Weekly Recap 2015: Week 4

Kind of a boring week unless you love blowouts. Nonetheless, there is plenty to take away from these games!

The Good

Photo by LJWorld, 2015

* Olathe Northwest (3-1) won't succeed without a playoff berth, but winning three of their first four games doesn't hurt in the least. The Ravens also notched their first win against rival Olathe South in convincing fashion.

* Olathe North got to open up the playbook this week, as QB Matt Wright threw for 4 passing touchdowns. Three of those touchdowns went to WR Isaiah Simmons. I swear Matt Wright is covering himself in oil or something because I've yet to see him get taken down by the first tackler. You will know what I mean if you get to see him play this year. It's crazy. 

* The streak of 40+ point games continues for SM East who exploded in the second quarter and cruised to a 41-21  win over SM West.

The Bad

* The streak of 40+ point games continues for SM East who exploded in the second half and won 41-21 over SM West. Seriously, this may be good for the Lancers, but the remaining Shawnee Mission schools have been obliterated the last three weeks and I kinda doubt SM North is going to stop another sweep of the school district. Considering that is almost half the SFL, that doesn't bode well for the other league teams once the playoffs come around.

* The lower half of the league is looking down and out now. Usually there's one or two teams in the bottom six that look interesting, but who is there that really looks like a threat? The Indians and Cougars have some offense but it doesn't matter when you give up 40+ points per game.

Trending UP

▲Olathe Northwest - The Ravens are off to one of their best starts and were one storm away from being 4-0. HC Chip Sherman has been working his magic and I wouldn't doubt they will enter district at 5-1. Now that I look at their schedule, a 7-2 regular season isn't impossible if they can find a way to beat the Lions or Eagles. 

▲ Shawnee Mission East - What can I say? The Lancers played their first big opponent of the season and still came with a 21-point win over SM West. Things don't get easier against Lawrence Free State next week, but I'm fairly confident a 9-0 season can be expected again. Obviously nothing will change in their ranking; but, they definitely made a statement this week and the opportunity to make another is knocking at their door.

Trending DOWN

▼ Shawnee Mission North - I suppose a 3-6 record is still possible assuming Wyandotte (0-4) is as bad as usual, but is a 3-7 (what playoff team would they beat?) record really the best this team can muster? I want to say no but there isn't much to take away from these losses.

▼ Shawnee Mission West - It was looking good at first, but the Vikings couldn't catch up and let SM East (4-0) run away with it in the end. On the bright side, they were actually on the losing end of the closest game this week. That's somewhat impressive considering the opponent.

Power Rankings:

1. -- Shawnee Mission East (4-0) - They beat the first of sadly two big opponents this year by three scores and showed off the flexbone in all its glory once again. I'll say Free State (1-3) is still a threat, but 9-0 should be the expectation from here on out.

2.  -- Lawrence (4-0) - The offense returned in force this week against an inferior SM Northwest squad and came away with 40+ points for the second time this season (third game with 30+). A gimme game against SM South stands between them and a run through the Olathe schools. I would normally call that the gauntlet but this year... not so much.

3. ▲1  Olathe North (3-1) - A very nice win for the Eagles' homecoming game. The Eagles were able to open up the passing game this week and showed off the speed of their receivers and the mobility of QB Matt Wright.

4. ▲1 Olathe Northwest (3-1) - 1-11 isn't really the best record to have against a rival, but boy that win must feel sweet now. The Ravens got just their third shutout since 2011 and a couple more could be expected this year considering how well the defense is playing. ONW is giving up just 7.25 points per game this year. SM East is giving up 1o.25 points. Sheesh.

5. ▼2 Shawnee Mission West (3-1) - The Vikings did well to score 21 against he SM East starters, but giving up the lead early spelled doom for them in what ended up being not that close of a game. This is still a good team, but Olathe North/Northwest were both impressive.

6. -- Lawrence Free State (1-3) - Finally! The Firebirds finally got their first win of the season and oh boy was it a doozy. They did what good teams need to do and blewout/shutout a team that was clearly inferior and made a statement while doing it. Can they do the same next week against SM East (4-0)? I'd say the chance of a win is 17:1. What? They beat 5A Leavenworth (0-4), let's not get ahead of ourselves.

7. -- Olathe East (2-2) - These guys went from one of the struggling offenses in the league to scoring the most points in a game this season. Nicely done. A similar result can be expected against SM Northwest (1-3) next week now that the offense has found some life through the air.

8.  ▼1  Olathe South (1-3) - Deja vu, huh? I'm sure one of these two teams will win another game. Let's hope it's a sprint to that win and not a marathon.

9.  ▼1 SM Northwest (1-3) - Second verse, same as the first! You could add SM North into this race, but they would feel like a third wheel on this bicycle that already has some spokes missing as it is.

10. -- Shawnee Mission North (1-3) -  The Indians need to at least slow opposing offenses down to come even close to a winning record. I'm not seeing much from them anymore besides a 4-5 ceiling and a playoff berth.

11. -- Leavenworth (0-4) - The poor Pioneers got one of the worst league schedules this year and the last. We can still hope the beatings will toughen them up enough for 5A competition, but getting shutout has to hurt. 0-5 in league play is the probable outcome this year but hopefully, next year's schedule will prove a little more merciful?

12. -- Shawnee Mission South (0-4) - I wasn't aware that the Raiders had such a tiny team. I swear I saw about 10 lineman on the entire varsity squad. There actually was one bright note though. SM South was able to score on a 85-95 yd. kickoff return on their second possessio (Sure, the first possession ended after a terrible swing pass that lost them a chunk of yards... eh).