Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009

Eagles ride Franklin, defense to easy 6A championship win

TOPEKA | The pressure rested squarely on Olathe North's shoulders Saturday at Washburn's Yager Stadium, where the Eagles met Wichita Heights for the Kansas 6A state championship.

But if Olathe North was feeling that pressure, it scarcely showed in a 37-3 beatdown, which gave the program its eighth state title since 1996.

“It's great for the program, it's great for the community, our school,” Eagles coach Pete Flood said. “There was a lot of pressure on these kids, because everybody kind of anointed them early that they were going to do it, but it's not easy to get to this point and finish. It's just awesome.”

Olathe North's dominance was evident was the opening drive as James Franklin dashed 72 yards on the first three plays, the last one a 25-yard jaunt to the end zone a mere 65 seconds into the game.

Heights, which entered district play 2-4 but won six in a row to reach the 6A championship, didn't exactly roll over. Using the wind to its advantage, the Falcons, 8-5, answered with a 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but the Eagles' relentless running attack was overwhelming.

Backup quarterback Victor Simmons added a 15-yard TD a few minutes before halftime for Olathe North, which only led 14-3 at the break despite out-gaining Heights 228-61 in total yards.

“We felt like we left at least 13 points on the board that first half, but we still controlled (the game) offensively,” Flood said. “We just fizzled in the red zone, so we addressed the things we needed to clean up.”

The Eagles, 13-0, were especially lethal on defense in the second half, giving up just 24 yards rushing on 24 carries and a meager 18 yards passing.

“We were ready to come out here for a battle and it was for the first half,” said safety Jason Peete, who led Olathe North with 10 tackles. “But we're a second-half team and we took control after halftime.”

Franklin, who finished with 32 carries for 269 yards and three TDs, also sizzled, especially in the third quarter when he found the end zone on runs of 5 and 68 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, junior linebacker Kyle Swartz sacked Heights quarterback John Moreland for a safety and a 30-3 lead.

Senior QB David Blazevic added the final score on a 1-yard plunge, which was set up by a 75-yard free-kick return by Adonis Saunders following the defensive score.

“It's hard to describe the joy and the pride I have for this whole program right now,” Flood said.

For Olathe North's seniors, the moment exceeded expectations. Many of them have played football together now for more than a decade, so finally reaching the summit of 6A meant the world to that group.

“It's the epitome of everything we've worked for our entire lives pretty much,” said Mizzou-bound Lucas Vincent, who had seven tackles, including two for a loss, and a sack. “We knew we had to come out and knock them out. We wanted to finish them early. It took us until the second half, but that Olathe North toughness came through.”

Still clutching the football from the game's final snap, Franklin said he'd sleep with the football still cradled in his arms.

“It'll be right by my side all night,” said the Eagles' all-time leading rusher, who finished the season with 2,801 yards and ended his career with 5,914 rushing yards.

“After the game last week, I sat (in the gym) for an hour looking at the banners that are hung up,” Franklin said. “I'm ready to see ours go up. We proved throughout the whole season that we're worthy of being up there with the great teams at Olathe North, and we proved that again today.”

Kansas 6A state championship

at Washburn University's Yager Stadium, Topeka

OLATHE NORTH 37, WICHITA HEIGHTS 3

WH (8-5) 0 3 0 0 — 0

ON (13-0) 7 7 14 9 — 37

Scoring summary

First quarter

ON: James Franklin 25 run (Jared Morss kick), 10:55

Second quarter

WH: Chris Farley 28 field goal, 11:04

ON: Victor Simmons 15 run (Morss kick), 3:21

Third quarter

ON: Franklin 5 run (Morss kick), 9:31

ON: Franklin 68 run (Morss kick), 5:26

Fourth quarter

ON: Safety (Kyle Swartz tackles John Moreland in end zone), 9:11

ON: TD David Blazevic 1 run (Morss kick), 7:51

Team statistics

WH ON

Time of possession 24:17 23:43

First downs 7 19

Rushing-yards 42-63 47-343

Passing yards 44 86

C-A-I 4-11-1 4-7-1

Total yards 107 429

Fum/Lost 4-0 0-0

Pen/Yards 4-29 1-5

Individual statistics

Rushing

Wichita Heights: Dreamius Smith 13-70, Delmonte Ross 10-12, Daniel Deshazer 3-6, Jerry Jones 3-4, Matt Reed 9-(-6), John Moreland 4-(-23). Olathe North: James Franklin 32-269, Victor Simmons 11-62, Adonis Saunders 1-9, Tre Walker 2-2, David Blazevic 1-1.

Passing

Wichita Heights: Reed 2-7-0 18, Moreland 2-4-0 26. Olathe North: Blazevic 4-6-1 86, Simmons 0-1-0 0.

Receiving

Wichita Heights: Smith 2-16, Steven Strand 1-15, Lewis Taylor 1-13. Olathe North: Jason Peete 2-45, Kyle Swartz 2-41.

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