Olathe East running back Hayden Frazier ran through the Olathe North defense for 198 yards on Friday night as the Hawks beat their rivals 14-3 in a Sunflower League game at the College Boulevard Activity Center.
But it was a subtle offensive switch that Olathe East made at halftime that opened up the game.
“We went with double tight ends in the second half, and that forced them to play an even defense,” Olathe East coach Jeff Meyers said. “That way we could run either way.”
The Hawks led just 6-3 at halftime, but they dominated the second half.
Olathe East scored on its first drive of the third quarter, moving 62 yards in just seven plays. Frazier had four carries for 61 yards on the drive. He scored the touchdown on a 27-yard run off the left side with 7:19 left in the period and then ran for the two-point conversion to make it 14-3.
“We were bigger (in the line), and our line came out and moved them,” Frazier said. “Fullback Spencer Taylor got some good blocks.”
The Hawks dominated the Eagles defensively after halftime, holding Olathe North to two first downs.
That second first down came on a 55-yard pass from senior quarterback Elbert Johnson to junior Mauricio Chio to the Hawks 36 late in the game.
But on second and 7, Johnson was sacked and fumbled with 1:49 left, and Olathe East’s Austin Michaud recovered.
The Hawks missed several opportunities to put the game away.
One Olathe East drive stalled at the 8. With 28 seconds left in the third quarter, senior Ryan Ahlgren missed on a 25-yard field goal.
Late in the game, Frazier had an apparent first down at the Eagles’ 8, but it was wiped out by a penalty.
Senior quarterback John Blazevic connected with senior tight end Adam Osheim on a fourth-down attempt, but the gain was 1 yard short of the first down marker.
The Hawks scored on their first possession of the game, going 68 yards in eight plays. Senior Ryan Woodson bulled his way into the end zone from the 6-yard-line with 8:45 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles’ lone points came after a nine-play, 46-yard drive stalled at the 3. Senior Jorge Rivera then kicked a 20-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the half.
The victory broke a three-game losing streak for the Hawks. They will take a 2-4 record into district play next week.
“We wanted to get our confidence back going into districts,” Meyers said. “We beat a good team and a cross-town rival.”
The Eagles lost for ninth time in the last 10 games and take a 1-5 record into district play.
