Back to Kpreps this fall, our contributors will hand out helmet stickers to a team or individual that delivered the most important performance of the week in their opinion. Check back each Sunday to see that week’s helmet stickers, and follow @Kpreps on Twitter and Facebook to watch as the Kpreps helmet fills up with stickers as the season goes on.
Helmet sticker: Great Bend (Alex Hammeke -- Kpreps)
The doormat heading into the Great Bend locker room has three simple words on it.
Spirit and Pride.
Those words rang true in the final 49.3 seconds of play versus the Andover Trojans last Friday. The Panthers, down 10-0, had Andover pinned against their endzone attempting to punt. A clean punt would leave little chance for Great Bend to win. A block would put wind that was desperately needed in their sails. Everyone held their breath in the stands. The punt block team worked everything to perfection, and the ball went out of the end zone, resulting in a safety. All of the sudden some momentum was building.
Great Bend still needed to score a touchdown and convert a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime. The offense, led by Dalton Miller, engineered the perfect hurry-up drive, with catches from Alex Schremmer, Sam Ryan to get the ball to the 44-yard line with eight seconds left.
With three defenders swarmed around him, Schremmer hauled in the 44-yard heave from Miller in the endzone to pull the Panthers within 10-8. The ensuing two-point conversion was good, and what people thought was impossible minutes ago, was possible.
Great Bend went on to win in overtime, their first overtime game since 2017, and the first overtime win under head coach Erin Beck. After catching up with Schremmer after the game, another testament to this Great Bend team revealed itself.
“Our Great Bend philosophy is to never give up. We believe we’re winners and we’re always going to try to find a win no matter what the score is.”
A good season is ahead for the Panthers if they keep those two phrases in mind during the season.
Helmet sticker: Hutchinson Central Christian (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Last season, three key eight-man Week 1 games were Sedan/St. Paul, Canton-Galva/Little River, and Argonia-Attica at Hutchinson Central Christian. All six teams won at least seven games in 2018. Sedan, Little River and Argonia-Attica captured the victories last fall.
This year, all three results were flipped in another trio of high-profile games. Canton-Galva, ranked No. 1 in Eight-Man, Division I, defeated Little River, 70-23. St. Paul, ranked fifth to open the season in Division II, won at Sedan, 52-14.
The third game featured two unranked teams, though Hutchinson Central Christian was just outside the top-five in the Division II poll – and features arguably its best team in the last four years. Central Christian was 7-3 last year.
Central Christian fell 44-16 to A&A last season, and won 40-34 in the final seconds on the road Friday, a victory that keeps them among the top teams in Division II West. Cougar coach Lee Smith said the game was back-and-forth all contest and always within one score either way.
A&A scored on a 26-yard run with 1 minute, 34 seconds left in the game to take a 34-32 lead. Central Christian drove down and senior Garrett Burns tallied a six-yard touchdown run with 14 seconds remaining.
The teams combined for five touchdowns in the final quarter. A&A led 8-6 after the first quarter and by the same margin at halftime.
Since returning to KSHSAA football in 2016, the high-octane Cougars are 27-6 and have averaged more than 62 points a contest.
However, Week 1 marked the first close victory in that stretch. Central Christian has played several wild games, including a 70-68 three-overtime loss to South Barber last year.
In the last four years, the Cougars have won games by scores of 108-62, 90-38, 92-56 and taken a 94-60 loss.
Against the Titans, Central Christian delivered 44 carries for 221 yards and three scores, along with 239 passing yards and three TDs. The Cougars had a massive yardage edge over A&A, which finished with 289 total yards.
Senior Mason Miller led the Titans with 17 carries for 127 yards and four scores, along with 30 receiving, 40 passing, 78 kick return and 11 interception yards. He returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Junior Blake Goodman was credited with 29 total tackles (18 solo).
Central Christian senior quarterback Caleb Lambert, who accounted for 54 touchdowns, 2,055 passing yards and 798 rushing yards last year, led an offense that returned all of its skill players.
He completed 24 of 38 passes for 239 yards with a 3/1 TD/INT ratio, along with 14 rushes for 102 yards and two scores. Burns delivered 18 rushes for 79 yards and a touchdown, and caught three passes for 30 yards.
Senior Deonis Coon had seven catches for 111 yards and a pair of scores. Senior Adam Hall finished with nine catches for 73 yards and a TD. Junior linebacker Dawson Urwiller and Burns were considered among eight-man’s top returning linebackers. They finished 1-2 in ’18 for CC in tackles with 45 and 33, respectively.
Urwiller had 17 tackles, and Burns finished with 15 stops. Hall picked off a pass. Central Christian will be heavily favored at Norwich in Week 2, and then gets No. 4 South Barber in the huge district game rematch in Week 3.
Helmet sticker: KC Harmon & Ottawa (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
My Week 1 stickers go to a couple of programs that snapped long losing streaks last Friday night.
The Harmon Hawks ended a 30-game losing streak with a 35-0 victory over KC Turner. The Hawks led 21-0 at halftime and extended their advantage in the second half.
Harmon’s last win came October 2, 2015 with a 32-16 decision over KC Washington. The Hawks host Washington (1-0) this week.
Similarly, the Ottawa Cyclones halted a 16-game skid with a 26-14 victory over Frontier League rival Baldwin.
Ottawa was down two at halftime when Caleb Kessinger connected on a long touchdown pass with Jose Richards. Kessinger later added a touchdown run and the Cyclones shut out Baldwin in the second half to preserve the victory.
Coach Rob Hedrick’s Cyclones last win prior to Friday night was a 28-13 decision over Wamego back in Week 2 of the 2017 season. The Cyclones were 8-3 in 2016 and reached the Class 4A, Division I state quarterfinals.
In addition to Harmon and Ottawa, Colony-Crest stopped an 11-game streak with a 52-42 win over Hartford, while Larned’s losing streak ended at 10 games after a 32-16 win over Smoky Valley.
Helmet sticker: Larned (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Larned was 0-9 last year under first-year coach Tad Remy, a former assistant under A.B. Stokes, now at Bethel College. The Indians had reached the Round of 16 in the playoffs in ’16-17 before a season marred by injuries and close losses.
Larned, in 3A, returned eight offensive and seven defensive starters, including senior Mason Perez, a four-year starter who earned a Bethel scholarship offer this summer. Larned opened last year with a 46-7 loss to Smoky Valley.
A season later, Larned defeated the Vikings, 32-16. The Indians ended a 10-game losing streak dating back to a 42-6 victory against Lakin on Oct. 31, 2017.
Smoky Valley was 10-1 in ’18 and 9-2 two seasons ago. The Vikings had captured 16 straight regular season contests, dating back to a 28-14 loss to Larned in Week 2 of 2017.
On Friday, Larned led 6-0 after the first quarter, 18-0 at halftime and 24-0 entering the fourth quarter. While the Indians had significant experience back, Smoky Valley returned just one offensive and three defensive starters after 8-3, 9-2 and 10-1 the last three seasons.
Larned’s defense limited big plays against the Vikings’ traditionally run-heavy I formation offense. The Vikings rushed 52 times for 166 yards and completed 5 of 10 passes for 47 yards.
A Class Athlete (ACA) Sportsmanship Award Winner - Week 1:
Landon O’Hare, Lincoln High School
Kpreps is excited to announce a new award for the 2019 season – the weekly Sportsmanship Award. We have teamed up with 'A Class Athlete' (ACA) to recognize those individuals or groups that demonstrate sportsmanship and high character during the heat of action. This award is open to students or student-athletes who goes above and beyond to demonstrate an act of kindness or sportsmanship.
We are pleased to announce that this week’s winner is Landon O’Hare, a junior from Lincoln High School. Landon was nominated by Becky Rathbun who had the following to say about Landon.
Landon is a junior and as a mom of another kid on the team I have watched him be a great leader. He is a motivator, a team player, and he is an animal on the field. In the photo, a younger player had the wind knocked out of him, and Landon was obviously concerned with the welfare of his teammate. He stayed with him, talked him through each inhale and exhale on the field. If memory serves me correctly, he even shouted "he is breathing" with a sigh of relief back to the coach. It was a moment captured that shows how much he cares for his teammates. Keep up the good work Landon and continue to lead by example for the underclassmen.
Landon registered six tackles and recovered a fumble in the Leopards’ 50-0 win over Tescott in the season opener.
Each week during the season, we will choose an individual or group as recipient of this award. Winners will receive the Sportsmanship Excellence Award Certificate, and the unique ACA helmet sticker as part of our Kpreps Helmet Stickers feature. At the end of the season, we will choose one overall winner, for the annual Kpreps-ACA Sportsmanship Award.
Please help us by emailing your nomination stories, pictures, or videos to matt@kpreps.com and ACA@kpreps.com. You can also send to Kpreps via social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc). Please include the name of the person(s) involved and a description of the act or event that you are nominating. Nominations for the award will be accepted through Tuesday of each week, with the winners announced thereafter. We will list the weekly winners here, at kpreps.com, and also on aclassathlete.com. The overall winner will be announced after the State Championship games.
ABOUT A Class Athlete:
A Class Athlete was started in 2016 to encourage young athletes in all sports, to play hard, play to win, but also to play with class and dignity. Originally targeting youth sports, ACA quickly expanded to include middle school and high school sports, and beyond (coaches, cheerleaders, fans – everyone!). In recent years, participation in youth sports has continued to decline, and the #1 reason according to the kids: 'It's not fun anymore.' ACA is determined to bring the fun and the kids back!
Participating in sports is very beneficial in many areas. It helps build confidence and self-esteem, teaches respect, teamwork, and leadership skills, and improves communication and cooperation – all qualities needed to be successful in life. It is said that participation in sports reveals a persons’ character. But ACA believes, when sportsmanship is emphasized, it is a very important aspect in building a young person's character and integrity.
For more information, please visit www.aclassathlete.com.
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