Olathe North’s run of ten straight quarters without allowing a point may have come to an end on Friday night at the Olathe District Activities Complex, but the most important stat of all remained intact and that’s an unblemished record as the Eagles improved to 3-0 on the season with a 21-7 victory over Lawrence Free State.
A contest which ultimately exuded Olathe North’s signature toughness and power along both lines of scrimmage, the first half of play left more to be desired from the reigning 6A semifinalists after head coach Chris McCartney’s club was able to cash in only once on an 11-yard touchdown scamper from senior Jacob Parrish.
“We had some late and had some early in the first half too,” McCartney recalled afterwards of stalled offensive drives. “But we responded, and I was happy that we came out of the funk and really happy with the way we finished.”
“We needed a character check,” the head coach added. “It didn’t look good at times - our body language. Coming out of the locker room it was poor and they drove the ball down that first drive and we gave up a touchdown.”
After senior signal caller Jet Dineen darted down the visiting sideline for more than 30 yards to set up an easy touchdown and tie the game 7-7 with 8:24 left in the third quarter, senior quarterback/safety Noah Palmer admitted it set the Eagles straight.
“We got shocked that we got scored on,” said the gutsy veteran, who scored one of North’s three touchdowns on the night. “I think it flipped a switch and we came out and did better.”
“We’re fighters,” Palmer continued. “The whole team rallies around one player, no matter who gets the ball. We just keep going.”
And in terms of rallying around a player, there’s little debating that star for Week 3 was Parrish.
From a deep first quarter catch at 6:16 that announced his presence to a 33-yard touchdown run (his second on the night) that opened the fourth quarter, No. 10 was the playmaker the Firebirds struggled to contain.
“He’s not huge or anything like that but he’s tough,” described McCartney of his 2021 standout. “He has a huge heart and plays hard. Whatever it takes he’s willing to do it.”
“Super helpful,” Palmer said with a smile when asked about the advantage Parrish brings to both offense and defense. “Jacob is a phenomenal athlete. I love him. I can’t complain.”
For Free State, who suffers its first loss of the season, the contest proved they’re a very legitimate contender in the Sunflower League race.
Though the Eagles defense stood strong when it mattered most on numerous fourth downs, including two in the fourth quarter with Olathe North’s heels inside their own 15, those stops weren’t without valiant drives by the opponents from Lawrence.
Still, ask head coach Kevin Stewart about any moral victories from this contest and the second-year leader rejects the idea.
“I think we know we’re a good team,” Stewart said. “I have respect for [Olathe North] and it’s a measuring stick game, but at the same time you want to win.”
“We have to execute better on offense,” he adds. “We went for it on fourth down a couple times, which was probably a bit of a gamble, but I thought our defense was playing well at the time.”
“I feel like we could’ve beat those guys.”
Stewart and Free State will have a chance to get back on the winning side next week when they host reeling Gardner Edgerton.
For McCartney and North, the head coach says the team will strive to clean up penalties, which have emerged as one of the lone problems for the Eagles, as they look forward to a date versus 2-1 Olathe West next week.
