (and usually the Super Bowl) are played in locations with favorable weather.

The Ugly

**Olathe North and Olathe South combined for 160 yards of total offense on Friday. By comparison, during the regular season the two teams combined to average 737 yards of total offense per game.

**ODAC. The playing field was ripped to shreds during Friday night's game and it won't be the most favorable playing surface come this Friday.

Individual Highlights

**Olathe South running back Nick Sands surpassed 1,500 rushing yards on the season after recording 108 yards on 29 carries.

**SM Northwest's James Gregory played possibly the game of his career Friday (given the situation), recording 101 rushing yards on 25 carries, and catching a 14-yard touchdown pass.

The Remaining Four

Olathe East (10-1): The Hawks handled Olathe North 25-0 in week three, but beating a good team twice is never an easy thing to do.

Olathe North (10-1): The Eagles can gain revenge on their rival and punch a ticket to the their tenth state championship game with a win Friday.

West Kansas 6A

In a battle of unbeatens, Wichita Heights (11-0) is hosting Dodge City (11-0) for a trip to the title game. Wichita Heights is coming off a 18-15 victory over Junction City, while Dodge City defeated Manhattan 41-20 this past week.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

Game Scores and Notes

Sectional Round Playoff Review

Olathe East 14, SM Northwest 7

For the second week in a row Olathe East failed to score any first half points. Fortunately for the Hawks, SM Northwest's offense was equally as unproductive and the teams went into the half tied at 0. In the third quarter the stalemate finally broke. SM Northwest quarterback Stephen Mangelsdorf was intercepted by Olathe East's Junior Williams who returned the interception to the SM Northwest 12-yard line. Several plays later Brandon Willingham was able to punch in a score from a yard out. The touchdown put Olathe East up 7-0. SM Northwest responded with a touchdown of their own. Mangelsdorf found James Gregory on a 15-yard touchdown pass to even the score. In the fourth quarter Olathe East's Austin Fulson made perhaps the biggest play of his career, breaking lose on a run and going 89 yards for a touchdown. The score came with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth, but Olathe East was able to ride the 14-7 lead to the finish.

Olathe North 17, Olathe South 0

Had we known Olathe North would be held to a mere 72 yards of total offense before this game began it seems logical that Olathe South would have come out victorious. Olathe South's costly turnovers and poor field position, however, proved to be their downfall in the end. Olathe North struck first when they started their third drive on the Olathe South 27-yard line. Following a few run plays and a fortunate bounce on a fumble by Adonis Saunders, Dominick Wilson (above) gave Olathe North the lead on a one-yard touchdown run. The 7-0 lead held through halftime. Midway through the third quarter Olathe South botched a shotgun snap, and Olathe North recovered the ball at the Olathe South seven-yard line. Olathe South's defense held, but Olathe North's Daniel Gutierrez connected on a 21-yard field goal to put Olathe North up 10-0. The Eagle's final score came in the fourth quarter when Kyle Swartz intercepted an Olathe South pass, and then several plays later punched the ball in on a one-yard touchdown run.

Photo courtesy the Kansas City Star

Game Scores and Notes

Week Nine Review

Lawerence Free State 42, Lawrence 20

This matchup definitely lived up to the hype in the first half--but the second belonged to the Firebirds from Free State. Lawrence was able to match Free State's two first half touchdowns with two of their own from running back Charles Jackson. The game was tied 14 all at halftime. The Firebirds were able to blow the game open with 28 straight points in the second half. The scores included a 5-yard touchown run from Dylan Perry, which was set up by a 76-yard run from Preston Schenck (right), as well as a fumble return for a touchdown by Henry Vaeono. Schenck also ran a fumble back for a touchdown, this time in the fourth quarter, ultimately finishing the game off. Lawrence Free State has now won five straight games in the series.

Olathe East 35, Olathe South 14

Early on this game had the makings of a good one. Brandon Willingham put Olathe East on the board in first quarter with a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Hawks a 7-0 advantage. Olathe South matched that when Nick Sands put the final touches on a drive with a five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Olathe East was able to drive and score another touchdown on a one-yard run from Willingham, and the Hawks took a 14-7 lead to halftime. The real game changer proved to be Olathe East's Austin Fulson. Early in the third quarter Fulson scooped up an Olathe South fumble and ran it back 26 yards for a touchdown. On Olathe East's next possession Fulson took a handoff 55 yards for another touchdown, to give Olathe East a 28-7 lead. Olathe South quarterback Frankie Seurer took a keeper 13 yards for a touchdown later in the third quarter to pull the Falcons within 14, but they weren't able to get any closer. Willingham added a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Olathe North 35, Olathe Northwest 6

Olathe North used a swarming defensive effort to manhandle Olathe Northwest in the final game of the season. The Eagles got on the board first when Victor Simmons scored on a 17-yard touchdown run. They added another touchdown in the second quarter when Adonis Saunders completed a long drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Saunders, along with Dominick Wilson and Trey Geiger recorded interceptions during the game, and Connor Mashek blocked an Olathe Northwest punt in the fourth quarter which led to an easy one-yard touchdown run from Wilson.

SM Northwest 41, Wyandotte 14

A big first quarter was all it took for SM Northwest to ensure a victory. Antoine Smith first scored on a thee-yard touchdown run. Next, James Gregory added a 42-yard score. Smith chipped in a nine-yard touchdown run, and AJ Spencer returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown to give SM Northwest a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. SM Northwest's starters played sparingly throughout the rest of the game, with Gregory adding a one-yard touchdown run, and senior KC Waterman scoring on a two-yard run in the third quarter.

SM North 28, Leavenworth 24

Despite these teams only having a combined two wins on the season, the game turned out to be a thriller. Leavenworth opened the game with two touchdowns in the first quarter. The first came on a 14-yard from Anthony Powell, and the second on a eight-yard pass from Judson Cole to Alec Zeck. SM North then responded with three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter. Kendall Kelly scored on a 10-yard run, Mitch Paden added a one-yard touchdown run, and Kelly added another 18-yard running score before the half. In the third quarter Leavenworth tied the game, 21 all, on a 25-yard touchdown run from Powell. The Pioneers reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard field goal from Cole. Trailing 24-21, Kelly broke loose on perhaps the biggest play of the season for the Indians. Kelly took a carry 69-yards for a touchdown to put SM North up 28-24, which turned out being the final score.

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.

SM East 28, SM South 12

Since no official box score was reported for this game there is no official script of the scoring that took place in the game. What we do know--SM East claimed a share of the Sunflower League title, won their district, and set the record for wins in school history with eight. The Lancers play Olathe South next week in the Regional Round of the playoffs. For SM South, the team would have liked to at least match last season's three game win total, but overall the Raiders did have their bright spots on the season.

Photo courtesy the Lawrence Journal-World