Ultimate Roadtrip: Week 4

I'll be taking a note from ESPN's Big XII team and talk about the games that I think will highlight each week and which ones will be the best to attend! This list will be based on the teams playing, the stadium, the possible implications of the game, and of course how rowdy and exciting the atmosphere will be! Of course, these games will be based on my pre-season thoughts on each team so the best games for each week might change as time moves forward. 

NOTE: I will try to avoid adding venues outside of the Sunflower League unless a game truly becomes a can't miss situation. That means no Garden City, Blue Valley, or other schools of the sort.

Crowd-Pleasers (Runner-Ups)

Olathe Northwest @ Olathe South
Location: ODAC, Olathe, KS

Date: September 25th, 2015 7:00PM

The Ravens will be tested early in the season and might enter
this game trying to right the ship.
Photo by the KC Star

Both teams will have been tested against very good teams and there's a good chance neither one will have a perfect record going into the midpoint of the season. I believe the Ravens are either at or near that tipping point that launches them into the upper half of the league while Olathe South is fighting to stay relevant following a huge hit to graduation.

My point; both teams really need to have good seasons this year and there are only so many wins to go around in the Sunflower League. Beating an in-town rival is something that both schools need to show their players that they can compete with anybody. That means that you can expect both sides to come out with their teeth bared.

Lawrence Free State @ Leavenworth

Location: Pioneer Stadium, Leavenworth, KS

Date: September 25th, 2015 7:00PM

Assuming Leavenworth has done well up to this point, this game could be just as interesting as when Lawrence High came to visit two weeks prior. The Pioneers are in a similar position as Olathe Northwest and are clawing to enter the top half of the league. They showed progress last year but still ended up 1-4 against Sunflower League opponents. What makes this interesting is the one team they beat last year: Lawrence Free State. It's not like it was some flip up either. The only Sunflower League game the Pioneers lost horribly in was a 41-17 loss to SM East.

The Pioneers are so agonizingly close to being contenders in the Sunflower League and winning this game should be a statement to how much the program has changed in such a short amount of time. I would flip a coin on this game and the Lawrence High match-up if you only want to make the trek to Pioneer Stadium once this year.

The Pioneers made a huge upset last year.
They won't be considered an underdog now.
Photo by LJWorld

Ultimate Roadtrip: Week 4

SM East @ SM West

Location: SMSDS, Shawnee, KS

Date: September 25th, 2015 7:00PM

 

This was kind of a quiet week in terms of top of the league play. Out of all six games being played, this was easily the top one on my list. Both teams have a chance to enter this game at 3-0 and if so, this might be one of the top five games of the entire year. There really isn't much more to say about this because the fact that it's these teams speaks enough for itself. I just hope both teams live up to their expectations and make this the game I expect it to be.

HC Dustin Delaney shouldn't disappoint this year
despite some key losses.
Photo by John Sleezer, KC Star

Even if you don't care for either team, any football enthusiast needs to watch the flex-bone at least once in their life. I know that it's not exactly uncommon in high school, but for the Sunflower League... you don't see it very much.