Photo Credit: Nick Smith/PrepsKC 
As the defending Class 6A state champion in the 110-meter hurdles, Olathe North senior Josh Parrish has not only been blessed with elite speed, but incredible reaction time. Parrish has shown those gifts on the gridiron as well, including in Olathe North’s 49-35 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest on Friday.
Right after the Eagles evened the score at 7-7 on a TJ Porter 25-yard touchdown run with 7:27 to go in the second quarter, Parrish showcased his quick reaction time and speed to give his team the lead. Parrish jumped in front of a receiver to intercept SM Northwest quarterback Logan Morley before dashing to the end zone 29 yards for a pick six. It was the first of his four total touchdowns.
“That was huge and we needed it,” Olathe North coach Chris McCartney said of Parrish’s pick six. “It was hot and the kids were tired. They’re playing their tails off. Something like that sparks an energy again. It got us going again. That was special.”
Parrish was just getting started. With the Eagles backed up deep in their own territory, Jason Scoma connected with Caden Butler on a 67-yard strike to flip the field position in favor of the Eagles. On the very next play, Parrish corralled a pass from Scoma and split defender on the way to the end zone to finish off a 23-yard touchdown reception. Parrish and the rest of the Olathe North receiving corps has a lot of confidence in Scoma under center.
“Everything has just connected,” Parrish, who also won state in the long jump, said.
The three unanswered touchdowns gave the Eagles a 21-7 edge with less than two minutes to play in the first half. However, SMNW had a speedster of its own who wasn’t about to let the Eagles have all the momentum going into the break. Cougar running back Malik O’Atis made it a one-score game in a flash, as he took it to the house on a 73-yard touchdown run.
O’Atis racked up 180 yards on the ground and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars. His first touchdown run cut Olathe North’s lead to 21-14 going into the half.
“They’ve got a running back who is going to do a lot of special things,” McCartney said of O’Atis. “We knew that coming in."
The Eagles and Cougars both came up empty on their first possessions of the second half, but Olathe North pushed their lead back to 14 late in the third quarter following a Porter 2-yard touchdown run.
Yet again, though, O’Atis came through with a big play to put the Cougars in prime position to score. His 41-yard run kicked off a six-play scoring drive that was capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Morley to Clayton Habben. It was the second of two touchdown tosses for Morley. His first went to Daisean Bennett, who made an acrobatic catch on Morley’s 29-yard touchdown pass for the game’s first score.
Morley’s touchdown strike to Habben came with 12.2 seconds to go in the third, which was plenty of time for another chunk play for the Eagles. Scoma rolled out and broke free for a 52-yard run on the final play of the third quarter. He then scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper to extend the Eagles’ lead to 35-21.
The two-score lead still wasn’t much breathing room for the Eagles, though. It took less than two minutes for the Cougars to answer thanks to O’Atis, who hauled in a 60-yard reception from Morley a couple of plays before a 3-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to seven.
But in a blink of an eye, Olathe North was back up by 14 again. Scoma threw it to Parrish out in the flat, and Parrish did the rest. His 64-yard touchdown reception was his third score of the night and gave the Eagles a 42-28 edge.
The Olathe North defense then came through with a three and out, but the Eagles were pinned deep in their own territory following a booming punt by Derek Larsen. The Eagles coughed it up on their own 1-yard line, which set up a 1-yard score from O’Atis.
This time, it was SMNW’s turn to force a three and out. SMNW suddenly had the ball on its own 49-yard line trailing by seven with 4:31 to go. The Cougars found themselves in a fourth and long situation, though, which was when Josh Parrish’s brother, Jason, stepped into the spotlight. Jason’s interception with 3:31 to play put a halt to the SMNW drive.
“I saw a back side post on my brother, who was in coverage, so I knew I had to drop back,” Jason said. “I had to key in on No. 13 (O’Atis) because that’s their best player, so I dropped back and picked it off.”
Jason, who was the 6A state champion in the 300-meter hurdles, has been used to sharing the spotlight with Josh and their older brother, Jacob, who won state titles in the 100 and 200 meters in the spring before heading to Kansas State this fall on a football scholarship. Jason handed the baton to Josh for the game’s final big play. Josh brought down a pass over the middle and sprinted for the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown to all but put the game away.
Olathe North (2-0) will be back in action at 7 p.m. Friday at Shawnee Mission North. Shawnee Mission Northwest (1-1) will hit the road again at 7 p.m. Friday against Mill Valley.
