Tailback Darren Sproles ran for 317 yards to propel top-ranked Olathe North. The Firebirds' Nate Vail threw for 107 yards and ran for 66 in his first varsity start at quarterback.
Class 6A's three-time defending state champion might be on its way to becoming a four-time defending state champion.
No. 1-ranked Olathe North racked up 439 total yards -- including 317 by junior tailback Darren Sproles -- in holding off No. 3 Free State High, 28-21, in the season-opening Sunflower League game for both teams Friday night at Olathe District Activities Center.
"I don't think anybody can come close to Olathe North through the league," said Free State coach Bob Lisher, who saw his team held to 319 total yards. "If they continue to play like that, they'll probably go through the rest of the schedule undefeated. They are a good football team."
If Olathe North (1-0 overall, 1-0 league) is a good football team, then Sproles is a great running back. Not only did the Eagles' junior tailback out-gain the entire Firebirds squad, but also accumulated over half of his total yards from a year ago (615).
Sproles even set a total offense record against the Free State defense, eclipsing the player he played back-up to last year -- Beno Gore, who had 183 yards on 26 carries against the Firebirds a year ago.
Sproles had touchdown runs -- with more twists and turns than a pretzel factory -- of 24, 71 and 60 yards.
"I'll guarantee you we're not going to face a better back in the state of Kansas than Darren Sproles," Lisher said. "He's better than what I've ever had to coach against -- by far. And I've coached against some good backs.
"I mean, Beno Gore was good, but this kid is better."
Free State senior wide receiver-free safety Brian Erb, who led the team with 12 tackles, couldn't agree more.
"He's quick," Erb said of Sproles, shaking his head in disbelief. "We played against Beno last year and Beno put a couple moves on me. But Sproles, I think, cuts better and is faster than Beno.
"Beno is a little bigger, but Sproles can cut on a dime."
Free State (0-1, 0-1) was able to mount a ground game of its own, compiling 212 yards on 42 carries.
Senior running back Jake Lawrence led the way with 102 yards on 12 carries and had two catches for 39 yards. He also had a seven-yard touchdown run where he carried two Eagles into the end zone, and a 48-yard scamper where he displayed his patented breakaway speed.
Free State senior Chris Wheatley had 37 hard-fought yards on 16 carries and senior quarterback Nate Vail accounted for 66 yards on 12 carries while keeping the option.
"I felt like we were ready," said Olathe North Gene Wier, who had the score of last year's defeat against Free State posted on the scoreboard all week during practice. "They still ran the ball on us, things that we'd worked on. They do a good job and that's a good football team. They're going to win a lot of games.
"They've got some weapons, they're well-coached and we feel pretty good about beating them."
Vail completed eight of 18 passes for 107 yards and an interception in his first varsity start at quarterback and also had an eight-yard touchdown toss to senior tight end T.K. Peterson.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in here," Vail said. "We just wanted to come in and try to run our stuff successfully. For the most part we did. We thought we put up a pretty good fight. It was a heck of a game."
Free State actually was tied with Olathe North, 21-21, after Lawrence's 48-yard TD run down the left sideline with 3:06 remaining. But the Eagles answered with a four-play, 78-yard drive that was capped by Sproles' 60-yard TD with 1:19 to play.
"I can't emphasize enough how proud I am of our football team, just three years old," Lisher said. "Look what these seniors almost got accomplished tonight. They were so close to taking the No. 1 team down at their home.
"If you're a competitor, you don't want to lose the football game. Let's be honest, everybody comes out to win. With two minutes to go we had an opportunity to win against a very good team."
Free State returns home Friday to play host to Olathe South. Kickoff for that Sunflower League contest is 7 p.m. at Haskell Stadium.
-- Robert Sinclair's phone message number is 832-7185. His e-mail address is rsinclair@ljworld.com.
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