Playoff Buzz

Statistical Breakdown
Here is a look at some statistical measures of the four teams remaining in 6A East bracket. Individuals listed lead the respective statistical category for each team.

Olathe North

Rushing Yards: James Franklin, 2,074; Victor Simmons 739

Passing Yards: David Blazevic, 605

Receiving Yards: Jason Peete, 365

Average Points Scored per Game: 44.8

Average Points Allowed per Game: 12.9

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Lost to Lawrence Free State, 10-6

State Championships: 7

Lawrence Free State

Rushing Yards: Kirk Resseguie, 1,099; Camren Torneden, 839

Passing Yards: Camren Torneden, 1,096

Receiving Yards: Keene Niemack, 305

Average Points Scored per Game: 37.3

Average Points Allowed per Game: 13.4

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Beat Olathe North, 10-6

State Championships: 0

Blue Valley Northwest

Rushing Yards: Koby Chadick, 1,085

Passing Yards: Koby Chadick, 1,812

Receiving Yards: Matt Ornduff, 962; Casey Strohl 633

Average Points Scored per Game: 33

Average Points Allowed per Game: 17.5

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Lost to Blue Valley, 24-20

State Championships: 0

Blue Valley

Rushing Yards: Justin Fulks, 717

Passing Yards: Anthony Abenoja, 2,095

Receiving Yards: PJ DeBey, 772; Jacob McDermott, 403

Average Points Scored per Game: 30.6

Average Points Allowed per Game: 20.5

Sectional Round Result in 2008: Beat Blue Valley Northwest, 24-20

State Championships: 4

Other Notes

**The 6A East Sectional grouping is the same as 2008. If this year's game are anything like they were last season, we're in for some great football on Friday.

**Olathe North's James Franklin (above) needs 59 rushing yards to break Olathe North's school record for rushing yards set by Darren Sproles in 2000.

**Each of the four team's has a legit Simone candidate playing. Olathe North's James Franklin is being mentioned as the current favorite in the KC Metro, but a big game from Free State's Camren Torneden, Blue Valley's Anthony Abenoja or Blue Valley Northwest's Koby Chadick could sway some key votes in their favor.

Regional Recap

Olathe North 42, SM East 14

Olathe North took home a 28 point victory Friday night using their quarterback rotation of David Blazevic and Victor Simmons to perfection. Blazevic hit Jason Peete on a 60 yard touchdown strike before Simmons scored on a 26 yard option keeper with 2:40 remaining in the first quarter. The Eagles slowed in the second quarter, and SM East closed the margin to seven points before the half when John Schrock hit an outstretched Kevin Hertel with a 26 yard touchdown pass. The second half, however, was all Olathe North. Three touchdown runs and a 49 yard touchdown pass from Blazevic to Adonis Saunders (below) put the Eagles up comfortably in the victory.

Blue Valley Northwest 38, Olathe Northwest 25

Blue Valley Northwest quarterback Koby Chadick came out determined to get his Huskies to the next round of the playoffs--207 rushing yards and five touchdowns later his team came out on top. Olathe Northwest, who was making their second playoff appearance in school history, stayed competitive throughout the game on several big touchdowns from Devon Boyce but it wasn't enough. Chadick threw a touchdown pass to Matt Ornduff in the first quarter, and went on to add at least one touchdown run in each of the last three quarters. Blue Valley Northwest will face rival Blue Valley next week in a rematch of a Sectional round thriller from 2008.

Blue Valley 42, SM West 18

For the second year in a row SM West faced an upstart Blue Valley school district team in the first round of the playoffs, and came up short. Blue Valley was led by senior quarterback Anthony Abenoja (below) who scored a combined six touchdowns--three rushing and three passing. The 42 points were the most a SM West defense has given up since losing 42-0 to Olathe North on September 17, 2004. In his last game as the SM West quarterback DJ Balazs completed 10 of 23 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Lawrence Free State 38, Olathe East 7

In a strong defensive effort, Lawrence Free State held Olathe East to a mere 132 yards of total offense, allowing the lone touchdown on a 73 yard pass from Carter McEntee to Chris Fields. In total five different Firebirds scored touchdowns in addition to a field goal by Gabe Ballard-Hanson. With the victory Free State avenged a week one loss to the Hawks. The Firebirds other blemish came against Olathe North, a team they will be facing Friday.

Game Scores and Notes

Week Seven Game Results

Olathe North 49, Blue Valley 35

The glaring difference in victories for both teams was basically thrown out in this contest. In similar fashion to last season the game proved to be an offensive showcase. Olathe North only led the one-win Tigers by a touchdown at the half, but scored four touchdowns in the second half to pad the lead. James Franklin once again led the Eagles with 241 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 29 carries. Olathe North quarterback Victor Simmons also had a great game, rushing for four touchdowns.

Lawrence Free State 55, Leavenworth 0

It appeared as though Free State was able to take out a bit of their frustration from last week's loss to Olathe North on Leavenworth. Free State's Kirk Resseguie (below) scored touchdowns on runs of 1, 3, and 10 yards, but the big stat man was Camren Torneden. The senior quarterback rushed for three scores, passed for another, and returned a punt 71 yards for his fifth touchdown. The Firebirds will be focused on keeping their crosstown rival Lawrence High winless this upcoming Friday.

SM West 20, SM Northwest 8

Although the game was anything but flashy, SM West established their run game early and never looked back. The defining moment was a 69 yard touchdown burst by DJ Balazs which put the Vikings ahead 13-0. Cordi Pascal also added two rushing scores for the Vikings who shutout the Cougars up until the last few minutes.

Blue Valley Northwest 27, Olathe East 21

Olathe East starts district play 0-1 after a disappointing loss at the hands of one of their former assistants, Mike Zegunis, and his Blue Valley Northwest Huskies. The star of the game was Husky receiver Matt Ornduff (arguably the top receiver in Johnson County), who had touchdown receptions of 37, and 85 yards. Olathe East was down 27-7 at one point in the third quarter, but made a valiant effort to get back into the game. Two Carter McEntee touchdown passes got the Hawks within six, but they weren't able to collect another score.

Blue Valley West 15, Olathe South 14 (All Star Video Sports Highlights)

The Falcons of Olathe South rolled up colossal offensive numbers--both good and bad--in their district opener. Despite gaining 443 yards of total offense the Falcons turned the ball over six times. Blue Valley West was able to capitalize on the mistakes in the form of two touchdowns, one coming in the fourth quarter that put the Jaguars up a point for good. Falcon quarterback Tanner Dutton completed 29 of 45 passes for 342 yards, but recorded no touchdowns.

Blue Valley North 21, SM South 3

SM South jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a field goal, but the Raiders weren't able to anything more offensively. The Mustangs from Blue Valley North added three touchdowns--one in the second quarter and two in the fourth--to deny the Raiders a winning record through seven games.

SM East 20, SM North 13

No official box score of the game has been released, but what is known is that SM North lost its fifth straight game, while SM East pushed its record to 3-4. One of the SMSD Nut Cups was awarded to the Lancers for their win.

Olathe Northwest 49, Lawrence 6

Olathe Northwest had good reason to celebrate on Friday. Their 49 points set a school record for points in a game and they also look primed to make the playoffs with lowly Leavenworth coming up next week. The 49-6 victory was best characterized by the Raven's Cullen Phillips, who carries the ball 20 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Thursday Report

Week Seven Matchups
All game times 7 pm unless otherwise noted

Olathe North (6-0) at Blue Valley (1-5)
Last season this matchup delivered arguably the best game of the season. In that game Blue Valley quarterback Anthony Abenoja threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns, while Olathe North's James Franklin churned out 267 yards rushing and four touchdowns of his own. The game was decided on a botched Olathe North extra point as the Tigers from Blue Valley left victorious 42-41. One year Olathe North is looking like the best team in class 6A, and meanwhile Blue Valley is having their most disappointing season in years, sitting a pitiful 1-5. Will the offensive fireworks be on display this year? If the Olathe North defense plays anything like they have previously this season, no.

Leavenworth (0-6) at Lawrence Free State (4-2)
Unfortunately for Leavenworth, Free State is coming off of a humbling experience against Olathe North. The Firebirds will be out for blood and their first W in district play. The Pioneers appear to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

SM Northwest (4-2) at SM West (5-1)
This game has slowly but steadily developed into a rivalry since Aaron Barnett became the head coach at SM Northwest in 2006, following Tim Callaghan's arrival at SM West in 2003. This year, as has been the past three seasons, the winner of this game can be crowned the champion of the Shawnee Mission School District (a title that has become more reputable in recent years).

SM South (3-3) at Blue Valley North (2-4)
SM South has been playing well this season and a winning record after game number seven would be a huge step in the right direction for the Raider football program. Blue Valley North hasn't shown much consistency, but they will put up a good fight on their home turf in district play--they always do.

Lawrence (0-6) at Olathe Northwest (2-4)
Lawrence has been playing much better lately (despite the 0-6 record) and a win could be close. Collecting a win on the road at CBAC will not be an easy task for the Chesty Lions, but it is feasible. Olathe Northwest has been playing poorly of late and is in as much of a need for a victory as Lawrence.

Blue Valley West (2-4) at Olathe South (4-2)
Olathe South has a decent shot at collecting their fifth win of the season, and fourth straight victory against a sporadic Blue Valley West crew. The EKL does throw the ball around the lot quite a bit and Olathe South's arial attack isn't likely to surprise the Jaguars--but the Jaguars haven't displayed enough consistency to hint as to whether their experience will make a difference.

SM East (2-4) at SM North (2-4)
Both teams have tough remaining paths to get a playoff berth (SM West and SM Northwest make up the rest of the district) and so this game will be crucial. The game is also one of the two Nut Cup rivalries in the Shawnee Mission School District--so bragging rights will also be big.

Blue Valley Northwest 27, Olathe East 21
Olathe East starts district play 0-1 after a disappointing loss at the hands of one of their former assistants, Mike Zegunis, and his Blue Valley Northwest Huskies. The star of the game was Husky receiver Matt Ornduff (arguably the top receiver in Johnson County), who had touchdown receptions of 37, and 85 yards. Olathe East was down 27-7 at one point in the third quarter, but made a valiant effort to get back into the game. Two Carter McEntee touchdown passes got the Hawks within six, but they weren't able to collect another score.