Throughout the eight-year history of Owls football, the boys in silver and blue have had a couple of successful seasons. The run of winning seasons from 2018-2022 comes to mind, as the Owls posted consecutive winning seasons. As of late, however, the Owls have fallen on hard times. In the past two seasons, West has only posted five wins, with two of the worst records in school history.
The Owls have found a corner, however, with their 21-17 win against Blue Valley West pushing them to 2-0 for the first time in school history. Although the win was sweet for the away side, it didn’t come easily.
It was a dream start for the Owls. On the third play of the game, an errant pass by the Jaguars quarterback sailed over its intended target and fell right into the hands of senior safety Justice McAdoo. Three plays later on offense, junior Cabe Roberson, not usually a thrower, threw a pass on a trick play to senior Luke Zimmerman to put the Owls ahead 7-0. Later in the quarter, senior quarterback Brody Hale completed a pass in the red zone to junior tight end Weston Voight to put the Owls in the driver’s seat with a 14-0 lead.
Senior Brody Butler shined on defense against the Jags. The ball-hawking safety intercepted two passes to tie his team-leading interception total from last season. Butler also made five tackles in the contest.
Although the Owls got off to a dream start with their 14-point lead, they wouldn’t put any more points on the board until late in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Jaguars found their groove on offense and stormed back to take the lead 17-14 in the fourth quarter, with less than three minutes left.
After a drive down the field for the Owls, the offense faced a fourth and goal from the Jags’ four-yard line. After taking the snap, Hale scrambled out of the pocket, trying to find an open receiver. He did just that. Senior Sam Krzykowski found an opening in the back of the endzone, and Hale hit him right between the numbers for a touchdown. With a 21-17 lead with very limited time left for Blue Valley West to score, the Owls wrapped up a close victory and avenged the 42-12 loss at home last season.
With the 2-0 start to the season, the Owls have climbed the rankings in numerous polls. West moved up to 26 in the MaxPreps rankings, 20 in the On3 Composite Rankings and received votes in the KSHSAA Covered rankings. Many players for the Owls are also leading the Sunflower League in their respective statistical categories. Brody Hale leads the league in passing yards with 294, Sam Krzykowski is second in receiving yards with 183 and touchdowns with four. Junior Cash Warren leads the Sunflower League in tackles with 24 and senior Brody Butler leads the league in interceptions with two.
The Owls look to continue their history-making season at Shawnee Mission Northwest on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The Cougars come into the game with a 1-1 record, with a 55-27 win over Shawnee Mission North and a 40-31 loss against Blue Valley Northwest.
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