The first time Shawnee Mission East touched the ball on offense, junior running back Michael Perry burst through a wide-open hole untouched and raced 59 yards for a touchdown against Olathe East.

“I am speechless,” Perry said. “It was my first varsity touchdown. I couldn’t believe it. I cut back, and it was open.”

It was a bad sign for Olathe East. Despite an early, 5:30 p.m. start because of potential inclement weather on Friday evening, the Lancers were off and running in their 43-14 road victory at College Boulevard Activity Center.

“It was weird,” Perry said of the early start. “But once we got started, it was like any other game.”

Olathe East didn’t appear to be as ready for the early start. In its second drive of the game, the Hawks snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety on a punt attempt.

The Lancers continued the early onslaught, starting their next drive on Olathe East’s 42. Three plays later, SM East was back in the end zone on an 18-yard run by 6-foot-4 junior quarterback Andy Maddox. It makes sense that Maddox has a little height. His father, Mike Maddox, was a 6-7 freshman forward on KU’s 1988 national championship team.

“That helped us against a good team like Olathe East,” Maddox said of the good start by Perry.

On the last play in the first quarter, Maddox showed he has a strong arm to go with his legs when he tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Perry, making it 29-0.

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