One of the primary storylines surrounding Week 3 of the Kansas high school football season is the large sample of games pitting Kansas schools against Missouri schools.
More specifically, we shift our focus to the Kansas City area where the first installment of the Sunflower-Suburban Showdown will take place. Last fall, the Sunflower League of Kansas and the Suburban Conference of Missouri announced a two-year agreement to match teams from respective leagues in a football showcase.
The Sunflower-Suburban Showdown consists of 10 games featuring teams from the Sunflower League against teams from the Suburban Conference. Missouri teams will play their fifth game this week, while Kansas teams are entering Week 3.
Games in the Sunflower-Suburban Showdown include:
Thursday – September 15th
Blue Springs South (Mo.) (2-2) at Olathe North (1-1) -- at Olathe District Athletic Center (ODAC)
Olathe North rebounded from a season-opening loss at surging Wichita Heights by edging Olathe South, 21-20 after stopping a two-point conversion attempt after a late Falcon touchdown. Meanwhile, Blue Springs South continues to receive votes in the Missouri Class 6 rankings. The Jaguars have shown good balance on offense with a 60%/40% run/pass split. Even more so, Blue Springs South has four different backs with more than 20 carries on the season. Quarterback Camden Sprouse has thrown for 551 yards, but has been intercepted seven times.
Grandview (Mo.) (0-4) at Shawnee Mission Northwest (0-2) – at SM North
Shawnee Mission Northwest will host Grandview in a battle of winless teams. Northwest has opened with road losses at Lawrence (50-20) and at Shawnee Mission East (48-6). Grandview is winless in four games this season. The Bulldogs are averaging just over 10 points per game while giving up almost 34 per game.
Lee’s Summit North (Mo.) (0-4) at Olathe Northwest (0-2) – College Boulevard Athletic Center (CBAC)
Olathe Northwest is off to a heartbreaking start in 2016. The Ravens dropped a 27-26 double overtime game at Goddard to open the season, and fell 20-14 at Olathe East in overtime last week. Lee’s Summit North is also winless. The Broncos feature DaRon Davis (6-1, 190), a standout athlete that is committed to Missouri. In three games this season, Davis has 28 receptions for 261 yards.
Shawnee Mission South (0-2) at Winnetonka (Mo.) (0-4) – at North Kansas City
Another battle of winless teams will take place when Shawnee Mission South takes on Winnetonka. The South Raiders have only scored one touchdown this season and have given up 38 in each of their first two games. Meanwhile, Winnetonka is 0-4 this season and also struggling to put points on the board. The Griffins have scored just 20 total points in four games and have given up nearly 39 points per game.
Friday – September 16th
Class 6 #2 Blue Springs (Mo.) (3-1) at Class 6A No. 5 Shawnee Mission West (2-0) – at SM South
Shawnee Mission West is ranked No. 5 in Kansas Class 6A, while Blue Springs is ranked No. 3 in Missouri Class 6. The SM West Vikings have posted a 41-40 win at Lawrence Free State and won 40-17 at Leavenworth. Quarterback Zach Witters put up 523 yards of total offense in the win over Free State, and completed 8 of 9 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns last week. Blue Springs’ lone loss came 26-21 at Fayetteville (Ark). The Wildcats rebounded last week with a 42-25 win over Park Hill. Blue Springs tight end Tanner Taula (6-6, 210) has several FCS offers.
Lawrence (2-0) at Lee’s Summit West (Mo.) (2-2)
Lawrence will travel to Lee’s Summit West to take on the Titans. The Titans are led by junior back Phillip Brooks who has 356 rushing yards and three scores. Quarterback Cole Taylor has passed for 601 yards and eight touchdowns. Lawrence High senior back Trey Moore has rushed for 405 yards and has scored seven total touchdowns in the Chesty Lions’ two wins.
Lawrence Free State (1-1) at Park Hill (Mo.) (2-2)
Free State will get the challenge of trying to block perhaps the top rated player in the Kansas City metro. Park Hill is led by 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end Chester Graves who has a list of some 20 division one offers. Graves has already registered 44 tackles, including 9 for loss and a sack. Trojan junior quarterback Billy Maples has completed 70 percent of his passes for 655 yards and five touchdowns. Quinton Harris has 17 catches for 334 yards and two scores. The Trojans fell 42-25 to Blue Springs last week. Free State rebounded from a heartbreaking, 41-40 loss to Shawnee Mission West by shutting out Shawnee Mission South, 38-0.
Class 4 #4 Liberty (4-0) at Olathe East (1-1) – CBAC
Olathe East’s challenge will be to try and slow down Liberty junior running back Robert Rawie. Rawie (6-0, 175) has rushed for 1,121 yards and 14 touchdowns already this season and is averaging 280 yards per game on the ground. Liberty is ranked No. 4 in Missouri Class 4. After losing 41-13 at Hutchinson in Week 1, the young Olathe East team came back to edge Olathe Northwest 20-14 in overtime last week.
Class 6 #10 Lee’s Summit (Mo.) (3-1) at Olathe South (0-2) – ODAC
Blue Springs’ lone loss came in a 57-43 shootout at Blue Springs back in Week 1. The Tigers are led by senior quarterback Dalton Hill who has completed 66 percent of his passes for 759 yards and eight touchdowns. Hill is also the Tigers’ leading rusher with 315 yards and three scores. After being blown out against Shawnee Mission East in Week 1, Olathe South scored late but failed to convert a two-point conversion attempt in a 21-20 loss to Olathe North.
Leavenworth (0-2) at North Kansas City (1-3)
The Hornets will ride the momentum of their first win into a home matchup with Leavenworth. North Kansas City defeated Oak Park 37-12 last week. Leavenworth has dropped a 30-28 decision to nearby rival Lansing in Week 1, before being beaten 40-17 by Shawnee Mission West last week.
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Since the Sunflower League has 12 members, two schools, Shawnee Mission East and Shawnee Mission North will not participate in the showcase this season. Shawnee Mission North will host Lansing, while Shawnee Mission East will take Rockhurst (Mo.) in another high-profile showdown.
6A No. 2 SM East at Class 6 Missiouri No. 5 Rockhurst (4-0)
Though it’s not part of the Sunflower-Suburban Showdown, the game doesn’t get any bigger than Shawnee Mission East at Rockhurst. The Lancers are ranked No. 2 in Kansas Class 6A, while the Hawklets are the No. 5 team in Missouri Class 6. Rockhurst opened with a 41-6 win over Columbia-Rock Bridge before surviving a 14-7 slugfest over Blue Springs South. The Hawklets then won at Bentonville (Ark.) 24-21 in overtime before shutting our Raymore-Peculiar 21-0 last week. Shawnee Mission East has cruised to blowout victories over Olathe South and Shawnee Mission Northwest.
Class 4 No. 8 Webb City (2-2) at Pittsburg (1-1)
Perhaps no other high school football program in the Midwest can match the success of the Webb City Cardinals in the past several years. Webb City has posted a ridiculous 142-6 record in the past 10 plus seasons. Coach John Roderique has posted a 240-24 record in his 20th season. But the Cardinals are off to uncharacteristic 2-2 start with losses to Carl Junction (Mo.) and Carthage (Mo.). Turnovers have hurt Webb City this season as the Cardinals have committed 14 turnovers in four games.The Cardinals average 271 yards per game on the ground led by senior Cameron Baker who has 407 yards and five touchdowns. Pittsburg and Webb City have split 28 meetings between the two schools in their history. The Cardinals and Purple Dragons haven’t met since the 2007 season; a 14-6 win by Webb City. Pittsburg handed Webb its last regular-season loss at Cardinal Stadium with a 20-13 win back in 2003.
Other Kansas versus Missouri games on the Week 3 schedule:
Hogan Prep (Mo.) (4-0) at KC Harmon (0-2)
Southeast-Cherokee (0-2) at Sarcoxie (Mo.) (3-1)
Marmaton Valley (2-0) at Greenfield (Mo.) (4-0)
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