Teams to vie for chili crown this weekend
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
In the nine years that he’s been in charge of the Williams Chili Challenge for Lenexa, recreation superintendent Jim Finlen has come to understand what he enjoys in his chili.
“I like it a little spicy,” he said. “I like my mom’s chili.”
More than 100 teams of chili cooks will invade Old Town Lenexa on Oct. 19 and 20, each brandishing its own secret recipe and each sure its chili is just like mom used to make.
The challenge, sponsored in part by Lenexa-based Williams Foods, is second only to the annual Great Lenexa Barbecue Battle in size and scope, Finlen said.
“Barbecue probably draws the biggest number of people, and it’s probably the most glamorous,” he said. “But I’ve got folks coming from Texas and Iowa and Oklahoma — probably from as far away to compete in chili as they do in barbecue.”
The event kicks off at 5 p.m. Oct. 19 at the corner of Pflumm Road and Santa Fe Trail Drive with live music and other entertainment for all ages. The competition officially begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and won’t conclude until 4:30 p.m. Admission Saturday is $1 for everyone older than 12. Attendees younger than 12 get in free.
That $1, Finlen said, buys patrons the essential item to any chili lover’s arsenal: a spoon. But don’t expect to put away the pocketbooks after that initial entry fee.
Like the chili? Toss in a dollar or 10 at a contestant’s booth. All donations will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“The Juvenile Diabetes people will be here all day, and they’ll be tallying up money for all the different teams,” Finlen said. “At the end of the day, part of the awards process is to give away People’s Choice Awards.”
Judges also will sample hot wings and salsa. The chili contest has two categories: Homestyle and CASI. The difference is simple.
“Homestyle is easy,” Finlen said. “You call it chili; we’re gonna judge it. Everything goes in that one.”
CASI, the Chili Appreciation Society International, has a strict definition of “chili.” Traditional chili allows no “fillers,” as Finlen described them. That means no beans, no macaroni or anything of the kind.
“No chunky, big stuff,” Finlen said. “It’s actually more like a gravy.”
Finlen said the event helped further the positive image of Lenexa.
“More often, what I hear from people is that one of the things they recognize Lenexa for is festivals and bringing families together,” he said.
Visit the city’s Web site at www.ci.lenexa.ks.us, or call the Chili Hotline at 541-8592.

Eagle Scout project hits close to home
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
Lenexa resident Terri French had a simple request while her son, 14-year-old JC French, planned the leadership project necessary for JC to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout.
“I said, ‘I want you to do something that has meaning to you, that you’ll feel proud about,’” Terri French remembered.
The result, one might say, was nothing short of fate.
Irene French is JC French’s grandmother. She’s also a former mayor of Merriam and a member of the board of directors for the Antioch Pioneer Cemetery, 75th Street and Antioch Road. Irene French said board members were approached three years ago by Michael Goss, a young man with an interesting proposal.
Goss also was trying to complete the service project portion of his Eagle Scout requirements, and the cemetery needed a facelift. His plan was to raise the money necessary to remove the dilapidated chain-link fence that surrounded the property and replace it with one that was attractive and built to last.
“I said, ‘Oh my gracious, that’s a big project,’” Irene French recalled. “But his scout troop, they were all behind him, and we said, ‘Let’s try it.’”
And so with the help of Merriam and a great deal of fundraising, the sections of fence bordering 75th and Antioch were torn down and replaced with a wrought iron fence. It was a good start.
Three years passed, and there was another potential Eagle Scout looking for a service project. JC French had seen Goss’ work and had been impressed by it, but he wanted to complete it for a more personal reason.
“It has meaning to me because my grandfather is buried here,” he said.
J. Calvin French died in 1994, so it seemed fitting that JC French would be the one to complete the work Goss began.
“It’s going to look a lot nicer,” he said. “The old fence, there are parts of it that I could step over without even trying.”
Terri French said scouting has had a positive effect on her son. After all, becoming an Eagle Scout is no easy task. Since 1911, more than 85 million boys have entered the scouting ranks, and only 2 percent has attained the rank of Eagle.
“He’s matured, especially with this project,” Terri French said. “I’ve seen him become able to delegate, to prioritize.”
JC French has raised approximately $12,000 through a grass-roots fundraising effort, though the project will cost an estimated $20,000.
“I typed up a letter that basically states what I’m doing, and what I need money for,” he said. “All the people who donated money for the last Eagle project, I sent fundraising letters out to them. I sent them to my family, my scout troop.”
Irene French, who is still on the cemetery board, said the improvements have been a welcome boon to the Merriam community. Her husband, she knows, would have been proud.
“I bet I get a telephone call a day about how nice the cemetery is,” she said. “It’s a neighborhood cemetery in every sense of the word. It’s a community project.”

Rental registration program takes effect in January
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
A process that began two years ago reached its conclusion Oct. 16 as the Lenexa City Council voted unanimously to approve a rental registration program.
Rental property owners now will be required to register and obtain a license for all rental property within city limits annually.
Additionally, if a property owner lives more than 25 miles outside of Lenexa, he or she will need to designate an agent who resides within that 25-mile radius.
City staff had met with property owners during the process to gather input, and the major point of contention centered on the fees necessary to pay for the program.
According to a city release, the purpose of the program is to “protect the public health, safety and general welfare by providing the necessary tools and resources for the city to enforce existing codes.” To do that, the plan will levy a per-unit fee on all rental property via a phased-in approach.
Starting Jan. 1, rental property owners will pay $35 for a single-family home and rental complex and $10 for each additional unit within that complex.
City staff estimated that revenue from those fees combined with existing business license revenue would generate about $120,000 next year; the city would pay for the other $53,000 necessary to run the program.
By the time the program is fully implemented in 2010, the fees will have increased to $75 for the first unit and $20 for each thereafter, meaning the city would need to provide only an additional $4,000.
At Oct. 16’s council meeting, property owners expressed concerns with the fee structure. A common sentiment was that code violators should be the ones funding the program through more stringent fines.
Assistant City Administrator Matt Shatto said such a system wasn’t feasible because the funds necessary to pay for the additional manpower the program will require couldn’t be obtained only through fines.

Shawnee Mission Medical Center emphasizes substance-abuse treatment
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
Mike Hill and Chris McClish have seen the destruction that addiction can bring to an individual’s life.
Shawnee Mission Medical Center, where Hill and McClish work as clinical psychotherapists, has been battling the effects of addiction for 30 years, offering multi-tiered, highly individualized treatment. It’s a service Hill knows is important because most individuals with a substance-abuse problem often receive incomplete care.
Hill said only 20 percent of patients discharged after detoxification receive further substance-abuse treatment during their hospitalization.
Hill said he thought the reason for that is because the hospitals don’t have the resources for such substance-abuse treatment.
“That’s sad that it’s such a low percent,” he said.
The medical center offers what Hill, the clinic’s manager, described as a “continuum of care.” After a full health assessment, both mental and physical, patients begin a tiered care plan, beginning with hospitalization if necessary and extending to their partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs.
McClish said family members of potential patients often have misconceptions about the type of care their loved ones may need. Sometimes, he said, outpatient care may be sufficient.
“We see quite a lot of people going to work during the daytime and coming in for intensive outpatient and work in recovery programs,” he said.
Hill said treatment needed to go beyond fixing what’s wrong with the body.
That’s why, he said, the medical center offers a three-pronged approach to treating addiction. It addresses the body, mind and spirit.
“Really, with detoxification completed, that’s really the beginning of when a person can begin to address the addiction issues,” he said.
“It puts them in a position to be able to hear how they got in that medical and physical state so that they needed to be detoxed.”
Another common misconception, McClish said, is that there is always an underlying cause to the addiction.
For example, if a patient were diagnosed as depressed and addicted to alcohol, some people may assume that the depression led to the alcohol addiction, and that treating depression would eliminate the symptoms.
“But we don’t see that happening,” he explained. “So we like to think of addiction as a separate illness.”
A separate illness, but a treatable one. McClish and Hill cited seeing patients get well as the most rewarding aspect of their work.
“They have lost that body, mind and spirit, and they’ve rediscovered it,” Hill said.
“The clinicians and nurses see it every day.”

Mill Valley gets ‘Footloose’
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
More than 60 Mill Valley High School students have taken on the challenge of staging “Footloose: The Musical.”
Based on the film of the same name, “Footloose” tells the story of Ren, a teenager struggling to adapt to life in a small town after having thrived on the fast-paced streets of Chicago.
While the Mill Valley cast may not be dealing with culture shock on the same level as Ren, the cast and crew still have found it necessary to adapt. “Footloose” represents the most challenging musical that the school has attempted. It’s loaded not only with music, but also complex dance sequences.
Becca Cline is a senior at Mill Valley and a female lead in the show. She said the extra practice required for the dance scenes can lead to long nights of rehearsal.
“With a dancing show, it’s important that we not only understand the dances but also that we understand it vocally,” she said. “We have to get those kinds of things and work with each other. Otherwise it doesn’t really work.”
It’s sink or swim, and Cline said a couple of cast members were forced to drop out of the musical because of the stresses the late nights put on their academic performance. Some students, however, find the time management skills honed as a result of the cramped schedule to be a blessing in disguise.
“I’ve actually been doing better this year than in previous years because my schedule has so much more,” said Wes Young, a junior and one of the male leads. “I’ve kind of kicked it into gear and worked harder at my grades, so I can continue what I’m doing.”
The overriding necessity of teamwork that Cline described is something both students said started with their directors.
Director Rick Brown, a Lenexa resident who has seen his children pass through Mill Valley’s doorways, has an extensive theater background and has been volunteering with the Mill Valley program for a number of years. He handles the stage direction while Bob Velazquez, vocal music instructor at Mill Valley, handles the vocal elements.
Brown said a shared interest in the value of the arts was one of the primary reasons the two were able to work together so successfully.
“One of the reasons Bob and I get along so well is that we are both big believers in trying to expose as many kids to the arts as we can,” he said. “Many of them have never been involved in a play before; some of them have never even seen a play before.”
“Footloose” opens on Nov. 7 and will run through Nov. 10.
While it’s been challenging, Velazquez said there were many important lessons the students could take from participation in the musical, such as teamwork and friendship.
“These kids have been awesome,” he said. “Considering the challenges of adding the dance element, and we don’t have a ton of dancers, it’s been one of the things that’s driven them in rehearsals.
“The kids have really been wonderful to work with.”

Trailridge program gets students involved
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
What makes school a successful experience for students?
Ask an administrator, a teacher or a parent, and they’re sure to name involvement. Studies have shown that students who are more involved at school often are more successful.
It’s rare, however, that students hear this type of wisdom espoused by a peer.
“I like to get involved in school,” Kylie Lambeth said. “I don’t like to be one of the people who go to school, don’t like it and then go home and lay on the couch.”
Lambeth is an eighth-grader at Trailridge Middle School and an officer in the school’s KATS program. KATS, which stands for Kids in Action at Trailridge Middle School, attempts to get students involved in school and the community. One of the unique ways in which the program strives to accomplish this goal is by replacing a conventional student council with a group-oriented approach.
Want to be a part of the council? Just fill out an application and get parental permission, and you’re in.
“We do have elections for leadership, but anybody who wants to be here can be here, and that’s the (Trailridge) philosophy,” said Gay Ramsey, a teacher at the school and one of the program’s sponsors.
Ramsey has taught at Trailridge for 22 years and was at the school when the KATS program was implemented. Students who are part of KATS also participate in community service. Six hours of service earns students “Star” status and access to field trips and other excursions during the year.
Ramsey said that teaching students to be community minded at an early age was of vital importance.
“I think it’s absolutely necessary,” she said. “I don’t see how you can be a person who helps our society without community service, and I love that (the students) want to get involved.”
One of the key events on the KATS agenda is the annual “First Downs for Down Syndrome” Buddy Walk at Arrowhead Stadium. Ramsey said a former Trailridge staff member had a family member with Down syndrome, which provided the impetus for the group’s involvement.
KATS was in charge of several of the carnival-style games at the event, which raised nearly $320,000 to benefit the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City.
“We love it,” Ramsey said. “It’s just a wonderful day, and it raises a lot of money.”
Ramsey said events such as the Buddy Walk gave students the opportunity to lend a hand to those in need while also having fun. Johnny Tong, another eighth-grade KATS member, agreed.
“It’s good to help people, right?” he said.
“I think that’s a good thing for seventh- and eighth-graders because when they grow up they might be able to help others instead of just themselves.”

Olathe will fight for sales tax
Arley Hoskin | Staff Writer
Olathe school board members will not let go of their piece of the county’s quarter-cent economic development sales tax without a fight.
Board member Jim Churchman suggested Oct. 16 at the board’s meeting that the board prepare a ballot question to give voters an option on how county sales tax dollars are used.
Johnson County has given its portion of the tax to area school districts since voters approved it in 2002. It was renewed in 2005.
But when the tax sunsets in 2008, county commissioners do not plan to renew the tax for education purposes. They will ask voters to renew the tax for public safety.
“We know that the community approved this as an education tax,” Churchman said. “I believe as a board we need to put forward a proposal that continues the win-win that we’ve had.”
The district is slated to receive about $5.4 million from the sales tax this school year.
Superintendent Pat All told board members she would investigate what options are available to the district.
Board members discussed a ballot question that would compete with the county’s request for sales tax, but some expressed reservations about the idea.
“I think the county has made it perfectly clear what their intention is,” board member Debby Daniels said. “I don’t think there is any way that you can spin that, that doesn’t give the appearance of being confrontational.”
Churchman said he wasn’t concerned about the proposal’s appearance.
“What I’m going to be most concerned about is what the community has supported in the past and what is best for the school district,” Churchman said.
Board member Harlan Parker questioned whether the move to compete for the sales tax was best for the community as a whole.
“I would not be interested in us having a position that was confrontational with the county,” Parker said. “I’d like to see us do a strategy where we sit down with the county and say, ‘OK, this is our situation, can you help us?’”
The district predicts that during the 2009-10 school year, it will experience a budget deficit close to $15 million.
Gary Diener, the district’s director of business and finance, said the district’s revenue sources would not keep up with growth and the cost of living.
All plans to inform the board of its options during the November meeting.

— Contact Arley Hoskin at 764-2211, ext. 133, or ahoskin@theolathenews.com.

District voters OK bond
Lenexa Centennial staff
Olathe school district voters approved Oct. 16 a $138 million bond issue. Voters also allowed the district to increase its tax authority.
The mail-in ballot election drew about 30 percent turnout. The bond measure passed by 65 percent. The second measure, which was to increase the local option budget, passed by 57 percent.
The bond money will be used to renovate older buildings (about $20 million), upgrade technology (about $12 million), pay for maintenance projects (about $30 million) and build new schools and add onto existing schools (about $82 million).
The district has grown by about 3,000 students in three years, contributing to the need for more space.
“We’ve got to be able to handle the growth that we are experiencing,” said Kevin Gilmore, the Olathe school board president.
The second measure on the ballot allows the district to collect more property taxes annually for operating expenses. The local option budget now is 31 percent, which means the district can raise up to 31 percent of the amount of operating money it receives from the state through property taxes.
If the board chooses to use the extra 1 percent (about $1.5 million annually) the revenue would go to the operating budget for expenses such as teachers’ salaries.

Manchester Park implements a new, all-inclusive recess format
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer
Learning in the classroom is one thing, but at recess?
Most children would stifle a groan if they heard that recess would become another forum for education.
But Manchester Park Elementary School hopes social and physical learning is what will take place on the playground after it recently decided to make over recess.
Specifically, the school will employ a variation of the “6 Steps to a Trouble-Free Playground” plan, designed by lifelong educator Curt Hinson. Hinson has written several books to promote fitness, participation and social responsibility on playgrounds nationwide.
For example, students will be encouraged to participate in a variety of physically active games, which are often redesigns of playground favorites such as kickball and football.
Traditionally, much of a kickball game is spent standing in the field or waiting for a turn at the plate.
Hinson’s version of kickball, however, is a three-on-three format, which makes the games move more quickly, allows more people to get involved and keeps participants more active.
Julie Dunnaway, the physical education teacher at Manchester Park, was one of the faculty members most involved in the implementation of the new plan.
“We’re excited about looking at recess in a new way,” she said. “It’s not taking away anything old. It’s adding new options for exercise. They’re more inclusive games.”
Dunnaway noted that some parents had expressed concern that what had been seen as “free time” would become too regimented, but that those fears had been eased after participating in the school’s “Game Day” in early October.
Another step on Hinson’s list, “Game Day” gave parents, educators, and students a chance to see how the new games are played.
“There is still free time; it’s just productive free time,” she explained. “With the wellness situation as it is in America — with the obesity crisis and all that — we’re trying to increase activity as part of wellness.”
Students still would be allowed to “walk and talk with their friends,” Dunnaway said. The goal was to keep every student active and involved and to promote fitness.
Additionally, the new plan implements a schoolwide standard for appropriate behavior on the playground with a system of three “levels.”
The first level is inappropriate behavior, the second is acceptable, and the third is outstanding.
The system is designed to paint a consistent picture of acceptable behavior for all students.
Above all, Dunnaway said she expected the children to have fun with the new way of doing things.
“They will still have choices in what to do,” she said. “All we’re doing is adding toys to the toybox.”

Ladron, Imgrund win league titles
Andy Marso | Sportswriter
The Shawnee Mission Northwest cross country team — a program already flush with championships — added a few more Oct. 15 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
SM Northwest senior Diego Ladron won the individual Sunflower League championship and led the Cougars to the boys team title. SM Northwest sophomore Lisa Imgrund was a surprise champion in the girls race, leading her team to a sixth-place finish.
A championship wasn’t on Imgrund’s mind going into the meet (which was postponed two days earlier because of heavy rain and lightning), but Ladron would settle for nothing less than the top spot.
“I had a bad race in Minnesota two weeks ago, so I had to bounce back,” Ladron said. “The goal was to get first place.”
Ladron met his goal, in part because running in the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul on Sept. 30 helped prepare him and his teammates for the conditions at the league meet.
The air was crisp and there was a heavy wind, but it didn’t bother the Cougars. After Ladron came in, freshman Spencer Sterling, sophomore Keaton Jones and seniors Jared Ellsworth and Daniel Munro also finished in the top 10.
SM Northwest notched a miniscule 28 points, beating second-place SM South by 56. It’s the kind of domination the Cougars — winners of the last 13 state championships — have gotten used to this late in the season.
“We’re expecting to win out the rest of the season,” Ladron said. “Anything besides first would be a huge disappointment.”
That’s the SM Northwest boys’ mentality. The Cougars girls don’t have quite the same history of success, though Imgrund may have taken a step to change that at the league meet.
She defeated Olathe Northwest senior Rebeka Stowe, who, along with Blue Valley Northwest’s Laura Roxberg, has dominated the state cross country scene for the last three years.
Stowe finished in second place with a time of 15:23.78, nearly seven full seconds behind Imgrund.
“Rebeka Stowe’s times have been faster than mine all year,” Imgrund said. “It was pretty exciting, and it really boosts my confidence for the next two meets.”
Imgrund now has to be considered a legitimate threat to Roxberg and Stowe, though her time of 15:16.85 was still more than 15 seconds off the pace set by the two speedsters at Rim Rock last year at the state meet.
The muddy and cold conditions likely slowed everyone down at the league meet this year, but Imgrund handled it better then all the other female competitors. She also earned some recognition for the SM Northwest girls at a meet that was, as usual, dominated by the SM Northwest boys.
“They’ve got a big streak (of state championships), and they’ve been doing so well lately,” Imgrund said of the boys. “We’re just kind of proving something for ourselves. But it’s all one team.”
The Cougars girls finished four points out of fourth place, which Imgrund said could have been theirs with a little more hard work.
Now, though, she’s focused on getting to the state meet and taking on the established contenders like Roxberg, Stowe and Manhattan senior Marley Crusch.
“This really boosted my confidence a lot,” Imgrund said. “Now I believe I can place a lot higher than I did before.”

— Contact Andy Marso at 764-2211, ext. 138, or amarso@theolathenews.com.

Second at state, first in Vikes history
Tod Palmer | Sports Editor
Taking on rivals Nikki Reber and Sarah Luby from Shawnee Mission East, Jennifer Dien and Lindy Anderson made Shawnee Mission West tennis history Oct. 13 at the class 6A state tennis tournament at Harmon Park behind SM East.
For the second year in a row, Anderson, a senior, and Dien, a junior, placed second in the state in doubles.
But to reach the championship, the Vikings duo had to rewrite this season’s script against the Lancers’ top tandem.
Four times Anderson and Dien faced Reber and Luby during the regular season or at the regional, and four times SM East’s pair topped SM West’s.
After waiting through a nearly eight-hour rain delay, Dien and Anderson refused to falter a fifth consecutive time.
“We were positive, we were feeling good, we were ready, and we wanted it,” Anderson said.
The Vikings twosome won seven of the last nine games, including a 7-2 tiebreak victory, en route to a 7-6, 6-2 win.
“We played with more emotion this time, and when we do that we have a tendency to put everything together and just dominate,” Dien said.
Anderson and Dien couldn’t tap into the same magic against Blue Valley North’s unbeaten duo, Haley Fournier and Kaitlin Marquis, in the championship, losing 6-1, 6-1.
“We were a little tired for the championship,” Dien said. “It took a lot out of us to beat Shawnee Mission East. We pretty much were yelling after every point and pumping each other up.”
The loss did nothing to diminish their accomplishment.
“Without a doubt, they’re the best doubles team we’ve ever had,” Vikings coach Greg Schieszer said. “We would have loved for them to walk off with a state championship obviously, but it’s unprecedented for West to have such tremendous success against such high-level competition.”
Coming off the court after the championship, Anderson would shed a few tears talking with her coach and teammates.
“High school’s over, so it’s tough right now,” Anderson said the tears subsiding. “I’m realizing that my season’s over, and I didn’t think about it until now.”
Perspective should come quickly.
“It will sink in eventually,” Anderson said. “That’s how it was last year. At first I was disappointed, but then I was really proud. I just wish we could have brought it all the way home for West. I’ll need a little time to get over the loss, but I’ll take nothing but positive things away from this season.”
Dien and Anderson’s runner-up finish this year looks similar on the surface. Both ended with losses against a tandem that included Fournier.
But the 2007 state tournament was much more rigorous.
“The bracket was a lot deeper this year,” Anderson said. “Our first two rounds, we had some pretty tough matches. Last year, we just seemed to coast through.”
The Vikings duo opened with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Olathe Northwest twins Alexis and Candace Boeh, who were the No. 2 seed from the Lawrence regional.
Anderson and Dien then topped Maize’s Meredith Marney and Jackie Frentz 7-5, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Marney and Frentz won the Dodge City regional.
Next came the showdown with Reber and Luby.
“That East match was really big,” Schieszer said.
Coming through in a big way probably will be what Anderson and Dien hang their hats on in the end.
“All I’m going to remember is beating Shawnee Mission East,” Dien said. “We had lost to them the last four times, but we beat them when it mattered most. That just made my whole tournament better.”
Of course, if that’s not enough, knowing that they are the best SM West tennis duo in history might help.
“I hadn’t ever really thought about it, but it makes sense,” Dien said. “It’s a pretty nice feeling.”

— Contact Tod Palmer at 764-2211, ext. 140, or todpalmer@theolathenews.com.

Opponents taste defensive dominance
Garth Sears | Special to the Lenexa Centennial
Looking at the scoring differentials between undefeated Shawnee Mission Northwest and its opponents can be comical.
Whether it is a 54-7 victory over Leavenworth, a 33-0 shutout of SM North or a 41-18 thumping at Lawrence, the Cougars are dominant.
Perhaps more importantly, the Cougars thwart nearly every offensive attack.
“I think our defense has done a very good job,” SM Northwest coach Aaron Barnett said. “I think we’re good tacklers, and we’re fast. There’s not much you can do about those things as an offensive coach.”
Already the Sunflower League champions, the 7-0 Cougars handled rival Shawnee Mission West 21-7 on Oct. 12. The game reflected a full turnabout from last year.
One season ago, SM West went to the state championship game, and SM Northwest finished with a weak 4-5 record.
“We definitely put an emphasis on becoming better defensively as a team from day one in camp,” Barnett said. “Our fundamentals have consistently gotten better since last year when I took over.”
The Cougars have outscored opponents this year 236-88. In the first quarter, they have scored a total of 77 points and given up 14. In the second quarter, the tallies are 69 to 20 points.
Not many SM Northwest games make it to the fourth quarter with any suspense left.
As the Cougars move toward the postseason, they will visit Blue Valley Northwest (3-3) and face one more top-level Sunflower League challenge in playing host to Olathe East (6-1).
Then comes the postseason.
SM Northwest’s opponents only can hope that defense doesn’t win championships. If it does, the Cougars will be one of the most dangerous teams in the postseason.
“In order to play good team defense, everybody has to do their job,” Barnett said. “And I think our kids are getting better and better and better at doing their job.”

SM West graduate enjoys life as a Cornhusker
Tod Palmer | Sports Editor
If Blake Lawrence didn’t like dropping running backs and receivers who dare cross his path so much, the former Shawnee Mission West football standout might be bumping hips after touchdowns with Chase Daniel in Columbia, Mo., for the University of Missouri.
But Lawrence likes the thrill of making an opponent see stars. He likes leaving a brave — though ultimately foolhardy — skill player gasp for air as he crawls back to his feet.
That’s why he’s second on the depth chart at linebacker with the Cornhuskers, but it could have been different if Lawrence were a different person.
“Here’s a funny little trivia thing,” he said. “Missouri, of all the teams, recruited me to play quarterback. I don’t know if they saw me in that Chase Daniel light, but I’m telling you that Blake Lawrence who quarterbacked Shawnee Mission West was a stud.”
The Blake Lawrence who played safety and linebacker for the Vikings wasn’t half bad either.
And that Blake Lawrence is thrilled to be a Cornhusker, especially when Nebraska steps onto the national stage as it did two weeks ago against the Tigers, a game televised in primetime on ESPN.
“You come to Nebraska to play in the spotlight and do great things in a place that loves what you’re doing,” Lawrence said. “There’s a lot of pressure around here for this football team.”
The pressure has mounted in recent weeks as the Huskers dropped back-to-back Big 12 games at Mizzou and versus Oklahoma State University at home.
Of course, Lawrence wouldn’t have it any other way.
He loves being a Blackshirt, the nickname for Nebraska’s storied defense.
“It’s a big deal,” said Lawrence, who wears No. 12 as a Husker. “There’s a lot of heat that comes with it, a lot of expectations to be a Blackshirt, but it’s something I look forward to. I like to work under that kind of pressure.”
It’s just another reason he never was tempted to be an understudy for Daniel with the Tigers.
He’d rather bury Mizzou’s acclaimed signal caller.
Lawrence didn’t get that chance, but he knows this year is more about preparing for next season when Bo Ruud and Lance Brandenburgh, who played at St. Thomas Aquinas, will be gone, and the former Viking will step into a full-time role.
“I love it,” said Lawrence, who has packed on 30 pounds of muscle since his SM West career ended.
“This is the place for me. Timing-wise, I couldn’t have picked a better place to come to be able to contribute early and especially have a good shot at a starting position my sophomore year.”
Lawrence has seen the field on special teams — look for him on punt returns — and also is learning his role on defense as a strongside linebacker. If Nebraska continues to struggle, he’ll probably start to see the field even more.
“It’s a little different than Sunflower League defense,” Lawrence said. “It is definitely a step up.”
People love to talk about how much faster the game is, but Lawrence said that’s a bit misleading.
“It’s more about the thought process,” he said.
“Your thought process has to be so quick.”
At the high school level, sheer athleticism often was enough to overcome the occasional mental lapse, “but up here if you make a mental mistake it really throws you off for the rest of the play,” Lawrence said. “You’ve got to be on top of your game. That’s the hardest part about coming in as a freshman and trying to contribute early on.”
The players, of course, are faster, too, but that just makes knocking them down a little more fun for Lawrence.

— Contact Tod Palmer at 764-2211, ext. 140, or todpalmer@theolathenews.com.