It may only be in its eighth year of varsity football existence, but Olathe West has picked up monumental victories in back-to-back weeks. 

Its latest victim — Mill Valley. 

A week after getting its first-ever win over defending state champion Gardner-Edgerton, the Owls soared to new heights as they knocked off No. 4 ranked Mill Valley (4-2) in convincing fashion, 52-36. The victory moved the Owls (5-1) to No. 5 in the Class 6A rankings as they as they are off to their best start in their young program history. 

“There are no words,” Olathe West coach Jon Wiemers said. “I am very proud of our players to see the work they have put in over the last couple of years pay off. The win against Gardner probably had something to do with the win over Mill Valley. We played with a lot of confidence that we possibly didn't have at the beginning of the year.” 

Confidence was a tough thing to find in 2024 as the Owls finished with a 3-6 record. Fast forward to 2025 and they still had their struggles.  

After opening the season with two victories, Olathe West went on the road and had a 5-turnover performance in a loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest. It was a turning point for the Owls. 

“There are really two things,” Wiemers said. “Most games we played, or are going to play, are against run-heavy teams. It has been a huge emphasis of ours to stop the run game. The second is winning the turnover battle. We had 5 against Northwest and haven't had many since then.” 

That included Friday night as the Owl defense got enough stops against a potent Mill Valley rushing attack to let its offense to do the work. 

“They had a great night,” Wiemers said of his defense. “You have to fit in at the right place against Mill Valley at all times or they will make you pay. We stayed disciplined and played great team defense.” 

Olathe West never trailed on the night and jumped out to a 24-7 lead midway through the third quarter. From there, the scoring picked up even more. 

The two teams combined for 57 points from the 5 minute mark of the third quarter to the end and the Owls couldn’t be stopped. 

Quarterback Brody Hale put together one of his best performances of the season as he had 267 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to lead the Owl offensive attack. 

“He was lights out,” Wiemers said of Hale. “He is super focused right now and takes command of our offense. He can make plays in the system but also has an ability to improvise and make them outside the system.” 

The Owls were also able to do a lot of damage on the ground. Senior running back Josh Foland had 147 yards rushing and a touchdown. As a team, the Owls rushed for more than 350 yards. 

Mill Valley also had its fair share of success offensively as it tallied nearly 500 yards of total offense. Junior running back Max Piva had 151 yards rushing to go along with 66 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Blake Jay led Mill Valley with 279 yards of total offense and three scores. 

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Owls as they have two one-loss teams remaining, including a matchup against Shawnee Mission East this Friday, followed by Olathe Northwest in their regular season finale. 

Leavenworth off to best start in 52 years as Pioneers earn first-ever win over De Soto 

To say Friday’s victory for Leavenworth over De Soto was a monumental one — might be a bit of an understatement.  

With the 27-14 road victory at De Soto, the Pioneers not only earned their first-ever victory over the Wildcats, but are off to their best start in more than half-a-century. The win moved Leavenworth to 5-1 on the season and it hasn’t had that good of a start since 1973 when the Pioneers began that season 6-1. 

“I am just so proud of the kids and coaching staff,” Leavenworth head coach Sean Sachen said. “This is a big win for our program, school and community. This definitely means a lot for our program. (DeSoto) Coach (Brian) King’s program has been the gold standard in our league for many years."

The Pioneers had their fair share of success a year ago as they finished 6-4. However, this win gave them sole possession of second place in the United Kansas Conference. 

It was the defense that lifted the Pioneers to victory as the game hung in the balance. Trailing 20-14, De Soto was driving late in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats were putting together what looked to be a game-winning drive. 

The Wildcat had a screen pass set up, but Leavenworth’s Frank Giamalva got his hand on the pass and it landed into the hands of Trey Brockington, who returned it for the game-sealing touchdown.  

“Our defensive coaches did a great job of mixing things up and our kids did an outstanding job of executing the plan,” Sachen said. “Many kids had to be selfless in the game in order for our defense to work and our kids bought in to that and it showed on Friday.  

“I was so happy for Trey, as he was upset with himself from fumbling on the first play of the second half. It was a great play as they had a screen called and had the blocking set up for a big play. Frank got his hand on it and it just landed in Trey’s lap for the interception.” 

The Pioneers were able to slow down a strong rushing attack of De Soto as they forced three turnovers. Will Dales led Leavenworth with a 22-tackle performance, while Dy’Vair McCray and Giamalva had 11 and 10, respectively, and McCray had an interception. 

McCray was also big on the offensive side of the ball. McCray had six catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns to give the Pioneers an early lead. 

“Dy'Vair is a special talent that we rely on for explosive plays on offense and he is also outstanding on defense and special teams,” Sachen said. 

Quarterback Brayden Bridger had 178 yards through the air to lead the Pioneers, while Brockington had a team-high 94 yards rushing and a score. 

The Pioneers will look to keep their winning ways going this Friday as they travel to Topeka West before ending their season at home against Holton.  

“Our approach is to always improve whether it's day by day or week to week,” Sachen said. “This season we wanted to improve on our record from last season.  So, there is still much work to be done.” 

Other football standouts: 

• Although Paola lost 56-34 to Spring Hill, senior Sasha Pichnenko had a historic night for the Panthers. Pichnenko had eight catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns. His 190 yards receiving broke the program’s single game receiving record. Pichnenko also returned an interception for a touchdown. 

• Riverton has won three straight games, which included a 21-12 victory Friday over Columbus. In each of those three wins, the Rams have had a pair of 100-yards rushers. That continued against Columbus as Noah Parker had 17 carries for 164 yards and Aydin Witherspoon finished with 124 yards on the ground as both players have had 3 straight games of 100 yards or more.  

• Uniontown is off to its best start since 2021 as it defeated Erie, 39-6, to move to 3-3 on the season. Colter Powell and Gaige Lape combined for 250 rushing yards and four scores. Powell had 101 yards and three touchdowns, while Lape led the team with 149 yards rushing. 

• Gardner-Edgerton bounced back with a 41-20 win over Olathe East last week and senior Syre Padilla was a big reason why. Padilla scored all six touchdowns and racked up 240 yards rushing on just 14 carries. 

• Roman Byers Jr., had a big night for Piper as he helped the Pirates to a 44-13 win over Lansing. Byers had 202 yards on the ground and four touchdowns in the win.  

• Shawnee Mission East quarterback Jack Reeves continued his big season as he rushed for 216 yards and four scores in the Lancers’ 49-21 win over Shawnee Mission North. On the season, Reeves currently has 1,237 yards on the ground through six games as the Lancers are currently 5-1 on the year. 

• The Lawrence Free State duo of Finn Moore and Maddon Brittingham ran over Shawnee Mission South last Thursday, 44-14. Moore had 143 yards on the ground and three scores, while Brittingham had 131 yards and two touchdowns. The Firebirds passed the ball just one time.  

• St. Mary’s Colgan continued its perfect season with a 56-6 victory over Jayhawk-Linn. And like the previous five victories, Klayton Adamson had another big showing for the Panthers. Adamson scored five touchdowns and had 192 yards rushing on just 11 carries. The Panthers also forced five turnovers, including two interceptions by Brady Bettega. 

• Although St. Thomas Aquinas lost its first game of the season in a 36-35 overtime setback to Rockhurst (Mo.), running back Calin Arndt continued his dominance on the ground. Arndt had 229 yards rushing and four touchdowns.  

• Basehor-Linwood moved to 6-0 on the season with a 38-10 win over Tonganoxie. Quarterback Carson Dixon led the way with 231 yards through the air and three touchdowns, to go along with two more scores on the ground.  

• Blue Valley used several big plays to earn a 30-14 win over Blue Valley Northwest and even its record to 3-3 on the season. The Tiger defense forced three turnovers, Acy VanRheen recorded a safety, while Miller Simpson returned an interception for a touchdown. Jacob Lockett also had an 80-yard touchdown catch. 

• St. James Academy rallied from behind to get a 28-20 win over Blue Valley North. Thunder quarterback John Hornback led the way with 162 yards rushing and two touchdown. Blue Valley North quarterback Lark Anderson had 342 yards through the air to lead the Mustangs, while Colton Nichols (151) and Jax Lemmon (107) yead had more than 100 yards receiving. The Mustangs are playing under new head coach Blake Mudd, who took over after former coach Gene Wier turned in his resignation.