Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Defense leads East into playoffs

Alex Michaud couldn't believe what he saw. As the Olathe East defensive lineman chased Shawnee Mission South's quarterback Nick Johnson on a bootleg, Michaud just thought Johnson's pass was going over his head.

Instead, the pass went directly at Michaud — giving the Hawks life and momentum in their 20-13 win Friday night over the Raiders.

“All of a sudden I saw the ball coming at me,” Michaud said. “I just threw my hand out and the football just stuck. I really don't know how I caught it.”

Good thing Olathe East's offense had Michaud and the rest of the defense to fall back on.

The defense did its job in causing turnovers in the second half to give the Hawks' offense good field position. Twice, the defense forced turnovers deep in SM South territory.

First, Michaud returned the interception 36 yards to SM South's 4-yard line, which set up running back Hayden Groves for a 5-yard touchdown run.

Two possessions later, a bad snap allowed defensive back Austin Fulson to recover the football at the 15-yard line. Groves followed the turnover with a 10-yard touchdown run, giving the Hawks a 20-6 lead that held up.

“That was the game-changer,” coach Jeff Meyers said of Michaud's interception. “It was huge because we scored so soon after the play. That gave our team a huge boost.”

For much of the game, the Hawks, 6-3, played inconsistently on offense, losing yards as soon as they would gain them. The offense was stagnant and didn't cross midfield the entire first half. Fortunately, the Hawks didn't have to.

“When I saw Michaud running, I knew we were going to win,” said Groves, who rushed for 129 yards on 27 carries. “That play gave the offense confidence.”

Even with Michaud's play, Groves had a large part of the responsibility in the Hawks, reaching the Kansas 6A state playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

After running back Brandon Willingham, a junior, left the game with an elbow injury, it was up to Groves to carry the Hawks' offense. Groves responded by being the guy who moved the chains for the Hawks all game long.

“He's a good back that make decisions on cuts,” Meyers said. “He had to take on a bigger load so it was important for him to carry the load and score some touchdowns.”

SM South, 3-6, made it close in the second half when quarterback Grant Hilton drove the Raiders down the field in the third quarter with option-based offense.

Hilton faked the pitch to the running back, which allowed him to run free for a 30-yard touchdown. That cut the lead to seven, but that was as close as the Raiders would come.

OLATHE EAST 20, SM SOUTH 13

OE (6-3) 0 13 7 0 — 20

SMS (3-6) 3 3 7 0 — 13

Scoring summary

First quarter

SMS: Johannes Swanepoel 31 field goal

Second quarter

OE: Carter McEntee 1 run (Dylan Ramsey kick)

OE: Hayden Groves 5 run (kick blocked)

SMS: Swanepoel 19 field goal

Third quarter

OE: Groves 10 run (Ramsey kick)

SMS: Grant Hilton 30 run (Drew Russell kick)

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