Weekly Recap 2015: Week 2

Rainy, cloudy, and a beautiful Friday night to allow us to forget Thursdays stormy weather!

The Good

Photo by LJWorld, 2015

* Defeating the Indians for the 13th consecutive game was huge for the SM Northwest Cougars. Underestimating an opponent is the worst thing a team can do prior to game night and I can safely say that just about everybody is guilty of writing this team off. With four new Head Coaches in the mix, anything can happen on any given night. Bo Black's play calling and the play execution of game plan worked in their favor and the result was another great offensive night.

* Two weeks in and the SM East Lancers have already put up 94 points on the scoreboard and shut out their first two opponents. The 2004 Lancers were the last team to have back-to-back shutouts under John Stonner in District play defeating Wyandotte and Harmon 21-0 in both games.

*This isn't SFL related, but I want to give props to the KC Harmon for snapping their 31-game losing streak by beating Topeka Highland Park 30-26 (KC Harmon's last win was against Wyandotte on October 7th, 2011).

The Bad

* I have the SM South Raiders ranked near/at the bottom of the league, but the fact that they've given up 71 points in just two weeks is very disappointing. The offense is actually in a bigger need of improvement considering they have only scored 8 points in the first two games of the season.
The Raiders defense spent a majority of the game on the field trying to contain Wyatt Edmisten, Mike Bamford, and QB Luke Kaiser.

* The two SM South Raiders students who found themselves on the field during the game. Best of luck to you in your conduct as students representing the SMSD #512. Uncalled for, as someone could have been harmed, Referee, Coach, Player, Parent assisting the Band on site etc. Either last season, or the 2013 season SM East Assistant Principal Jeremy Higgins landed the tackle of the week on another South student running on to the field. The Raiders have a great Administration and I have faith they will handle this the right way.

* My ability to learn how to get pics up of the games I am at! Work in progress folks, learning along the way! - Kevin

Trending UP

 ▲ SM Northwest - I've been hearing that the Cougs have thrown for around 650 yards? What? Is that even a thing in any school besides SM North in this league? I didn't think this team would score much at all and here we are with these guys scoring 72 points in two games.





▲ Lawrence High - SM Northwest was impressive scoring 72 points, but Lawrence outdid them a little more by scoring 76. While both teams are a little bit away from competing with the Lancers for top scoring offense, the Lions have definitely shown that they mean business. 





▲ Offenses - The Sunflower League has scored a combined 573 points in the first two weeks. In the same time last year, the league scored 502. Both years have been good for certain teams but this amount of scoring is just incredible.

Trending DOWN

▼ Lawrence Free State - If any team is being put through the wringer to start the year, it's the Firebirds. Free State has lost to both SM West and Olathe North in heartbreaking fashion and start the season (0-2); the first time they've lost their first two games in over 8 years.




▼ Leavenworth - Off to a cold start, unlike the 2014 season. At 1-1 in the same time span last year, the Pioneers showed quite the upstart for a once struggling program. The next few days will be crucial as Leavenworth prepares to take on Olathe Northwest (1-1) who is already showing us what they are capable of.

Power Rankings:

1. -- Shawnee Mission East (2-0) - They haven't given up a point in two games while scoring 94. SM Northwest will need some divine help this week.

2.  ▲1 Lawrence (2-0) - I want to say Lawrence has played better competition, so they can be considered pretty close to SM East for now. If they play like they have been and destroy rival Lawrence Free State, they can expect that final little push up the rankings.

3. ▼1 Shawnee Mission West (2-0) - I think the weather saved this team, Olathe NW was up 12-0 when the game was delayed a day for weather. They still won though, so there's that. Let's see how they do against SM North.

4.▲3 Olathe North (1-1) - We're still not completely sure where the Eagles will stand when November comes around, but they definitely showed off their athletic ability.

5. -- Lawrence Free State (0-2) - The Firebirds played a good game but couldn't pull out the win. I'm still very confident that they will play well, it'll just take a week or so for them to climb back up... again.

6. ▼2 Olathe Northwest (1-1) - Just like SM West's position, I think Olathe Northwest had a much better chance if the weather hadn't played a role. However, a loss is a loss.

7.  ▲3 Olathe South (1-1) - I still wonder how much of a down year it is for Olathe South. They're pretty much even with SM Northwest right now until next week when they play Olathe North.

8. ▲3 SM Northwest (1-1) - Maybe the Cougars are going to be the program to watch this year? Maybe.

9. -- Olathe East (0-2) - As much as some fans hate it, you need to score points to win games. The Hawks seemed to do well defensively until Olathe South ate up almost an entire quarter in one drive.

10. ▼4 Shawnee Mission North (1-1) - It still feels like the Indians had actually won a game against SMNW. 

11. ▼3 Leavenworth (0-2) - That Week 1 win they let slip away is going to hurt with every loss that comes before districts. Is  a 4-5 record still possible? We'll see once each team grows into its own form.

12. -- Shawnee Mission South (0-2) - We've been talking about offense for this entire post... well Shawnee Mission South has played two games where we saw 79 points scored. Unfortunately, only 8 of those were scored by the Raiders.