On Friday, Sept. 25, the Owls went on the road to play the defending 6A State Champion Gardner Edgerton Blazers. On a chilly night, the student section was filled with costumed ghouls and ghosts to watch the Owls play against one of the premier Football programs in Kansas.

Four plays in, the defense caught a break when a fumbled snap was recovered by junior Brody Hale. The recovery gave the offense some momentum, but the offense didn’t use it. In the first half, the Owls couldn’t keep up with a physical and athletic Blazer defense, with only 10 points scored in the first half. 

Meanwhile, on defense, the Owls had no answer for the Blazers’ notorious flexbone formation. The Blazers utilized a multitude of offensive weapons to disorient the defense. The defense was unable to get past the physical offensive front of Gardner-Edgerton, failing to register a sack for only the second time this season. 49 points allowed were the most points allowed in a game since Sept. 8, 2023, against Lawrence High School. Junior defensive tackle Connor Tracy was a standout for the Owls with 13 tackles, the most by an Owl this season since senior James Dorsey got nine against Olathe North on Oct. 18.

Offensively, it was an average night for the Owls, but they still managed to put 26 points on the board, which was more than many teams have scored against the Blazers. Sophomore Eli Ables and senior Tevyn Gasaway were the standouts for the offense, with Ables racking up 108 rushing yards and Gasaway hitting the endzone three times. Sophomore Cameron Kruse passed for 161 yards as well.

The first half sunk the Owls in this one, with the team heading into the locker room down 35-10 and scrambling for answers. However, the second half was much better, with the Owls outsourcing Gardner 26-14. 

Even though the Owls fell short, they gave Gardner one of their closest games this season. Unfortunately, the Owls fell short and moved to 3-5 on the season.

The Owls kick off their quest for a deep playoff run when they face the Lawrence-Free State Firebird for the second time this season in the first round. The game will be at Free State and will kick off at 7:00 p.m.

You can find tickets for this marquee playoff matchup and an athletic pass at  https://gofan.co/