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Olathe West coach TJ O’Neill and his team knew they had a stiff challenge ahead of them on Friday at the College Boulevard Activity Center against an undefeated Olathe North team that had only given up seven points all season, but it was one that the Owls were up and ready for. The Owls eclipsed that total with 10 points in the first quarter to set the tone early, and dictated the tempo nearly wire to wire in their 20-6 win over the Eagles.

“This is probably the biggest win in program history,” senior linebacker Jake Stephens said. “This one meant a lot. We had been getting ready for it all week. There’s no one I’d rather battle with than these brothers on the field every. I just want to thank everybody out here—the coaches and players. We had a great game plan and we executed all week and tonight. We played a great game.”

Stephens and the Owls defense came 52 seconds away from shutting out the Eagles. Olathe North broke up the shutout on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Noah Palmer to Michael Canseco, but that didn’t put much of a damper on the win for the Owls. Stephens came up with two turnovers—an interception and a fumble recovery—which gave the Owls the ball inside the Olathe North 30-yard line on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter. The Owls turned those two turnovers into 10 points.

“I’m so proud of him. He has battled for four years for the opportunity to play,” O’Neill said. “This is his first year starting. I don’t want any other kid to start more and play better than him just because he’s a special kid.”

Even when Stephens and the Olathe West defense made a rare miscue, the result ended up being just fine for the Owls. His interception seemed to be a sign that it was the Owls’ night.

“I actually read it wrong. I should’ve dropped back for the pass, but then I started reading the quarterback’s eyes,” Stephens said. “I just jumped up, tipped it, grabbed it and made sure I got down with the ball.”

After the interception gave the Owls the ball at the Olathe North 19-yard line, O’Neill dialed up a trick play that had quarterback Mason McGavran on the receiving end of a 14-yard touchdown pass from wideout Jack Scott. Scott was lined out wide before coming around for a pitch. After the pitch, Scott threw it back to McGavran in the flat. The Owls back did the rest by beating a defender to the goal line.

“We installed that on Wednesday,” McGavran said. “I was wide open, Jack made a great pass, and I got in the end zone.”

McGavran also had one passing touchdown that went to senior running back Anthony Favrow for 25 yards in the first quarter. Favrow’s touchdown reception capped a 78-yard scoring drive, but most of the Owls’ damage was done with short fields. Along with capitalizing on Stephens’ interception and fumble recovery, the Owls blocked a punt in the first quarter that led to a 36-yard field goal by Lewie McMullen. The Olathe West kicker also split the uprights from 24 yards out in the third quarter.

“They were huge,” O’Neill said of the McMullen field goals. “It’s going to be a physical battle whenever you play them. Points are at a premium. I’m just proud of all three phases of our team executing when we needed to.”

The Owls (3-1) will look to make it four wins in a row when they take on Shawnee Mission West at 7 p.m. Thursday at the College Boulevard Activity Center. Olathe North (3-1) will try to bounce back from its first loss at 7 p.m. 7 p.m. Friday at the Olathe District Activity Center against Olathe South.