Bryce Norenburg and Olathe South opened up the offense, and waltzed into the second round of the playoffs with a rout on Friday.

The Falcons quarterback scored four rushing touchdowns to boost Olathe South to a 49-20 win over the Raiders.

Olathe South (6-3) opened up a 14-0 lead after a 44-yard Max Armstrong touchdown run, and a Cooper Warren 8-yard score with two minutes left in the period. But the Raiders got on the board on the ensuing play when Grant Jennigs turned on the jets for a 70-yard touchdown, and a 14-7 deficit.

Then Norenburg went to work. The senior scored shortly after on a 40-yard scamper, then cam back with a 44-yard score for a 28-7 cushion. The quarterback went more conventional with a four-yard keeper with just seven ticks before the half, and a 35-7 margin by intermission.

An 11-yard touchdown by Norenburg – his 26th of the season – gave the Falcons a 42-14 margin with 3:56 left in the game. Armstrong later scored for his second touchdown of the contest.

Olathe South, the No. 4 seed in the East, will play host to No. 5 Blue Valley Northwest (5-4) on Thursday night at the Olathe District Activities Center.

The Kansas Class 4A defending state champions about took a knockout blow in the first round.

But Bishop Miege came off the ropes in time for a 21-17 win over Eastern Kansas League rival, St. James Academy, to advance in the 4A playoffs. The Stags won six straight state titles from 2014-2019, and again last season.

The Thunder, which disrupted Miege’s state championship run since 2014 with titles in 2020 and 2021, looked the part again with a 14-0 lead by halftime. After a scoreless first stanza, touchdowns by seniors Spencer Dohm and Ben Wheeler gave the Thunder a two-score lead through most of the third quarter.

But Miege (8-1) broke the scoring drought with a touchdown pass from Marco Rodriguez to Howard Peoples in the corner of the end zone for a 14-7 deficit with 3:44 left in the stanza. Following a defensive stand, Rodriguez again hurled a 25-yard touchdown pass, this time to Cole Wofford to suddenly tie the game at 14-14.

The Thunder mounted a drive to take the lead on a field goal with 7:19 left. But Miege saddled up for a long scoring drive, capped by Andre Randle’s one-yard touchdown plunge, and a 21-17 lead with 3:59 to go. The Thunder mounted a late threat, but it was thwarted by a sack from Devyn Davis to seal the win.

The Stags will face host another rival in St. Thomas Aquinas (6-3) next Friday night at Dixon Doll Stadium.