Week 4 of the Kansas high school football season produced several upsets and some top-ranked teams getting challenged. In all, eight ranked teams fell on Thursday or Friday night which will surely shake up the rankings for Week 5.
Weather also played a major role out in the western half of the state as several games were delayed, called early, or postponed until Saturday.
Here’s our first look at some of the results from Week 4:
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The battle between the two top-ranked teams in Class 6A went to No. 2 Lawrence Free State as the Firebirds beat No. 1 Shawnee Mission West 35-14.
This game was tied 7-7 for much of the first half. Free State quarterback Joe Dineen tossed touchdown passes to Keith Loneker and Khadre Lane the final 2:30 of the second quarter to give the Firebirds a 21-7 lead at the break. Dineen’s strike to Lane came with about 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
SM West fumbled the second-half kickoff and things just got worse from there for the defending state champs. In all, Free State took advantage of three Viking turnovers in the third quarter to extend its lead to 35-7. Perhaps the biggest play came on a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown by Justin Narcomey.
Dineen would add his third touchdown pass, this time to Blake Winslow, to give Free State a 35-7 lead late in the third quarter.
West would add a touchdown pass from A.J. Verdini to Justin Hobbs in the fourth quarter to pull within the final 35-14 margin.
Shawnee Mission West will try and get back on track next week against Leavenworth, while Free State will travel to take on Olathe North.
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Shawnee Mission West wasn’t the only top-ranked team tested on Friday night.
Bishop Carroll trailed unbeaten Wichita West 10-0 in the first half before the Golden Eagles rallied to win 20-10.
Bishop Carroll shutout Wichita West in the second half and the Golden Eagles offense produced two third-quarter touchdowns by Denzel Goolsby to take control.
Tory Smith rushed for 140 yards to lead Carroll.
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Elsewhere, 4A’s top-ranked Holton Wildcats trailed Hiawatha for much of the night before rallying to win 12-10.
Hiawatha led 3-0 at halftime and extended that lead to 10-0 mid-way through the third quarter.
Ethan Holaday scored from 11 yards out to pull Holton to within 10-6. The PAT was blocked.
Holaday then came up big on the defensive side of the ball, intercepting a Hiawatha pass and returning it all the way to the Red Hawk 23-yard line. Jonah Lutz scored shortly after to give the Wildcats their first lead at 12-10 late in the third quarter.
Hiawatha threatened several times in the fourth quarter only to come up empty. The Red Hawks stalled on downs at the Holton 25 and missed a field goal on their next possession after a crucial holding penalty on fourth down and 1.
The Red Hawks final drive ended on an interception by Trey Tanking deep in Holton territory with just over 1:30 to play.
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For the second consecutive week the fans choice for Kpreps Game of the Week featured the Tonganoxie Chieftains, but this time was a different result. Mill Valley picked up a key Kaw Valley League win and remained unbeaten with a 27-7 win over Tonganoxie.
T.J. Phillips returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown to put Mill Valley on top 7-0 and the Jaguars never looked back.
The Jaguars built a 14-0 at halftime and extended it to 21-0 in the third quarter when Ty Bruce scored from eight yards out.
Bruce led the Jaguars with 100 yards on the ground for the night.
Christian Jegen put the game away early in the fourth quarter with a 50-yard punt return for a score.
Tonganoxie finally got on the board in the fourth quarter on a short Tyler Ford touchdown pass. Chieftain running back Cole Holloway rushed for a game-high 105 yards.
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Three ranked teams fell in Class 5A alone with two of those coming in Eastern Kansas League Action.
Second-ranked Bishop Miege lost a shootout at Gardner-Edgerton, 56-51. Gardner-Edgerton running back Traevohn Wrench rushed for 343 yards and four touchdowns on the night.
Miege quarterback Ryan Willis completed 41 of 64 passes for 558 yards and six touchdowns in the game. Three Stags hauled in more than 100 yards receiving led by Michael Murphy's 274-yard, three-touchdown night.
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On Thursday night, Blue Valley Northwest knocked off No. 3 Blue Valley West, 28-21 in overtime.
Trailing 14-13, Blue Valley West was stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. Blue Valley Northwest quarterback Jacob Rominger then hit Jaquwan Stone on a 99-yard touchdown pass to extend the Huskies’ lead to 21-13.
West quarterback Ryan Ralston then scored with just over a minute to go and added the two-point conversion to send the game into overtime tied at 21. Northwest scored first in overtime and Blue Valley West could not answer on fourth-and-goal from the 10.
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Garden City picked up an impressive road win, 35-0 at No. 5 Hays. This game was delayed at halftime due to inclement weather and eventually called final given the score at the time.
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Elsewhere in the Western Athletic Conference, the Liberal Redskins snapped a 19-game conference losing streak by outlasting Dodge City 40-27.
The game was delayed for more than two hours due to weather with Liberal leading 26-17 at halftime.
Dodge City scored the first 10 points on a 50-yard field goal by Dillon Burkhard and a Blaik Middleton touchdown run. The Red Demons led 27-26.
Liberal would respond behind quarterback Britton Abbott who scored on a short touchdown run and two-point conversion gave the Redskins a 34-27 lead. Abbot would connect with Trenton Hammond for a second time in the game to extend the lead to 40-27. Abbott rushed for two scores, threw two touchdown passes, and had a touchdown reception on the night.
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In Class 4A, No. 4 Eudora fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 28-14 loss to Frontier League rival Paola, and defending 3A champion Scott City had their 17-game winning streak snapped by Ulysses 25-6.
Wichita Trinity blasted Garden Plain 47-28 behind a huge night from junior running back Tyler Burns. Burns rushed for 305 yards on 20 carries and scored five touchdowns for the Knights.
Speaking of big rushing nights, Hesston’s Ryan Schadler rushed 18 times for 420 yards and seven touchdowns in the Swathers’ 56-28 win over Hillsboro. Schadler now has 1,056 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns on the season on just 55 carries.
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In the 8-man ranks, Beloit St. John’s-Tipton edged No. 2 Thunder Ridge 42-38. The win gives the Blujays the upper hand in District 5 of Division II.
Victoria continues to impress as they knock Central Plains from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 66-28 win.
In Division I, West Elk continued their early season success by holding off South Haven 44-42 in overtime. The Patriots are now 4-0 and have to be considered the favorite to win the District I championship.
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