Gardner-Edgerton was 0-for-2 trying to stop Olathe East up until 4thand 6 with one minute and change to go in the game.
The Hawks had successfully run rolling quarterback Hunter Thomas out to the right while throwing it back to the left on the night.
So, when Olathe East ran that play to try and extend the game, Gardner-Edgerton’s Davonte Prichard was there to sniff it out and intercept the pass to clinch a 27-21 victory for the Trailblazers.
Gardner-Edgerton quarterback Teven McKelvey ran for all four scores – 21 yards, 48 yards, 16 yards and the game winning 3-yard dive.
“It wasn’t me by myself,” McKelvey said. “It was the whole team. Everybody did their jobs and blocked well, and I just hit the hole. I told them they’re my family and they said they have my back, so I had to have theirs so I just stayed on my feet and kept running.”
Olathe East had a difficult time limiting long runs as Gardner-Edgerton broke off eight runs of 10-yards or longer in the second half. By comparison, the Trailblazers only had one such run in the first 24 minutes.
McKelvey finished with 174 yards on the evening. His counterpart in Thomas threw for three touchdown passes of his own – the final being a 15-yard pass to Ray Lewis to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:59 remaining in the game.
He connected with Lewis for a 13-yard score in the first quarter and found a wide-open Joey Grooms for 18 yards right before half as Olathe East led 14-7 at the break.
Despite the loss, Olathe East coach Jesse Owen said this game will make his team better.
“It boils down to discipline,” Owen said. “It’s the little things – wrapping up, squeezing with all 10 fingers, using your vice grips. We’re not going to walk out of here with our heads down, that was a good scrap.”
Owen said the idea is to improve every week even when the outcome doesn’t go their way. He thinks his team can get better in a tough loss.
“Oh no question about it,” Owen said when asked if they took a step forward on Friday. “That was the best ballgame we had played top to bottom. We just need to build on that, keep our heads up and stay the course.”
The last time Gardner-Edgerton started 4-0 was 2010 – Bubba Starling’s senior year – when the Trailblazers went 11-0 before losing in the Class 5A semifinals to eventual state champion Blue Valley.
The Trailblazers have matched their win total from the past three years combined, which includes two 0-9 seasons.
“We need to keep listening to coach, keep working hard and believe in each other,” McKelvey said on how he and his teammates can keep the winning streak going.
