The Gardner Edgerton High School football team used a pounding rushing attack and a strategic passing game to earn their third win in a row, a 36-19 road victory over Olathe West Friday night at College Boulevard Activities Center. The win gives the Trailblazers a 30 start to their season.

For the third game in a row, Blazer junior fullback Dawson Kindler rushed for over 100 yards and multiple touchdowns, while senior tight endAustin Buie collected 6 receptions for over 112 yards and a touchdown to help lead GEHS to victory.

After the game, GEHS head coach Jesse Owen spoke about his tight end and the strategy of his team coming into the matchup against the Owls. “Austin is a weapon,” said Owen. “He’s a good football player. He’s a captain. Our offensive identity is that you’ve got to put some bodies in there to stop us, and then – once that starts happening – that opens up other opportunities, and our kids capitalized on that tonight, and our coaching staff did a great job of getting them ready.”

It was an inauspicious start for Gardner Edgerton. After winning the coin toss but deferring in order to receive the 2nd half kickoff, the Trailblazers started the game on defense. OWHS struck quickly. On the game’s fourth play from scrimmage, West senior tailback Vincent Gatschet took a handoff up the middle and broke into the Trailblazer secondary, dashing 67 yards for the game’s first touchdown. However, the Owls’ conversion kick sailed wide left. Still, the home squad held a 6-0 lead with 10;48 still remaining in the 1st quarter.

The Blazers answered with a punishing methodical run game, interspersed with a pair of Buie catches. The result was a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive that culminated in a Kindler 4-yard touchdown carry. With junior kickerAshtonAdrian converting the Point-After-Touchdown, GEHS took a 7-6 lead with 6:40 left in the 1st quarter.

After the Blazers forced a 3-and-out on the next OWHS possession, they began their next campaign on the GEHS 39-yard line. On a 3rdand- 14 from the Gardner Edgerton 35, Trailblazer senior quarterback Conner Elder went on a naked bootleg to the right side of the field and heaved a pass downfield to junior wide receiver Colton Hawkinson who hauled in the pass for a 65yard touchdown reception. WithAdrian notching the conversion, the Blazers’ lead grew to 14-6 with 3:43 left in the period.

Gardner Edgerton’s next scoring drive began at the end of the 1st quarter and finished in the 2nd. After Olathe West turned the ball over on downs in their own half of the field, the Trailblazers took over at the West 39. Nine plays later, Kindler scored his second TD of the night, a 1-yard plunge on a dive carry to the right. With junior kicker Owen Dye now doing the duties, the Blazer conversion was successful, and the visitors held a 21-6 edge with 8:46 left in the 1st half.

However, the Owls were determined to make a game of it. On their next possession, OWHS marched 69 yards on 13 plays and punctuated their drive when senior quarterback Mason Mcgavran took a shotgun keeper to yards into the end zone for Olathe West’s 2nd touchdown of the night. However, McGavran fell short of the end zone on the subsequent 2-point conversion attempt, and the score stayed at 21-12 as the two teams went into the halftime break.

Gardner Edgerton’s decision to take the 2nd half kickoff proved to be a wise one, as the Trailblazer offense took off on a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive to open the 3rd quarter. The drive had the exclamation mark put on it when Elder found Buie for a 45-yard touchdown strike down the left sideline. Elder then converted the 2-point attempt after the TD by taking in a bootleg keeper to his left, and – with 6:49 left in the 3rd quarter – the Traiblazers led 29-12. The West offense answered with a scoring drive of their own, using 15 plays to march 72 yards for their next touchdown. The drive culminated in the 4th quarter when Mcgavran found junior wide receiver Elijah Hakim for a 7-yard TD strike. With Gatschet kicking the conversion, the Owls were within 10 at 29-19 with 11:41 left in the 4th quarter. OWHS was able to force the Blazers into a pun on the next GEHS possession, and took over on their own 9 with 5:54 left in the contest. However, on the very next play, McGavran was intercepted by Gardner Edgerton junior cornerback Randy Singleton, whose pick gave the Trailblazers the ball at the Owls’ 16-yard line. Three plays later, Kindler took a 2-yard carry into the end zone for his third touchdown of the night. With the Adrian PAT, the Blazers moved the lead to 3619, where it would stay for the remainder of the contest.

Besides Buie’s big offensive night, GEHS was also paced by Kindler, who carried the ball 36 times for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the first 3 games of the season, Kindler has recorded 12 rushing touchdowns, or an average of 4 per game. In addition to Buie and Kindler, a big night was turned in by Elder who went 9-for-12 passing for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing 5 times for 8 yards. Hawkinson hauled in 2 catches for 65 yards and a TD, while junior tailback Dylan Butash had 2 carries for 13 yards, and senior tailback Kyle Oatman had 2 totes for 11 yards.

Defensively, Gardner Edgerton was paced by senior outside linebacker Therron Meade who recorded 2 tackles-for-loss, including 9-yard sack, and fellow senior outside linebacker Andrew Kamtio who notched 2 pass breakups.