Olathe South, Eudora, Bishop Miege advance in Kansas high school football postseason
Bryce Norenburg and Olathe South waltzed into the second round of the Kansas high school football playoffs with a 49-20 rout of Shawnee Mission South on Friday night.
The Falcons’ senior quarterback rushed for four touchdowns and had ample offensive help around him.
Olathe South (6-3) opened a 14-0 lead with a 44-yard touchdown run by Max Armstrong and Cooper Warren’s 8-yard score. Grant Jennings then hit the jets for a 70-yard Raiders touchdown.
That’s when Norenburg went to work. First he scored on runs of 40 and 44 yards. Then, right before halftime, his 4-yard keeper made it 35-7.
His 11-yard touchdown run in the second half — his 26th TD of the season — gave the Falcons a 42-14 advantage with 3:56 remaining. Armstrong’s second TD of the night rounded out the scoring for Olathe South.
The No. 4 seed on the East side of the Kansas Class 6A bracket, Olathe South will next play host to No. 5 Blue Valley Northwest (5-4) on Thursday night at the Olathe District Activities Center.
Eudora 28, Piper 14
Eudora used big plays and its typical ground-and-pound to wrap up a first-round playoff victory.
The Cardinals advanced to the second round of the Kansas Class 4A playoffs with touchdowns of 54 and 55 yards. Another big play gave the Cardinals a 21-7 lead and a long drive sealed the game.
Eudora struck early, with senior Matt Magette jetting for a 54-yard touchdown. Piper answered after a tipped punt on a five-yard quarterback keeper by Jack Bakarich.
The Cardinals took the lead for good when senior Braylen Hoobler ran untouched for a 55-yard TD in the second quarter. Quarterback Kole Manley ran for 45 yards and then scored on a keeper of his own to make it 21-7.
Piper got it to 21-14 after Bakarich went deep to Tannar McDaniel. The junior wideout’s touchdown with time running short in the third quarter amounted to the final points that the Pirates would score.
Eudora’s final masterpiece was a 10-play, 52-yard drive that culminated with Manley’s four-yard rushing TD. The Cardinals (5-4) next play at No. 1 East seed Atchison (9-0); that game is next Friday.
Bishop Miege 21, St. James 17
The defending 4A state champs nearly suffered a first-round knockout. But Bishop Miege came off the ropes in time to oust the EKL rival Thunder.
The Stags, who won six straight state titles from 2014-19 and hoisted the trophy again last season, looked to be in trouble at halftime, trailing St. James 14-0.
The Thunder got touchdowns from seniors Spencer Dohm and Ben Wheeler, and that scoreline held up through most of the third quarter.
But Miege (8-1) broke through with a touchdown pass from Marco Rodriguez to Howard Peoples with 3:44 remaining in the period. Rodriguez’s second TD pass, this time a 25-yarder to Cole Wofford, tied the game at 14.
The Thunder retook the lead on a field goal with 7:19 left, but Miege countered with a methodical march to win it. Andre Randle’s one-yard touchdown plunge with 3:59 to go. The Thunder’s final shot was thwarted by a sack from Miege’s Devyn Davis.
The Stags now face another rival — St. Thomas Aquinas (6-3) — next Friday night at Dixon Doll Stadium.
For playoff brackets, stats, recaps, online broadcasts and more, visit 810Varsity.com.
