Olpe overcomes 1st-half fumble woes, goes on to beat Lyndon, 31-10
Olpe Eagles set to take on St. Marys in State semifinals
By Jesse Newell
Saturday, November 11, 2006
LYNDON — Luckily for the Olpe Eagles, the fumble blues only lasted a half.
After coughing it up three times — and losing two of those fumbles — the Eagles played a clean second half to take control in a 31-10 victory over Lyndon.
“That kind of stuff really hurts, but fortunately we bounced back at halftime there,” Olpe coach Mike Plunkett said. “Those kids have played hard for us all year long.”
The win puts Olpe in the semifinals of the 2-1A state tournament, where it will face St. Marys next Friday.
The Bears upset powerhouse St. Mary-Colgan, 22-15, in Pittsburg on Friday.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Eagles against Lyndon.
After a three-and-out to start the game, Dallas Burenheide’s punt was blocked by Kade Neilson, who scooped up the ball and ran it to the Olpe 3.
Just as it has all year, the Eagle defense stood its ground.
Neilson went backwards a yard in two carries, and Shea Kirsop ran a third-down play for no gain as Lyndon settled for a 21-yard Alex Walsh field goal.
“They stepped up, and they did what they had to do,” Plunkett said. “This crew has been doing that all year long.”
Olpe responded on its next drive, with the key play coming when Seth Pargman snatched a Tanner Coble pass away from Lyndon’s Quinton Testerman for a 32-yard gain to the Tiger 1.
Drew Pettijohn found the end zone on the next play to help give Olpe a 7-3 advantage.
Lyndon still managed to go into half with the momentum — and also the lead.
On a third-and-4, quarterback Shea Kirsop found Reed Niemack on a crossing pattern. The senior wide receiver did the rest, cutting upfield and turning the short pass into a 51-yard touchdown reception with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter.
Anders Videbaek’s extra-point made it 10-7 — a lead that would carry over into the break.
The Tigers suffered from their own fumble blues at the beginning of the second half.
After receiving the kickoff, a fumble on their first offensive play was recovered by Olpe.
“That was huge,” Olpe running back Colton Stueve said. “That got us right back into the game.”
Three plays later, Pettijohn scored for a second time, rumbling over the left-side for a 20-yard touchdown run.
Olpe’s ground game took control from there.
Pettijohn added a third touchdown on the next Eagle possession, breaking three tackles on a 7-yard run to the right side.
After a 36-yard Burenheide field goal, Colton Stueve was rewarded with a score of his own.
The senior contributed a 15-yard touchdown run, extending his arms on a dive past the goal line to help Olpe to a 31-10 advantage.
“Our line really got fired up in the second half,” Stueve said, “to come out and make some hits.”
It showed in the statistics. Colton Stueve rushed for 98 yards in the second half, while Pettijohn added 51.
“I just think the kids came out with a lot of grit and energy in the second half and wanted it really bad,” Plunkett said. “Things just fell our way.”
Stueve finished with 22 carries for 123 yards to lead the Eagles. Pettijohn added 13 rushes for 61 yards and the three scores.
Lyndon was led statistically by Shea Kirsop, who completed 4 of 12 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers never could get their ground game going against the Eagle defense, gaining just 52 yards on 33 carries.
Lyndon ends its season after a surprise run to the State quarterfinals, upsetting both Immaculata and Centralia before falling on Friday.
“I came into the huddle and said, ‘Don’t hang your heads. I’m really proud of you. You guys did a great job,’” Lyndon coach Damon Leiss said. “Nobody expected us to get this far.”
The Tigers finished with a 7-5 record.
“This year we knocked on the door,” Leiss said. “Next year, we’re going to kick the door in.”
Olpe (12-0) will travel to St. Marys (8-4) next Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup. The winner will advance to the State Championship on Nov. 25 in Hays.
Silver Lake 20, Burlington 14
Burlington could not hold onto a 7-0 halftime lead over top-ranked Silver Lake in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A State playoffs in Burlington Friday night.
The Silver Lake Eagles erased the halftime deficit with three touchdowns after the break and held off a late Burlington rally to move into the semifinals with a 20-14 victory.
Burlington jumped on top early with a 32-yard pass from Corey Smith to Nathan Watts that made it 7-0.
That was all the scoring the game would see until Silver Lake struck with two touchdowns by Josh Baden on runs of 4 and 9 yards to give the Eagles the lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Silver Lake quarterback Tyler Roberts hit Marty Pfannenstiel on a 6-yard TD score in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles up, 20-7.
Burlington scored one last time on an 18-yard TD strike from Smith to Watts, but the Wildcats would get no closer.
Despite Burlington running 77 plays to Silver Lake’s 40 and outgaining the Eagles 288-187, Silver Lake still managed to come away with the victory.
Burlington finished its season with a 9-3 record.