Showdown in Olathe: Olathe North vs Olathe West

On Friday night Olathe North played Olathe West in a very exciting game between two rivals in Johnson County.  Olathe North came away with a 21-17 victory.  There were several players on both teams who played well.  Here are the top 5. Alex Birge QB Olathe West The 6'1 185 lb Senior QB had a great game on Friday night.  He finished with 204 yards passing with a TD and an INT as well as 25 carries for 145 yards on the ground with a rushing TD.  He possesses a quick release and shows the ability to deliver an accurate ball on short, intermediate and deep passes.  He shows very good presence in the pocket as he feels the blitz coming and is athletic enough to escape the rush.  He is a dual threat Quarterback who on zone reads and option runs, effectively uses his play speed and athletic ability to outrun LB and DL for big gains.  He is a very tough player who isn't afraid to lower his shoulder in his attempt to run over LB and DB and possesses the play strength to drag multiple defenders while rushing for a 1st down. Jacob Parrish RB/DB Olathe North The 5'10 165 lb Junior RB/DB looked great on both sides of the ball on Friday night.  On offense, he had 57 yards on 13 carries and caught 2 passes for 43 yards and on defense he made 13 tackles, 2 pass deflections with an interception at the end of the game to seal the victory for Olathe North.  Shows good vision as he makes good decisions about choosing which hole to run through and uses his quickness and agility to elude defenders.  As a receiver he uses his football intelligence to read the coverage, his athletic ability to separate and shows good hands as he makes on target catches with his hands with ease.  As a defender, he plays at a low pad level and effectively uses his play strength in his lower body to drive through the ball carrier for the tackle.  Shows very good ball skills as he tracks the ball in the air and catches the ball at its highest point and comes down with the interception. Aquantez Love RB Olathe North The 6'1 185 lb Junior RB played a big part in Olathe North's victory,  He finished with 60 yards rushing on 8 carries and a TD.  He shows very good burst through the hole and accelerates to top speed quickly easily outrunning the defenders for a TD.  He displays very good physical toughness and he runs through defenders and falls forward for a couple of extra yards.  He is a very effective blocker as he uses his very good play strength to pancake DB and LB while paving the way for the QB to run for long gains on option runs. Luke Bishop WR Olathe West The 6'2 191 lb Junior WR made several big plays for Olathe West during the game.  He finished with 4 receptions for 95 yards giving him an excellent 23.75 ypc for the game.   Shows good hip fluidity breaking off his stem at a 45 degree angle on slant routes while using his play speed to get behind defenders when going deep. Shows very good hands as he possesses the manual dexterity needed to make off target catches with ease and is reliable as 3 of his 4 receptions on Friday night led to a 1st down. Carter Lahmeyer DE Olathe North The 6'4 240 lb senior DE looked outstanding against Olathe West.  During the game, he had 7 tackles and a sack.  He shows excellent quickness off the ball as he beats the OT with his speed, uses his motor and play speed while in pursuit of the QB and his play strength bringing him down with force.  Against the run, he uses his football intelligence to key and diagnose the play, his play strength and physical toughness to shed the block, and uses his good leverage, play strength and form tackling ability to make the tackle.