OLATHE — Moments after Olathe held off visiting Faith Christian 14-6 on Saturday afternoon in a battle of the undefeated in the Class 2A semifinals, Pirates coach Joe Corn made the following observation: “It was better than golf.”
Fairways and greens, and a title shot, will go to the Pirates, who will take a 13-0 record into the finale Saturday at Legacy Stadium in Aurora against Erie, which fell to Faith Christian (12-1) in the final week of the regular season.
“We knew it would be a defensive game coming in,” Corn said.
And it was his defense that decided it.
The Eagles, who never led in the game, drove to the Olathe 22-yard line, but got no closer after four downs. Three incompletions and a 10-yard sack later, the Eagles gave the ball over on downs and Olathe ran out the clock.
Olathe linebackers Chris Brummitt, Camren Harris and J.C. Jimenez were active all game in holding Faith Christian to a season-low point total.
After the Pirates recovered a fumble, Olathe took a 7-0 halftime lead as quarterback Garhett Jurgens connected with junior running back Dylan Markley on a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Faith Christian received the second-half kickoff and drove 79 yards in 13 plays to keep it close. Behind running back Noah Applegate and quarterback Micah Twedell, the Eagles were efficient and seemed to gain momentum. The drive was capped by a 3-yard run by Applegate, but Faith Christian missed the conversion kick.
That was it for the Eagles, who also struggled against the Pirates’ defensive line. David Rhodes’ 5-yard scoring run in the third quarter gave the Pirates some breathing room.
Faith Christian coach Blair Hubbard was bidding for his 99th career victory since taking over the program 10 years ago.
All four teams in the semifinals, including Platte Canyon, were a combined 47-1, the best in any classification.
Olathe 0 7 0 7 — 14
Faith Christian 0 0 6 0 — 6
O — Markley 24 pass from Jurgens (Salazar kick). FC — Applegate 3 run (kick failed). O — Rhodes 5 run (Salazar kick).
