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 week to see the most recent 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: Belle Plaine (Matt Gilmore – Kpreps)
My sticker goes to the Belle Plaine Dragons and first-year head coach Colton Koenigs. Belle Plaine is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2007 season after last week’s 66-0 blowout of Wichita Independent. The Dragons have now outscored their three opponents by a combine 96-0 this season.
Eli Wiseman rushed for two touchdowns and Caleb Steele added a pair of touchdown runs in the win over Independent. The Dragons led 25-0 after the first quarter and 38-0 at halftime.
Steele rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 2 victory over Kingman (16-0). Steele, also the team’s kicker, also added a 35-yard field goal in the victory.
The Dragons opened the season on a Thursday night with a 14-0 win over Inman. In that game, Luke Baker threw a touchdown pass to Tim Bible early in the third quarter to break a scoreless tie. Baker then added a late fourth-quarter touchdown run to secure the victory.
Belle Plaine finished 4-5 last season and qualified for the Class 2A playoffs where they fell 58-0 to Hutchinson Trinity in the first round. The Dragons lost some talented players off of that team, including quarterback Bo Gooch. But thus far, the offense has shown the ability to produce some explosive plays with Baker, Steele, and Wiseman. An experienced offensive line has certainly helped out, and the defense has allowed nothing thus far.
Coach Koenigs is trying to rebuild a program that has struggled for a long time. Prior to this season, Belle Plaine had posted a 31-104 record over the past 15 seasons – a stretch that included a 31-game losing streak from 2012 to 2016.
Last year’s 4-5 record was the best Belle Plaine has posted since going 5-4 in 2011. When the Dragons qualified for the Class 2A postseason last fall, they ended a streak of 21 consecutive years without a playoff appearance.
Next up, the Dragons begin district play against Cherryvale, Neodesha, Fredonia, and Eureka.
Belle Plaine went 3-1 in this stretch last season, but all were extremely close games. The Dragons slipped by Cherryvale 41-40, then beat Neodesha 33-27 in two overtimes. Belle Plaine then lost 28-23 at Fredonia before topping Eureka 27-26 in overtime.
In all, Belle Plaine played five games last fall that were decided by six points or less. They played three overtime games and three games decided by a single point. If they can play well through this district stretch, Belle Plaine has the potential to put together a really special regular season.
Helmet sticker: Clearwater (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Clearwater improved to 3-0 on the season with a 31-7 victory at Wellington. The Indians are unbeaten after three games for the first time since the 2011 season when they finished 8-2.
Quarterback Tanner Cash threw four touchdown passes in the first quarter as the Indians raced out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back. Even more impressive, Cash’s four touchdown passes went to four different receivers. He tossed scoring passes to Conner Walcher, Brett Noland, Denton Demel, and Lane Pierce.
Walcher also added a short field goal in the second quarter to complete the scoring for the Indians.
Cash finished with nearly 275 yards passing and added more than 100 yards rushing on the night.
The Indian defense held Wellington off the scoreboard until the final 30 seconds of the game.
In just his second season as head coach, Jeremy Scheufler is now 7-5 at Clearwater. The Indians won seven total games in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons combined.
Clearwater will travel to Cheney next week.
Helmet sticker: Lawrence (Alex Hammeke -- Kpreps)
The Lawrence High Chesty Lions have earned my helmet sticker this week based off their turnaround in this early season. Lawrence High is 3-0, and have tripled their win total from last season. Their 3-0 start is their best since 2015, when Lawrence went 10-1 and fell to eventual state runner-Up Blue Valley in the quarterfinals.
The Lions returned virtually everyone from last year’s young team and opened with a win over Olathe South. Lawrence then beat traditional contender Shawnee Mission East, and came into last week’s game against Gardner-Edgerton with some momentum.
Gardner-Edgerton led Lawrence 28-14 at halftime, but the Chesty Lions roared back in the second half, outscoring the Trailblazers 21-6 to win, 35-34. Gardner-Edgerton missed a PAT and a possible game winning FG in the final quarter.
Lawrence still has a tough schedule the rest of the way. The Lions will have to avoid a letdown this Friday against winless Olathe Northwest, but then will take on Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee Mission South, Olathe North, and finish the regular season with cross-town rival Lawrence Free State. Those last four opponents currently have a combined record of 10-2.
Helmet sticker: South Barber (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
In its third straight road game, South Barber took a significant step in winning Eight-Man, Division II, District 7 with a road 34-20 victory versus Hutchinson Central Christian.
Last year, South Barber won the matchup, 70-68, in three overtimes. This time, Central Christian led 6-0 after the first quarter before South Barber led 22-20 at halftime and 34-20 after three quarters. South Barber held a 222-167 edge in rushing, and 155-118 in passing.
South Barber opened the season with a 44-8 loss at Cherokee (Okla.), though has bounced back with the district victories at Fairfield (72-16) and Central Christian. South Barber has captured 18 straight district victories from ’16-19.
As well, South Barber, which finished 9-2, 9-2 and 9-1-1 the last three seasons, has not lost to a Kansas team in the regular season since a 34-30 road loss to Argonia-Attica in Week 4 of 2017.
Few teams can contain Central Christian’s high-powered offense – and run more plays than the Cougars. However, South Barber held an 84-67 edge in plays. This marks the fewest points scored by Central Christian since the season opener in ’18.
Senior Trevor Rooks has continued to put together an impressive career. He completed 16 of 35 passes for 158 yards with two touchdowns versus one interception.
South Barber forced six turnovers and was plus-five in turnover margin – and recovered an onside kick in the second quarter. The Chieftains have continued its penchant for excellent turnover margin. From ‘16-18, South Barber was at least plus-11 in turnover margin.
Rooks rushed 34 times for 190 yards. South Barber returned a host of talented receivers had three players with four or five catches: senior Gage Cantrell, sophomore Gatlin Jewell and junior Emilio Perez. In his career, Rooks has thrown for more than 2,600 passing yards and rushed for more than 1,770.
ACA Sportsmanship Award (Week 3): Kayden Christiansen, Lakin 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 Kayden Christiansen of Lakin High School. Kayden was observed by Tonya Pollart after the game, and had the following to say:
Tonight, as we were leaving the field, I turned around to see Kayden heading up the ramp of the stadium to help a custodian from the opposing school who was struggling with a load of trash. Not only did he go out of his way to help, he did it with a smile. Character on the field and off. Definitely a winner!
Kayden was also very active in the Broncs 50-0 win over Syracuse. He led the team with eight tackles on defense, and also carried the ball nine times for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
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.
Helmet Stickers (2019 Season)
Week 1 – Great Bend, Hutchinson Central Christian, KC Harmon, Larned, Ottawa
Week 2 – Blue Valley Northwest, Cheney, Deerfield, La Crosse, Northeast-Arma, Shawnee Mission West
Week 3 – Belle Plaine, Clearwater, Lawrence, South Barber
A Class Athlete Sportsmanship Award (2019 Season)
Week 1 – Landon O’Hare, Lincoln High School
Week 2 – Plainville High School & Student Council
Week 3 – Kayden Christiansen, Lakin High School
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