The Olathe North Eagles will face off against the Shawnee Mission East Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Olathe North's favor as the squad sits on seven straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Shawnee Mission East has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road also dating back to last season.
Olathe North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Lawrence, who was ranked 25th in their home state at the time (Olathe North was ranked 22nd). Olathe North walked away with a 42-34 victory over Lawrence on Friday.
Blaise Adger went supernova for Olathe North, rushing for 203 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.3 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave Adger a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamison Sarver, who rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
Olathe North's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. Sam Simmons picked up that interception and then proceeded to rub salt in the wound by taking it back the other way for a touchdown. Another thorn in Lawrence's side was Kelvin Parker, who made 12 total tackles.
Meanwhile, Shawnee Mission East won against Seaman two weeks ago with 35 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Friday. Shawnee Mission East blew past Shawnee Mission South 35-14. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Lancers just coasted through the last quarter.
Jack Reeves was a one-man wrecking crew for Shawnee Mission East as he rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries, and also threw for 116 yards and two touchdowns on only seven passes. Another player making a difference was Nate Phillips, who rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Shawnee Mission East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 231 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 181 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Olathe North's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Shawnee Mission East, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Olathe North has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 194.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Shawnee Mission East struggles in that department as they've been averaging 246. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Olathe North against Shawnee Mission East in their previous matchup back in October of 2021, as the team secured a 56-14 victory. In that game, Olathe North amassed a halftime lead of 48-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
