CLASS 6A STATE FOOTBALL QUARTERFINALS
OLATHE NORTH (8-2) AT BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST (9-1)
Olathe North started the year looking like one of the clear contenders for the Class 6A state title. As the Eagles stumbled in the middle of the season, Blue Valley Northwest emerged until getting knocked off for the first time in the second-to-last week of the season.
Both teams have shrugged off their losses and enter this matchup after dominant victories in their last three games. Both have a similar way of achieving those results: balanced offensive attacks and gritty defenses that win at the line of scrimmage.
Olathe North looks to senior quarterback Noah Palmer to distribute the ball to its many playmakers, which includes himself. Palmer has thrown for 1,487 yards and rushed for 513 yards while racking up 30 total touchdowns. His top target is Jacob Parrish. The senior running back has 726 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 484 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns, which are all team-leading stats.
It's not a one-man show with Parrish as fellow senior running back Aquantez Love gave the Eagles 443 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Palmer has a plethora of options in the passing game, including senior wide receiver Brandon Shields, who has 473 yards and five touchdowns.
Senior Mike Pauley serves a similar role for Blue Valley Northwest, although Grant Stubblefield takes a majority of reps out of the backfield. Stubblefield has racked up 1234 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns so far this season. Pauley added another 826 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He's thrown for 1531 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Steven Whitter leads the receiving corps with 544 yards while senior Nick Cusick leads with nine touchdown receptions. Senior Max Muehlberger gives a third option with over 300 receiving yards this year.
The Huskies looked like they could run the table until running into a well-prepared Aquinas team on the road in Week 7. The Saints went up two scores early and controlled the game with their lethal rushing attack. Aquinas opts more for bruising backs than the Olathe North squadron of faster playmakers.
Olathe North's two losses came in low-scoring contests. The Eagles could not get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter of 20-6 loss to Olathe West in Week 4. Lawrence hit a last-second field goal to defeat North 17-14 in Week 7.
Olathe North advanced past the sectional round last season before getting knocked off by Blue Valley North in the semifinals. Blue Valley Northwest lost to Blue Valley in the regional round last season.
BLUE VALLEY WEST (6-4) AT SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST (7-3)
These two teams weren't necessarily at the top of the list of preseason favorites to make deep playoff runs, but now one of them will advance to the state semifinals.
Shawnee Mission Northwest dropped its first two games, but only lost one more down the stretch. The Cougars got revenge over the Olathe West squad that defeated them 39-34 in Week 2. SM Northwest rolled the Owls 63-28 last week in the regional round.
Senior quarterback Blake Reeder led the way with 189 passing yards and a touchdown. Reeder has been the main driver of the offense for the Cougars, amassing 2,225 passing yards with 21 passing touchdowns to three interceptions. He also added 340 rushing yards and six touchdowns to help an already impressive running game.
Junior running back Malik O'atis leads the team with 822 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Mikah Scott has 652 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Blue Valley West had an up-and-down season, including a two-game losing streak to end the regular season before beating Shawnee Mission West handily in their playoff opener. The Jaguars surprised Blue Valley 35-28 in the regional round, knocking off a team that had not lost a game since its season opener to Blue Valley Northwest.
Blue Valley led the game 21-7 at half, but Blue Valley West closed the gap in the third quarter. The Jaguars took their first lead with a Sage Huffman touchdown run to start the fourth, only for Tigers senior running back Michael Solomon to tie the game at 28-all. Huffman duplicated his two-rushing touchdown for the go-ahead score.
Huffman finished with 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Gage Roach added 104 rushing yards, 155 passing yards and a touchdown apiece on the ground and through the air.
FREE STATE (8-2) AT DERBY (9-0)
Free State notched one of the state's most impressive road victories last week at Washburn Rural, and now takes aim at Derby's 14-game home winning streak in November.
The Firebirds continued their resurgence from a winless 2020 season with a 42-10 win over Rural, combining one of their best defensive performances with a 21-point, third-quarter knockout. Free State limited the Junior Blues to 176 yards and kept Rural's offensive unit out of the end zone.
Free State, which handed reigning 5A champion Mill Valley its lone loss on Oct. 1, got three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jet Dineen against Rural. He also intercepted a pass.
Derby is averaging 57.3 points after a 63-26 victory over Wichita East last week. Junior Dylan Edwards scored seven touchdowns in the victory, including a 66-yard punt return. The diminutive speedster has rushed for 1,878 yards – averaging 14.4 yards per attempt – and scored 29 rushing touchdowns.
Derby quarterback Mercer Thatcher has complemented Edwards with his dual-threat ability, rushing for 624 yards and 12 touchdowns, and passing for 643 yards and 11 scores.
The Panthers ended three consecutive Free State seasons in the 6A playoffs from 2015-17. Derby won the most recent meeting 55-49 in overtime in the state quarterfinals.
LAWRENCE (8-2) AT MANHATTAN (9-1)
Lawrence recovered from a tough two-game stretch early in the year when it lost to Mill Valley and Shawnee Mission Northwest in back-to-back weeks. But the Lions ran the table from there, including impressive wins over Olathe North and crosstown rival Free State in consecutive games.
Lawrence powered past Junction City 38-21 in the regional round. Lions senior quarterback Truman Juelsgaard threw for 149 yards while picking up 122 rushing yards. Senior tailback Shance Wilkerson scored three rushing touchdowns and ran for 79 yards. Senior wide receiver Baylor Bowen led the team with 72 receiving yards.
Manhattan, which only had one slip-up with a 21-14 loss to Washburn Rural in Week 6, averaged a 60-2 margin of victory over its last three games before needing a last-second field goal to beat Gardner-Edgerton last week. Both teams traded touchdowns throughout an action-packed contest that saw five ties until Grant Snowden hit a 18-yard field goal in the waning seconds to give Manhattan the 38-35 victory.
Senior running back Vincent Smith ran for 172 yards while junior quarterback Keenan Schartz picked up 148. Smith scored all four of the Indians' rushing touchdowns. Schartz threw for 67 yards and found Joe Hall for a 56-yard touchdown reception.
