Top Performers from Lawrence vs. Olathe North

What a finish to one of the most anticipated matchups from the Sunflower League this season. Two storied 6A programs faced off as the <em>Hy-Vee</em> <em>Game of the Week</em>, with the Chesty Lions at 4-2, looking to spoil the 5-1 Eagles’ senior night. It was a defensive battle throughout most of the game, but things got interesting during the fourth quarter. Both teams traded scores and the Lions got the ball back late. Lawrence would drive deep into North’s territory, putting them in position for a game winning 21-yard field goal. This game lived up to the hype, with the Lions coming out on top 17-14. Here’s a recap of the players that stood out on both sides of the ball in this exciting Week 7 matchup <strong>(Unofficial Stats). </strong> <em>Offense: </em> <strong>Truman Juelsgaard</strong> – Lawrence, QB, <em>Class of ’22</em> The Lions typically favor their passing game, but the Eagles pass rush and secondary really limited them through the air. This led to Juelsgaard having to improvise, which created a spark for the Lions’ offense. Juelsgaard accounted for 180 yards of total offense with two total touchdowns and had a key 25-yard run that set up [player_tooltip player_id="207154" first="Grant" last="Glasgow"]’s game winning kick. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="35631" first="Noah" last="Palmer"]</strong> – Olathe North, ATH, <em>Class of ’22</em> Similar to Juelsgaard’s situation, the Lions’ defense was able to slow down Palmer and North’s explosive offense. Palmer still managed to put together a solid stat line. He finished the night going 9 of 13 for 124 yards and had 34 yards on the ground with two scores. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91372" first="Aquantez" last="Love"]</strong> – Olathe North, RB, <em>Class of ’22</em> Despite the loss, Love looked impressive. There’d be times during the game where he’d be bottled up, and then he’d burst through a pile for positive yards. Which explains his 6.2 yards per carry for the night. Love would go on to rush for 112 yards on 18 attempts. <em>Defense: </em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="170056" first="Devan" last="Lowe"] &amp; Jamal Pratt</strong> – ON, <em>Class of ’23 &amp; ’24</em> This duo was disruptive from start to finish. Lowe was a beast on the interior, as he was stuffing the Lions’ run game and getting pressure on Juelsgaard all game. The massive junior racked up five total tackles and a sack in this one. Since the focus shifted to slowing Lowe down in the second half; Pratt started to get pressure coming off the edge. He forced Juelsgaard to step up in the pocket a few times, and he came up with four total tackles and a sack. <strong>Evan Bannister &amp; Kenton Simmons</strong> – LAW, <em>Class of ’22 &amp; ’23</em> It seemed as if Bannister and Simmons were involved in virtually every tackle throughout the game. They both played great against the run and showed good awareness over the middle in coverage. Simmons led the Chesty Lions in total tackles with nine and came up with a half a sack. Bannister finished second behind his fellow backer with seven total tackles on the night.