Weekly Recap 2015: Week 5

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

The Good

Photo by KC Star, 2015

* IT HAPPENED! THE LANCERS HAVE BEEN VANQUISHED!

* Ahem... It is true that the Lancers' 17-game winning streak ended at the hands of Lawrence Free State. The win should quiet most people who doubted that the Firebirds were still able to compete with the best.

* Maybe the rocky start was just the fans overreacting? Olathe East has won three in a row and probably should've beat Olathe South in Week 2. Regardless, the Hawks are sitting pretty at 3-2 and play their fourth Shawnee Mission school in a row when they go to take on the Vikings.

The Bad

* There is currently a district that has a combined record of (18-3) including Olathe North's win yesterday. On the flip side, there are districts with records of (6-14), (5-15), and (7-14). The (5-15) district is comprised of Junction City (5-0), Wichita East (0-5), South (0-5), and Southeast (0-5). TWO of those teams will make the playoffs and TWO of the teams in the LAW/OE/ON/ONW district will be sitting at home when November comes around. The new system next year just got really appealing.

* The Weekly Pick 'Em challenge taking place on the Message Board has been rather quiet lately due to scheduling and the clear line dividing the top and lower halves of the league. It's difficult to pick an underdog when they get demolished every single week.

Trending UP

▲Olathe Northwest - It will be a terrible shame if this team doesn't make the playoffs. Despite the awesome start, these boys are still one of the two odd teams out in my eyes since they got stuck in the same district as Lawrence and Olathe North. They just need one upset and these guys are in. Until then, let's hope for a 5-1 record.

▲Lawrence Free State - The Firebirds finally got a win against one of the better teams in the state and did so by double digits. Both Bryce Torneden and Sam Skwarlo are just trucking through opposing defenses and at least one should have 1,000 yards rushing before the playoffs come around. 

Trending DOWN

▼ Olathe South - So can we just write off all the things I said about Olathe South earlier this year? The Falcons have lost three straight and are losing by and average of 32.5 points per game. I think they can beat the bottom Shawnee Mission schools, but that might be a stretch too.

▼ Shawnee Mission East - Let's not call 911 just yet. The Lancers lost to the best 1-3 team I've ever seen. Despite that, a loss is a loss and this one was by double digits. I'm confident a 8-1 record can be the expectation, but the Lancers don't seem as threatening at the moment. Maybe that can be a good thing later on?

Power Rankings:

1. ▲1 Lawrence (5-0) - The Lions just keep on trucking and hit SM South at full speed. They now have to survive the gauntlet that is the Olathe School district. Up first is the lesser of the four, Olathe South (1-4). J.D. Woods should be ready to eat come Friday.

2.  ▲1  Olathe North (5-0) - Another expected win was earned by the Eagles who are trucking through a cupcake league schedule. They get one more prep week before the hell they call a district. Vinnie Shabazz and Matt Wright are firing at full cylinders and they need to keep it going.

3. ▼2  Shawnee Mission East (4-1) - The Lancers lost to a 1-3 team and got ran over defensively for 334 yards. I'm not saying they're done for, but something clearly went wrong last week. The easy district should rebuild confidence heading into the playoffs.

4. -- Olathe Northwest (4-1) - If only they didn't have that district... They do have a good chance of upsetting Lawrence or Olathe North, but we are probably going to see a 2-7 team make it into the playoffs while a 7-2 or 6-3 team sits at home. I don't like the new system being put in, but at least this should be the last year we have to deal with this.

5.  ▲1 Lawrence Free State (2-3) - They beat the #1 team in the state and showed the world that the SM East defense isn't just a giant grey wall on the field.

6. ▼1 Shawnee Mission West (4-1) - They LOST to the #1 team in the state and losing by a smaller amount than the rest of the fallen doesn't sound so nice anymore. A big win over Olathe South (1-4) helps a little, but the district should give a better... oh wait, their district opponents are a combined (5-10). Well, Blue Valley North
(4-1) should be fun to watch on Week 9! 

7. -- Olathe East (3-2) - The Hawks are riding a good hot streak at the right time, but they need a little more firepower and diversity to compete with their district. A winning record at this point never hurt anybody though.

8.  -- Olathe South (1-4) - I want to believe this team is better than the Bottom 4! Just like SM North, this might actually be a playoff bound team given the district (5-10 record combined), but anything past that will be a shocker.

9.  -- SM Northwest (1-4) - The offense has sputter that last couple weeks and one of the best defenses in the league is paying the Cougars a visit this Friday. Yikes.

10. -- Shawnee Mission North (1-4) -  I'm not sure how reliable these scores are, because I've been hearing a lot of the points the Indians score come in the second halves when it's already over.

11. -- Leavenworth (0-5) - Let's hope the 5A district is as bad as we all think, these boys deserve a couple wins after all these beatings they had to endure. The Pioneers get one more hell week before they can hopefully compete again.

12. -- Shawnee Mission South (0-5) - SM South doesn't really have any upside. It's unfortunate but this tiny team can't really do anything this year and (0-9) is still the expectation.