Olathe East rises to occasion, knocks off defending champs

East (Olathe) knocked defending Class 6A champion North (Olathe) from the top of the heap Friday night with a 25-0 blanking of the Eagles at the Olathe District Activities Center.

With the four-touchdown victory, Jeff Meyers' squad moved up three spots to second in Dean Backes' latest Kansas prep football rankings and stopped North's 15-game winning streak. The Eagles settle in at No. 5 this week after losing Kansas' large school No. 1 ranking.

Hawks senior running back Brandon Willingham may not have received a lot of love on the state's preseason all-state teams, but he did make a statement about his own abilities against the Eagles. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound speedster rushed for 188 yards and scored on runs of 2, 2 and 40 yards. Willingham, however, isn't one to take the credit.

"Our offensive line killed it," Willingham said after he, Austin Fulson and Treshawn Root combined to dent the stout Eagle defense for 277 rushing yards on the night. "I love my offensive line. I can't thank them more."

Fulson opened the scoring with an eight-yard run in the first quarter and Danny Lorenzen added the PAT kick to give the Hawks a 7-0 advantage. Then, in the second quarter, Willingham scored from a couple of yards out to make the score 13-0 at intermission.

In the fourth quarter, Willingham capped an 18-play, 86-yard drive with a two-yard run to give the Hawks a commanding 19-0 lead. A 40-yard run by Willingham later in the quarter assured the Hawks of a 3-0 start in 2010.

"We knew we were going to be in a fight…a fight," Willingham said. "Everybody was saying we were going to be in a fight. It's going to be a battle of the trenches and everything. We did not expect this. Our defense played so hard. Everybody played their hearts out.

"We think we have a good chance of being state champions. We knocked off the No.1 team…the No. 4 team in the state of Kansas. Where are we at in this? That's what I’m trying to say."

As the celebration was reaching full force, Meyers did not lose sight of just how good East's opposition was Friday.

"We have great respect for Olathe North," Meyers said. "I don't think there is anybody that doesn't understand that you better have (respect for the Eagles).

"Again, we told our kids: 'Don't lack confidence.' We've got a good group and we knew that if we rose to the occasion and played to the top of our game that we could come out on top. I tell you, we played on top of our game."

BOWEN COMMITS TO ARKANSAS
After building a close relationship with Arkansas women's basketball coach Tom Collen, Heights (Wichita) senior Jhasmin Bowen decided recently to delete Louisville, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Wichita State from her list of potential colleges, and announced that she will play basketball for the Razorbacks.

The 2010 first-team Kansas Basketball Coaches Association all-state selection averaged 16.2 points and 11.3 rebounds a year ago in leading Wichita Heights to a 23-2 record and a berth in the Kansas Class 6A state championship game, where the Falcons lost to Olathe South 54-49.

"I worked on a lot of guard stuff – outside shooting, ball handling, driving to the basket strong," Bowen told the Wichita Eagle of her summer workouts. "I want to learn to play more than one position, so that when I do start, I won't be one-dimensional. I don't want to just be a post player. With me learning to do more around the rim and the basket, I can stay on the floor longer."

THUNDER WIN TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, RISE IN MAXPREPS POLL
With its impressive run through the St. Joseph Academy Tournament of Champions in St. Louis last weekend, the St. James Academy (Lenexa) volleyball team ran its 2010 record to a perfect 16-0. The Thunder also climbed nine spots to fourth in the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Volleyball National Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

With the five-match sweep over some of the nation's strongest volleyball programs, Nancy Dorse'’s squad carries a 26-game winning streak into the remainder of the 2010 season. Defending Kansas Class 5A champion Bishop Miege was the last foe to upend the Thunder, winning an 18-25, 26-24, 25-10 decision on Oct. 15, 2009.

St. James Academy began the tournament with a 24-26, 25-16, 25-17 win over defending Oklahoma Class 5A state champion Bishop Kelley. The Thunder then knocked off DuPont Manuel of Louisville, Ky. by a 25-21, 25-14 score and host school St. Joseph's Academy 25-16, 27-25 to round out pool play.

The Thunder, who played their pool matches back-to-back-to-back on Saturday, swept Kentucky defending state champion Mercy Academy 25-12, 25-16 before taking care of Bishop Miege 25-13, 25-12 in the title match.

St. James Academy, which was forced to play all five matches on Saturday because of a Kansas State High School Activities Association rule, received a half hour break following pool play before hitting the floor again in the semifinals.

Despite falling to the Thunder for the second time in 2010, Bishop Miege jumped into the Xcellent 25 rankings at No. 17.

LAST WEEKEND’S TOP FOOTBALL PERFORMERS
RUSHING
Jacob Oates of Flinthills (Rosalia) rushed for 345 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries in a 40-28 win over West Elk… Joel Struckhoff of Thunder Ridge (Kensington) ran the ball 25 times for 337 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-18 win over Trego… Evan Kreger of Jetmore rushed for 308 yards on 33 carries in a 46-36 win over South Gray… Ross Binford of Kiowa County (Greensburg) carried the ball 27 times for 279 yards in a 62-22 win over Pratt-Skyline… Alex Deaver of Clifton-Clyde (Clyde) rushed for 263 yards and six touchdowns on 30 carries in a 54-6 win over Scandia-Pike Valley… Morgan Burns of Trinity Academy (Wichita) ran the ball for 242 yards and three scores on 17 carries in a 47-13 win over Medicine Lodge… Brady Coover of Lincoln carried the ball 27 times for 221 yards and five scores in an 84-34 win over Goessel… Aaron Blevins of Royal Valley (Hoyt) rushed for 212 yards in a 44-18 win over Sabetha.

PASSING
Dj Bronson of Northern Heights (Allen) completed 31 of 55 passes for 433 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-28 loss to Lyndon… Bo Savage of Central (Burden) connected on 18 of 39 passes for 365 yards and seven touchdowns in a 46-36 win over Wilson… Tyler Harrison of Derby completed 20 of 28 aerials for 322 yards and a couple of touchdowns in a 27-24 win over Maize… Augusta's Alec Hess threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns on 11 of 18 passing in a 30-29 loss to Nickerson… Alex Lederer of Valley Falls completed 17 of 35 aerials for 279 yards and a couple of touchdowns in a 39-20 loss to Pleasant Ridge… Wilson's Kenny Steinle threw for 266 yards in a 46-36 loss to Burden-Central… Dylan Price of Chetopa completed 10 of 14 aerials for 264 yards and four touchdowns in a 60-32 win over Oxford… Skyler Windmiller of Mill Valley (Shawnee) completed 12 of 14 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns in a 57-12 win over Tonganoxie.

RECEIVING
Connor Carman of Augusta caught seven passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-29 loss to Nickerson… Burden-Central's Ky Biddle reeled in eight passes for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 46-36 win over Wilson… Dylan Floyd of Mill Valley latched on to six passes for 167 yards and a couple of scores in a 57-12 win over Tonganoxie… Elkhart's James Kelly caught six passes for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 49-28 win over Lakin… Cameron Craig of Field Kindley (Coffeyville) caught two aerials for 159 yards and a couple of scores in a 55-14 win over Iola… Wes Phillips of Maize South (Wichita) caught five aerials for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-13 win over Winfield… Christian Ulsaker of McPherson caught seven passes for 149 yards in a 46-7 win over Andover Central… Wilson’s Jake Stoppel was credited with 149 yards receiving in a 46-36 loss to Burden-Central.

Note: The Top Performances used in this section were borrowed from the Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital Journal and the Kansas City Star, as well as pulled from MaxPreps’ statistics section on Sunday evening.

KANSAS FOOTBALL RANKINGS
TOP 10
1. Heights (Wichita) (3-0) 125 0
2. Gardner-Edgerton (Gardner) (3-0) 144 54
3. Hutchinson (2-1) 140 64
4. Olathe East (3-0) 88 14
5. Blue Valley (Stilwell) (3-0) 161 15
6. Manhattan (3-0) 106 20
7. Junction City (3-0) 80 21
8. Olathe North (2-1) 59 54
9. Aquinas (Overland Park) (3-0) 153 41
10.West (Shawnee Mission) (2-1) 80 62

CLASS 6A
1. Wichita Heights (3-0) 125 0 2
2. Olathe East (3-0) 88 14 5
3. Manhattan (3-0) 106 20 3
4. Junction City (3-0) 80 21 4
5. Olathe North (2-1) 59 54 1
6. Shawnee Mission West (2-1) 80 62 6
7. Topeka (3-0) 119 67 7
8. Dodge City (3-0) 133 30 8
9. Washburn Rural (Topeka) (3-0) 131 75 9
10. East (Shawnee Mission) (3-0) 99 37 –

CLASS 5A
1. Gardner-Edgerton (3-0) 144 54 1
2. Hutchinson (2-1) 140 64 2
3. Blue Valley (3-0) 161 15 3
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (3-0) 153 41 5
5. McPherson (3-0) 148 53 7
6. Carroll (Wichita) (2-1) 101 28 6
7. Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission) (2-1) 125 50 4
8. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (Wichita) (3-0) 123 22 8
9. Hays (3-0) 113 26 9
10. Central (Andover) (2-1) 33 65 10

CLASS 4A
1. Hayden (Topeka) (2-1) 87 34 1
2. Louisburg (3-0) 117 13 2
3. Buhler (3-0) 123 10 4
4. Abilene (3-0) 90 35 5
5. Baldwin (3-0) 98 21 6
6. Holton (2-1) 141 14 7
7. Concordia (3-0) 98 53 9
8. Perry-Lecompton (Perry) (3-0) 122 54 10
9. Independence (3-0) 145 71 –
10. Hesston (3-0) 82 46 –

CLASS 3A
1. Collegiate (Wichita) (3-0) 123 72 1
2. Silver Lake (3-0) 111 28 2
3. Conway Springs (3-0) 205 0 3
4. Scott (Scott City) (3-0) 103 28 4
5. Garden Plain (3-0) 165 10 5
6. Trinity (Hutchinson) (3-0) 167 50 6
7. Galena (3-0) 100 24 7
8. Rossville (3-0) 92 20 8
9. Norton (3-0) 107 16 9
10. Phillipsburg (3-0) 90 36 10

CLASS 2-1A
1. St. Mary's-Colgan (Pittsburg) (3-0) 144 7 1
2. Olpe (3-0) 67 52 2
3. Centralia (2-1) 96 63 4
4. Meade (2-1) 120 50 5
5. Oakley (2-1) 103 27 3
6. Valley Heights (Blue Rapids) (3-0) 54 31 7
7. Oswego (3-0) 117 32 8
8. LaCrosse (3-0) 148 46 9
9. Washington County (Washington) (3-0) 122 27 10
10. Elkhart (3-0) 107 44 –