Game Preview: Football vs. Olathe East

This week the Lancers (4-0) will take on Olathe East (1-3) in their Homecoming weekend game at SM South. The Lancers will be looking to stay undefeated after a historic win against Olathe South last week. After playing Olathe East this week, East will also become the first team in the Shawnee Mission School District to play all four Olathe teams consecutively in one season. The Lancers will be entering the game at the the top of the Sunflower League and with a lot of momentum, but with a target on their backs.

“We got to celebrate our win Friday,” senior David Sosna said. “But Saturday we came in to work hard, and had a tough practice. We knew that we’re not done yet, and that we couldn’t be satisfied with just one big win.”

On the other side, Olathe East is entering the game ranked seventh in the Sunflower League. The Hawks have lost their past two games, and their only win on the season was against Olathe Northwest. This week they will have to get a lot out of their junior running back, Hayden Frazier. Frazier has 560 yards and six touchdowns on the season, and will be the main challenge for the Lancer defense.

Defensively, the Lancers have been solid all year long. The Lancers have only allowed 31 points against in four games, and have two shutouts. The Lancers will try to pack it in to stop the Hawk’s run game. The Lancers’ defensive line and linebackers senior Patrick Blackburn and seniors Sam and David Stewart twins will have immense impact on the game.

Jake Crandall | Harbinger Online

For the Lancers’ offense, we will get another good look at senior quarterback Jordan Darling. Although we didn’t see a touchdown from the star quarterback last week in what was a great defensive game, Darling has thrown for 722 yards and five touchdowns (third in the Sunflower League) this season. The Lancers will attempt to spread out the Hawks, finding senior Connor Rellihan, who has 384 yards receiving and four touchdowns, and mismatches with Sosna. A strong run game from Blackburn should open up the pass game as well.