Kpreps Friday First Look provides our initial reaction to some most notable games and performances in the state from Week 4.
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Avery’s touchdown
The most impactful highlight from Friday night was certainly the TD run by Kinsley freshman Avery Heinz against Spearville. Heinz was born with cerebral palsy but loves sports and particularly football.
Making the moment even more special is that Heinz’s half-brother, Wyatt Heinz, plays for Spearville, Kinsley’s opponent on Friday night. Wyatt Heinz, No. 31 for Spearville, is seen escorting Avery into the endzone and celebrating with him and the other players.
WATCH – Avery Heinz’s TD run against Spearville (courtesy of CatchitKansas)
Congratulations Avery!
In the end, Spearville captured the win over Kinsley, 60-14.
CLASS 6A
Derby shuts down Bishop Carroll
Derby defeated Bishop Carroll for a second consecutive season, although Friday’s game was more of a defensive battle than last year’s 54-45 shootout.
Instead, the Panther defense held Bishop Carroll to only six points on a Mason Baalmann touchdown catch from Cade Becker in the second quarter.
Much like last year’s meeting, Derby quarterback Grant Adler left the game with an injury and did not return. Just like a year ago, Hunter Igo stepped in and led the Panthers to victory.
Igo’s two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish. After Baalmann’s touchdown catch pulled Carroll within a point, Derby added a field goal from Jackson Syring to lead 10-6 at halftime.
Igo then hit Davin Sims on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for a 17-6 lead. Derby tacked on a final score as a Carroll’s errant punt snap led to a block and return by Cade Lindsay for the game’s final points.
Igo passed for more than 100 yards and added 72 yards on the ground. Tre Washington led the Panthers with 95 yards rushing.
Cade Becker returned at quarterback for Carroll and passed for 150 yards.
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Free State struggles to win over SM West
After rolling through the first three weeks by a combined score of 144-0, second-ranked Lawrence Free State struggled on Friday night against winless Shawnee Mission West.
The Firebirds had several touchdowns negated due to penalty and were tied with the Vikings, 7-7, at halftime.
Eventually, Free State would score four times in the second half in beating West, 35-14. Jax Dineen led the way for the Firebirds with 121 yards rushing, while Malik Berry added nearly 100 more yards on the ground.
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Ranked 6A teams fall against out-of-state opponents
In Class 6A, third-ranked Blue Valley and fourth-ranked Olathe North each traveled out-of-state to take on ranked teams on Friday night.
Blue Valley fell 42-7 to Rockhurst (Mo.), the No. 6 team in Missouri Class 6. The Hawklets rushed for more than 250 yards and scored 21 points in each half in the victory.
Next week, Rockhurst plays the top-ranked team in Kansas, Bishop Miege.
Meanwhile, Olathe North made the long trip to Columbine (Colo.) High School in suburban Denver. Columbine is ranked No. 3 in Colorado’s largest classification, 5A, and defeated Olathe North, 48-12.
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Father & Son: Steve, Zach Rampy break into the win column
On Thursday night, Steve Rampy’s Lawrence High Lions broke into the win column with a 21-6 victory over Olathe Northwest. The win was Rampy’s 177th overall and first since returning to the high school ranks after several seasons serving as the offensive coordinator at Pittsburg State. Rampy now holds a 177-87 overall record at the high school level.
One night after his father’s first win with the Lions, Zach Rampy picked up his first career win as a head coach as his Shawnee Mission North Indians rallied with a late touchdown to top Olathe West, 35-34.
Both Lawrence and SM North sit at 1-3 after four weeks, and although they are both members of the Sunflower League, they are not scheduled to meet this year.
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Manhattan dominates Washburn Rural
Manhattan took control of the Centennial League race with a dominating 44-7 victory over Washburn Rural.
The Indians took control of the game in the first half scoring 35 points and dominating with more than 450 yards rushing.
Senior Kevontae McDonald led Manhattan with 142 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 21 attempts. McDonald also caught a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Dane Aschenbrenner.
Jaylynn Liggons had a big night for the Indians with 112 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
Manhattan is sure to climb in the Class 6A poll with losses by Blue Valley and Olathe North on Friday night.
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Gardner-Edgerton atop 6A East
Coach Ryan Cornelsen has quickly made an impact at Gardner-Edgerton. His Blazers moved to 4-0 on the season with a 27-21 victory over Olathe East on Friday night.
Cornelsen inherited a program in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, and now has Gardner-Edgerton sitting atop the Eastern half of Class 6A as the only remaining unbeaten team. Just as we all predicted, right?
On Friday, quarterback Teven McKelvey rushed for four touchdowns to lead the Blazers to their fourth consecutive win.
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CLASS 5A
No. 2 Aquinas outlasts No. 5 Mill Valley
Tank Young rushed for two long touchdowns in the second half as Aquinas topped Mill Valley, 24-13.
Mill Valley got on the board first in the second quarter on a touchdown pass from Jordan Preston to Matt Wittenauer for a 7-0 lead.
Young then scored his first of three touchdowns on a 1-yard run to knot the game at 7-7. Aquinas would add a Joe O’Leary field goal as the first half expired to lead 10-7 at the break.
Early in the third quarter, Young broke free for a 92-yard touchdown run to put the Saints up17-7.
After a pair of Chris Tennant field goals pulled Mill Valley to within 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Young answered with a 70yard run to provide the final margin.
Young finished with 234 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. For the season, the sophomore has now rushed for 869 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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Maize posts another shutout, remains unscored upon
Caden Cox rushed for 106 yards and five touchdowns as Maize rolled to a 45-0 victory over Newton.
Quarterback Caleb Grill passed for more than 150 yards, and Preven Christon returned a punt for a touchdown for the Eagles.
After Friday night, Maize and Scott City are now the remaining in the state of Kansas that haven’t allowed a point this season.
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Salina Central blasts Hutchinson behind Peters big night
Taylon Peters has a huge night in leading his Salina Central Mustangs to a 62-20 victory over Hutchinson.
The senior back rushed for 256 yards and six touchdowns as the Mustangs moved to 3-1 on the season.
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CLASS 4A
Louisburg wins battle of unbeatens over Piper
Louisburg improved to 4-0 with a hard-fought 28-21 road victory over new Frontier League member KC Piper.
Piper scored on the game’s first play on a long touchdown run by Dalton White, but Louisburg would answer with a touchdown pass from Madden Rutherford to Josh Casey to pull within 7-6.
The Wildcats scored twice in the second quarter to take a 21-14 lead into halftime and withstood a late Pirate score.
Louisburg is one of four unbeaten teams on the Eastern half of Class 4A. The Wildcats should be favored in their next three games before a showdown with rival Paola in the final week of the regular season.
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Pittsburg survives rival Fort Scott, 17-14
Caden Bressler connected on a 30-yard field goal with 1:19 remaining as Pittsburg held of rival Fort Scott, 17-14.
After a long return by Fort Scott on the ensuing kickoff, the Purple Dragon defense then had to turn away the Tigers late on a fourth down to preserve the victory.
The Dragons led 14-0 for much of the game on the strength of two touchdown passes from Ty Roark to Brett Wiemers.
Fort Scott scored on a Dalton Colvin touchdown run mid-way through the fourth quarter to pull the Tigers to within 14-8.
The Tiger defense then intercepted Roark and Matt Campbell tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ty Gorman to tie the game. Fort Scott couldn’t convert the PAT so the game stayed tied at 14 until Bressler’s field goal.
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Paola stays unbeaten with win at Spring Hill
Fifth-ranked Paola kept pace with the leaders in Class 4A with a 35-0 road win at Spring Hill.
The game was scoreless until mid-way into the third quarter when Garrett Williams scored on a short touchdown for a 7-0 Panther lead.
Two minutes later, Paola was in the end zone again on a Brendan Ohlmeier run, and Williams added a 68-yard score to cap a 21-point third quarter.
Williams would add a third rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Panthers pulled away.
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Circle gets the win!
Congratulations to Towanda-Circle for snapping a 19-game losing streak with a 20-10 victory over Rose Hill.
The T-Birds sealed the win with a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining.
Prior to Friday night, Circle’s last win came on September 9, 2016 against Winfield.
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CLASS 3A
Sabetha wins rematch with Marysville
Sabetha won the rematch of the 2017 Class 3A state title game by beating Marysville, 36-12, in the first district game for both teams.
The Blue Jays led 22-12 at halftime and added a pair of touchdowns in the second half for the 24-ppoint win.
Joe Gruber rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Gabe Garber rushed for a score and threw a touchdown pass in the victory.
Sabetha sealed a 7-6 victory in the 3A championship game last fall with an interception at the goal line late in the fourth quarter.
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CLASS 2A
Riley County runs past Rossville
Riley County won the Mid-East League battle against Rossville behind a huge night on the ground.
The Falcons rushed for nearly 370 yards in beating the Bulldawgs, 40-25.
Mikey Waggoner led the way for Riley County rushing for 213 yards and two scores on 34 attempts, while Tristan Kulp added 115 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries.
Riley County now takes over the driver’s seat in Class 2A, District 4. The Falcons still have to travel to unbeaten Mission Valley next week, before a home date with unbeaten Southeast of Saline in Week 7.
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Conway Springs wins battle over Hutch Trinity
Conway Springs grinded out a 22-8 victory over Hutchinson Trinity in a battle of unbeatens in 2A District 6.
Trinity got on the board first with a long touchdown pass from Kaleb Hammeke to Isaac Miller early in the second quarter. But that’s all the Celtics could muster the remainder of the night as Trinity was plagued by four turnovers.
Conway Springs tied the game at 8 with a Collin Koester touchdown run in the second quarter.
The Cardinals eventually took the lead late in the third quarter on a Peyton Winter touchdown run. Winter added his second score as the third quarter ended for a 22-8 lead. He led Conway Springs with 84 yards rushing on 15 carries.
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Belle Plaine’s late touchdown tops Cherryvale
Belle Plaine scored on a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining to top Cherryvale, 41-40 in 2A District 5 action.
The Chargers led 32-20 after three quarters before the Dragons heated up.
Belle Plaine scored two consecutive touchdowns to grab a 34-32 lead with just over five minutes remaining.
Cherryvale would answer with a short touchdown run by Cade Addis with 1:24 remaining before the Dragons scored in the game’s final moments.
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Central Heights wins again!
A week after snapping an 18-game losing streak, Central Heights is back in the win column with a 30-6 win over Oskaloosa on Friday night. It’s the first two-win season for the Vikings since 2013 when they finished 5-5.
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CLASS 1A
Smith Center beats Plainville, 21-10
Top-ranked Smith Center score twice in the second half to over take No. 5 Plainville, 21-10.
The Redmen led 7-3 at halftime, but Plainville took advantage of a fumbled punt as Jordan Finnesy scored on a short touchdown run to lead 10-7.
That Cardinal lead held until the fourth quarter when Hesston Maxwell scored from 1-yard out to give Smith Center at 14-10 lead.
The Redmen then put the game away with an Ethan Peterson 65-yard touchdown run with under four minutes remaining.
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Olpe edges Jackson Heights, 20-18
Olpe held off Jackson Heights 20-18 on Friday to give Chris Schmidt his 100th win as coach of the Eagles.
Olpe led 13-6 at halftime on the strength of on a touchdown run by Colby Hoelting and a touchdown pass from Hoelting to Camden Hoelting.
Jackson Heights pulled to within 13-12 in the third quarter before Camden Hoelting added a short touchdown run to put Olpe up 20-12.
The Cobras would answer in the fourth quarter on a halfback pass from Kolby Rethmen to Cooper Williams, but again the Cobras couldn’t convert the two-point conversion and Olpe held on for the 20-18 win.
Schmidt is now 100-35 in his 12 years as head coach at Olpe.
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Centralia shuts out Colgan, 20-0
Isaac Gore rushed for 211 yards and Kamble Haverkamp added two touchdown runs as Centralia celebrated homecoming with a 20-0 victory over St. Mary’s Colgan.
After the two teams field position early in the first quarter, Gore broke the ice early in the second quarter on a 5-yard TD run to give the host Panthers a 6-0 lead.
After a second Colgan turnover, Haverkamp plunged in from two yards out to give Centralia a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Centralia controlled the line of scrimmage and kept the ball away from Colgan’s mistake-prone offense. Plagued by turnovers and penalties, Colgan managed only 68 yards of offense on the night.
Centralia (2-2) began the season ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, one spot ahead of No. 3 Colgan.
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Ell-Saline shuts down Sedgwick
Ell-Saline won the battle of Cardinals for a third consecutive time beating Sedgwick, 27-13. Nick Davenport and Luke Parks scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break a 13-13 tie and give Ell-Saline the victory.
Sedgwick had trouble stopping Davenport who rushed for more than 150 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Parks added 115 yards rushing and two scores on 14 attempts.
The Ell-Saline defense held Sedgwick quarterback Hooper Schroeder to 156 passing yards on the night. Schroeder entered the game having thrown for more than 1,000 yards in Sedgwick’s first three games.
8-MAN FOOTBALL
Clifton-Clyde dominates Hill City, 64-14
We thought this one could turn into a shootout, instead Clifton-Clyde rolled to a 64-14 victory in a game that was started in the afternoon.
Clifton-Clyde scored on each of their first-half possessions in building a 50-14 lead at the break. The Eagles then finished off the Ringnecks with a pair of scores in the third quarter.
Hill City entered the game averaging 59 points per game, while Clifton-Clyde had averaged 57 points per game.
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Top-ranked Hoxie survives challenge from Leoti
Hoxie survived a strong challenge from Leoti-Wichita County, eventually pulling away for a 36-20 victory.
Wichita County opened with two scores lead 14-0 in the first quarter before Hoxie would pull even by halftime.
Dylan Weimer scored on a short touchdown run late in the third quarter to give Hoxie a 20-14 lead after three. The Indians then extended their lead to 28-14 as Wylie Weems scored on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Wichita County would pull within 28-20 before Hoxie added another late score.
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Central Plains dominates Little River
Central Plains took control of District 5 with a dominating 46-0 victory over previously-unbeaten Little River.
The Oilers led 24-0 at halftime and ended the game with 22 points in the third quarter.
Myles Menges rushed for a score and threw a touchdown pass, while Mason Wimmer rushed for two touchdowns for Central Plains. Alex Hickel and Lawson Oeser also scored for the Oilers.
Central Plains held Little River to 80 rush yards on 22 attempts.
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Madison tops Maranatha Academy 32-22
Something had to give. Maranatha Academy entered Friday’s home matchup with Madison averaging nearly 71 points per game. Meanwhile, Madison hadn’t allowed a single point in their first three games.
Ultimately, Madison’s defense came out on top on Friday with a 32-22 win.
Maranatha led 22-20 entering the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs pushed across two touchdowns to claim the 10-point win.
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Caldwell picks up key win over Argonia-Attica
Caldwell scored 20 points in the second quarter in picking up a key district win over Argonia-Attica, 32-12.
The Bluejays led 26-0 at halftime and held off the Titans for the win.
Caldwell’s defense was impressive in holding the Titans to 79 rushing yards on 26 attempts.
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6-MAN FOOTBALL
Ashland ends Pawnee Heights’ win streak
Ashland improved to 3-0 with a 67-21 victory over defending 6-man champion Pawnee Heights. With the victory, the Blue Jays brought an end to Pawnee Heights’ 11-game win streak.
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Golden Plains scores 92
Golden Plains improved to 4-0 with a 92-47 victory over Cheylin.
Dylan Spresser rushed for 297 yards and five touchdowns in the game. Spresser also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass. Caleb Korte added 205 rushing yards and five scores for the Bulldogs.
Cheylin was led by Colton McCarty who passed for 216 yards and four touchdowns, rushed for 181 yards and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
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