Olsen thrilled with Week 2 progress
Yukon quarterback Perry Olsen guided the Millers’ new flexbone offense to an impressive performance Friday against Norman North. He is The Oklahoman’s Player of the Week.
Perry Olsen walked the turf of Norman’s Harve Collins Field in disbelief.
He posed a question to himself and then repeatedly to teammates. Did that really just happen? Olsen looked at the scoreboard. Yukon 38, Norman North 31.
“Wow,” Olsen said. “We really just did that.”
It was quite a Friday night. Olsen, in just his second varsity start at quarterback, orchestrated an upset few saw coming. He ran the Millers’ new flexbone offense to near perfection to end Yukon’s 14-game losing streak.
Olsen is The Oklahoman’s staff selection for Player of the Week.
“He had a crazy night,” first-year Yukon coach Jeremy Reed said. “We were able to get several things going, which he was one of those. He’s such a competitor and runs so hard. It was fun to see him do basically do what we all knew he could do, and that’s control a football game on the offensive side.”
Olsen, a Navy commit, rushed for 214 of Yukon’s 404 rushing yards. He scored twice on the ground.
It was a drastic difference from a Week 1 loss to rival Mustang that left some still wondering if the flexbone offense would actually work at all.
But Olsen wasn’t concerned. He watched film last week and found all sorts of positives. That left him confident at Norman North.
“I felt terrible, but that was the most content loss I’ve ever had,” Olsen said. “It honestly felt a lot better to me knowing that we beat ourselves.”
He then found a quote early in the week that worked as motivation.
Sometimes things seem like they’re all falling apart but they’re really all falling into place.
“I just went out and did what I was coached to do,” Olsen said. “I wouldn’t have ran for those yards if the line hadn’t blocked.”
Now, Olsen has an even bigger week ahead.
Yukon hosts Southmoore, the school Olsen and his younger brother moved from last spring when their father changed jobs.
Olsen was primarily a linebacker for the SaberCats along with serving as the backup quarterback. Now, he’s the leader of a team looking to show last week wasn’t a fluke.
He also wants to prove he belongs in the conversation of other talented players who departed Southmoore.
“I wouldn’t say anything went wrong when I was at Southmoore, but I do feel like I’m one of the more underrated people in 6A football,” Olsen said. “Just the fact that my name is not up there with the people that I was with. Yeah, I’ll definitely play with a chip on my shoulder.”