Olathe, leading 35-0 at the end of one, went on to defeat the Cardinals 56-14 by the time the final whistle sounded.
With the win, the Western Slope League champs finished the regular season with a 10-0 record. Friday night’s blowout continued the team’s 24-game winning streak, which dates back to last season when they won the Class 2A state championship against Erie.
 Olathe High school's Dylan Markley races towards the end zone for an 85-yard touchdown run during the second quarter against Grand Valley Friday evening. The Pirates defeated the Cardinals 56-14. (Joel Blocker / Daily Press) Advertisement |
“Our offense came ready to execute and ready to play tonight,” OHS head coach Ryan Corn said. “They prepared hard all week despite putting in a few new plays and adding the no-huddle to our offense.”
The Pirates’ preparation for the game showed and it was evident after the first couple of minutes of the game that they were determined to finish the regular season undefeated.
Senior Dylan Markley began the scoring for the Pirates less than three minutes into game with a 10-yard scamper and with Sergio Salazar’s extra point, Olathe led 7-0.
For the third week in a row, OHS’s starting defense came up big, causing the Cardinals to go three-and-out in their first series with the ball. The Pirates’ defense played relentlessly all evening, forcing the Cardinals’ quarterback out of rhythm on several occasions.
On Olathe’s next possession, it was senior Pablo Payan who received the handoff from Garhett Jurgens and sprinted down the field for an 89-yard touchdown run to give the Pirates a 14-0 lead. That wouldn’t be the last time Payan’s number would be called. He would go on to score two more times, one of which was on a 26-yard pass and catch from Jurgens which put Olathe up 28-0.
One noteworthy play came in the final seconds of the first quarter when junior linebacker Kyle Piatt scooped up a fumble recovery and raced into the end zone as time expired.
“Defensively, I thought we played real well,” Corn said. “Our guys played really aggressive tonight, despite giving up 14 points.”
The two touchdowns the vaunted defense gave up were both on blown coverage.
“As aggressive as we are defensively that’s to be expected,” he said. “We know that our kids are going to play aggressive and thats what we want even if it’s giving up a few points now and again.”
Olathe’s momentum continued to roll in the second quarter. With the defense doing their part and picking off Grand Valley’s Ryan Gallegos for the second time in the game, it only took the offense one play to score seven more points.
It was Markley who found a seam on the left side of the line and busted out an 85-yard touchdown run that pretty much sealed the game and brought the undefeated season to the forefront. Markley would add another touchdown later in the quarter and Salazar would add one in the third.
“Our offense is really starting to peak right now and it couldn’t come at a better time,” Corn said.
Overall, the Pirates rushed for 462 yards. Markley led the Pirates’ ground attack with 161 yards on nine carries, while scoring three touchdowns in the game. Payan finished with 156 yards on eight carries. He also had two catches for 42 yards and scored three touchdowns, while backup running back Salazar was the third leading rusher, finishing with 62 yards on four carries.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves this week to get this win,” Corn said. “It wasn’t about finishing the season undefeated, it was more about getting this win and having a good seed come playoffs.”
Just Sayin wrote on Nov 11, 2009 3:34 PM:
another pirate fan wrote on Nov 9, 2009 7:28 AM:
OHS fan wrote on Nov 8, 2009 7:23 PM:
piratealum wrote on Nov 7, 2009 3:48 PM:
StateChamps wrote on Nov 7, 2009 8:25 AM: