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: Beloit St. John’s-Tipton (Conor Nicholl -- Kpreps)
Beloit St. John’s-Tipton defeated Mankato-Rock Hills, 42-20, and won Eight-Man, Division II, District 4. The Blujays improved to 6-2, 6-0 in district play, and Rock Hills dropped to 6-2, 5-1. BSJT has eight straight winning seasons, one of the longest current streaks in eight-man football.
Only Victoria, Hanover, and Hodgeman County currently have at least eight consecutive seasons of winning records at the eight-man level, according to Prep Power Index archives.
Those three schools have not made a coaching change in the last eight years with Victoria’s Doug Oberle, Hanover’s Matt Heuer and Hodgeman County’s Matt Housman all with at least 81 career victories at their current schools.
This season, BSJT changed from longtime coach Keith Kresin, also the highly successful girls’ basketball coach. Dean Gengler, a 1985 graduate of St. John’s Catholic and an ’18 BSJT assistant, took over the program and has continued the winning seasons for the Blujays.
In 2010, BSJT finished 0-9 with no juniors and seniors. The next year, the Blujays went 2-7. Then, BSJT broke through with an 8-2 record in 2012 – and has been over .500 every fall since.
The 2013 campaign remains the high-water mark for the program with an 11-1 season and trip to the sub-state championship game after a quarterfinal win versus Victoria. Since then, BSJT is 7-3, 6-3, 7-3, 5-4, 5-4 and 6-2. In this stretch, the Blujays are 33-8 in district games. This season marked the first district championship since ’13. It also ended a two-game losing streak versus the Grizzlies after 54-8 and 34-12 losses the last two falls.
BSJT steadily pulled ahead Friday with a 14-6 lead after the first quarter and 30-12 at halftime. The Blujays led 36-12 after three quarters. The Blujays ran well with 42 carries for 319 yards and five scores. All but five of the carries came from non-seniors. Junior Brayden Perez finished with 20 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jaret Eitzmann had nine carries for 117 yards and two scores. Six players had double-digit tackles led by 19 stops from senior Wyatt Darnell. Junior Blake Perez and Brayden Perez each delivered 16 tackles. BSJT recovered three fumbles.
Overall, BSJT averages 43.3 points a contest and permits 25 a game. Its two losses have come against Axtell and Frankfort, currently ranked second and fourth, respectively, in Division II. BSJT has rushed for 213 yards a game, led by 99 carries for 689 yards and 20 rushing scores from Brayden Perez. He paces the squad with 83 tackles.
Seniors Alex Ketter and Brady Palen are two of the better eight-man specialists with a combined 24 touchbacks and 35.1 yards per punt.
Helmet sticker: Chanute (Alex Hammeke -- Kpreps)
The Chanute Blue Comets closed out the regular season with a strong stretch. Last year Chanute finished 4-5, with a four-game losing streak at the hands of Fort Scott, Coffeyville, Labette County, and Tonganoxie in the first round of the playoffs. This year, Chanute is currently riding a six-game winning streak and has defeated those same SEK League opponents on their way to clinching the league title.
The Comet defense has been strong in holding opponents’ passing attacks to only an average of around 100 yards per game.
This week Chanute takes on Fort Scott, an SEK rival that the Blue Comets defeated 42-21 back in Week 6. The playoff path in front of them is a difficult one. Should they advance, the Blue Comets would face the winner of the Louisburg and Atchison contest, with potential unbeaten and third-ranked Paola waiting thereafter.
Helmet sticker: Osborne (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Last year, coach Steve Tiernan led Solomon to a Division I runner-up, the best finish in school history. Tiernan then came back to Osborne, his second stint with the school. Tiernan said people told him they expected Osborne to lose several games this year.
However, Tiernan has crafted another No. 1-ranked team. Osborne won a thriller, 40-34, on the road against Thunder Ridge last Friday. Osborne and St. Paul are the only two undefeated squads left in the classification. Osborne finished 8-0, 5-0 in Eight-Man, Division II, District 5 play, and Thunder Ridge dropped to 7-1, 4-1.
Osborne has been long known for speed and offense, most notably from ’13-18. Osborne captured a championship in ’13 with Tiernan and then in ’16 with then-coach Cullen Riner. Both squads set the eight-man record for single season points.
This year’s team has averaged 50.3 points a contest, on par with the previous six of 58.5, 51.2, 37.6, 58.8, 45.6 and 56.3 points scored per game, according to Prep Power Index. Osborne is the defending Division II state runner-up.
However, the defense has allowed just 11 points a game, which ranks sixth best in Division II. In the last six seasons, Osborne had permitted 21.2, 27.3, 37.6, 17.7, 19.4 and 20.6 points per contest. Tiernan mentioned that standout running back Darrien Holloway is a “very good” linebacker.
As well, senior quarterback Steele Wolters has put together an all-state season in his first year under center. Wolters has completed 28 of 39 passes for 358 yards and 10/0 TD/INT ratio. Holloway has 902 yards and 17 touchdowns, and Wolters has 510 yards and 10 scores. Wolters ran the read option effectively against TR.
Osborne came back from 20 down, and Wolters scored the game-winning touchdown from 11 yards out with 39.5 seconds left. He called the sweep to the left side. Wolters rushed for a career-high 149 yards.
Overall, Osborne has allowed zero touchdown passes and picked off nine balls. Senior Evan Garman, who didn’t even play football last year, has a team-high 95 tackles. He caught a TD pass for his first reception of the year last fall.
Additionally, Tiernan didn’t even have assistant coaches until basically before the season started. Aaron Geist, a former all-state wrestler for the Bulldogs, is a Doctor of Physical Therapy in Osborne. He was the trainer last season and then came on staff.
When Tiernan got to Osborne, Isaac Wilson, the school’s technology staffer, asked if Tiernan needed anything. Tiernan, with limited computer knowledge, said he needed something – an assistant football coach.
Wilson, who had never played or coached before, helped Tiernan with his technology. Tiernan said it didn’t matter Wilson had no experience. The next day Wilson came back and said he would coach. Tiernan said both assistants have “done a very good job.”
Helmet sticker: Riverside (Matt Gilmore – Kpreps)
My helmet sticker goes to the Riverside Cyclones for clinching its first winning season since 2014 with a 42-7 victory over Pleasant Ridge on Friday night. The Cyclones, under first-year head coach Bryce Paden, enter the playoffs with a 6-2 record and finished as the runners-up in Class 2A, District 3. Riverside will host Southeast of Saline (6-2).
Last Friday, the Cyclones built a 28-0 halftime lead in capitalizing on Pleasant Ridge turnovers. Quenton Barron rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Beau Horn also added a touchdown run. Kobe Davis tossed a long touchdown pass to Bradley Horn. As a sophomore starting at quarterback, Davis has impressed in passing for more than 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season.
Riverside’s marquee victory came in a 28-27 defeat of Maur Hill-Mount Academy in the final seconds back in Week 4. Davis tossed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Connor Hayes to tie the game, and Yegor Dittemore’s PAT gave the Cyclones the one-point win.
Riverside formed from the consolidation of Wathena and Elwood back in 2011. The newly minted Cyclones went 23-6 in their first three seasons, but posted only a 17-29 record in the five season prior to this one.
ACA Sportsmanship Award (Week 7): Cameron Homewood of Jefferson West
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 we are recognizing Cameron Homewood of Jefferson West.
In a key district game, Jefferson West defeated Santa Fe Trail 45-6 to secure the third-place finish in Class 3A, District 3. But much more important, Cameron Homewood, a special needs student, scored a 30-yard touchdown run around the right side in the late stages of the game.
WATCH – Cameron Homewood of Jefferson West’s TD run! (courtesy of @sportsinkansas)
Once Cameron crossed the goal line, he was surrounded in celebration by his teammates and Santa Fe Trail players. Both Jefferson West and Santa Fe Trail made the state playoffs.
Thank you to Cameron, his coaches and teammates, and the Santa Fe Trial coaches and teammates for this incredible display of sportsmanship!
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
Week 4 – Chase County, Eureka, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Wheatland-Grinnell
Week 5 – Cedar Vale-Dexter, Lyons, Southeast-Cherokee, Winfield
Week 6 – Dodge City, Hutchinson Trinity, KC Washington, Saint Francis
Week 7 – Concordia, Hill City, Hugoton, Wichita East
Week 8 – Beloit St. John’s-Tipton, Chanute, Osborne, Riverside
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
Week 4 – Hunter Engle of Madison and Nate Burdette of Maranatha Christian Academy
Week 5 – Jalen Bush & Caney Valley High School
Week 6 – Colton Neitzel of St. Francis
Week 7 – Carson Ukele of Sabetha
Week 8 – Cameron Homwood, Jefferson West, Santa Fe Trail
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