Olathe North turns it on in second half, pounds SM East 42-14

Friday November 6, 2009 7:00 PM
Team (Record)	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	Total
Shawnee Mission East (2 - 6)	0	7	0	7	14
Olathe North (12 - 0)	14	0	21	7	42

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Source: The Star

JOHN SLEEZER | THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Olathe North’s James Franklin rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns in 18 carries Friday against SM East.

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Olathe North jogged to the locker room in stunned silence at halftime of Friday night’s Kansas 6A regional playoff game against Shawnee Mission East.

The heavily favored and undefeated Eagles had bolted to a two-touchdown lead, but found themselves leading by only a touchdown as the third quarter kicked off.

“We were disappointed in ourselves,” junior linebacker Kyle Swartz said. “We knew that that wasn’t us. That wasn’t Olathe North. We came out and played our ball in the second half.”

Once the Eagles started playing their brand of football, the rout was on. Olathe North claimed its third consecutive regional championship with a 42-14 win at the Olathe District Activity Center.

“We felt like we should have played a ton better (in the first half). But once we fixed those errors, we were able to do what we usually do,” said junior quarterback Simmons said.

In the first seven minutes of the second half, the Eagles had three possessions, ran five plays covering covered 135 yards, and put 21 points on the board in only 54 seconds.

After the defense forced a punt, North went 41 yards in 13 seconds — a 37-yard run by Simmons and a 4-yard TD burst by senior Tre Walker.

Another SM East punt led to another two-play drive.

Senior James Franklin rumbled 11 yards on first down, and junior Adonis Saunders took a short pass from David Blazevic and raced 49 yards up the far sideline for a score.

Following a Lancers three-and-out, Franklin powered up the gut and dashed 34 yards for another touchdown and a 35-7 lead.

“That’s North football — or at least more like North football — and that’s what we’re going to come out and do next week,” Swartz said.

Franklin, who finished with 122 yards in 18 carries, added a 4-yard TD in the fourth quarter before SM East, 4-6, got on the board again with a 2-yard TD run by Kris Hertel, who finished with 107 yards on 36 carries.

Franklin still needs 59 yards to catch Darren Sproles as the all-time leading rusher in Eagles history. The Lancers bottled up him for the most part in the first quarter, allowing only 38 yards on nine carries.

But Olathe North’s quarterbacks burned SM East.

Senior David Blazevic beat the Lancers deep with a 60-yard play-action touchdown bomb to senior receiver Jason Peete. Two series later, junior Victor Simmons, who subs for Blazevic several possessions each game, dashed 26 yards around right end for a 14-0 lead.

But a flurry of penalties — the Eagles committed eight for 88 yards in the first half — the Lancers found new life.

“We actually started off pretty well, but hit a lull there,” Flood said. “We played one and a half quarters. You can say what you want about their record, but they were a much better football team than they were early in the year,” Flood said.

SM East’s defense kept Olathe North, 10-0, scoreless the rest of the way before halftime, while a personal foul and pass interference provided momentum in a 12-play, 98-yard Lancers TD drive.

submitted by TOD PALMER - 2009-11-06 23:18:01