Kpreps Friday First Look provides our initial reaction to some most notable games and performances in the state from Week 2.
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CLASS 6A
Lawrence rolls past Rural, 56-7
Lawrence high might have given up their first points of the season, but they still had little trouble with Washburn Rural on Friday night.
Six different Chesty Lions would score as Lawrence built a 35-0 lead at halftime.
Graham Hough would score twice and Devin Neal ran in a score for the Lions in the first quarter, while the passing game heated up in the second quarter with Jackson Dooley connecting with Neal and Karson Green for touchdowns.
Trey Jackson scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter for Lawrence. The Junior Blues found the endzone midway through the fourth quarter through an Austin Fager run. Lawrence would tack on two more rushing touchdowns coming from Keon Crawford and Josh King to make the score 56-7.
Lawrence will go to Olathe West next week, while Washburn Rural will have their home opener next week against Pittsburg.
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Olathe North opens in dominating fashion
Olathe North put all of the uncertainty and the question marks behind them and went out and dominated rival Olathe South, 41-0.
The Eagles lost several key players that transferred out of state prior to the beginning of the season, but Olathe North nonetheless turned in a complete performance.
Noah Palmer started the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run, then tossed a touchdown pass to Jacob Parrish for a 14-0 lead. Parrish later added a rushing score to put the Eagles up 21-0 at halftime.
Palmer opened the third quarter with another rushing score and a long touchdown pass to Laython Patillo to extend the lead to 35.
Aquantez Love capped the scoring with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
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Derby rebounds at Newton
Last week, Derby saw its 26-game winning streak end with a big loss to Mill Valley, ranked No. 1 in 5A. The Panthers had their worst margin of loss in 10 years.
On Friday, Derby, which moved from first to second in 6A, bounced back with a 43-31 win versus Newton.
Derby led by two points at halftime. Sophomore running back Dylan Edwards and senior quarterback Lem Wash delivered three touchdowns apiece.
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Junction City wins Silver Trophy
Junction City took back the Silver Trophy over rival Manhattan with a 36-29 win on Friday night.
D.J. Giddens scored from ten yards out with under three minutes to go to break a 29-29 tie and give the Blue Jays the lead for good.
Manhattan, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, led 22-21 at halftime behind more than 100 rushing yards by Vinny Smith.
But Junction City would strike in the third quarter with the QB-WR combination of Andrew Khoury to Marcello Bussey. Bussey’s second touchdown reception put the Blue Jays up 29-22.
Manhattan would answer right back as senior quarterback Dayne Aschenbrenner raced 56 yards for a score to tie the game at 29 late in the third quarter.
Giddens then broke the tie in the fourth to provide the winning points for Junction City.
The matchup has produced numerous close results as 11 of the past 12 meetings have been decided by single digits.
CLASS 5A
Mill Valley blasts De Soto
Top-ranked Mill Valley turned Friday’s showdown with No. 5 De Soto into another resounding warning for the rest of the state. The Jaguars blasted their fellow school-district rivals, 70-21.
Senior quarterback Cooper Marsh tossed three touchdowns passes to Jacob Hartman and didn’t throw an incompletion on the night.
Quin Wittenauer led the Jaguar ground game with 178 yards and three touchdowns as well.
De Soto got as close as 14-7 on a Jackson Miller touchdown pass to Ethan Shultze, but Mill Valley took a commanding 35-7 lead into halftime and continued to pull away in the second half.
Seaman beats rival Hayden
Last year’s blowout victory by Hayden ended a streak of three straight Seaman wins in this series.
On Friday, it looked like the Vikings were going to run away with this one as they built a 21-0 lead and held off Hayden, 28-22.
Seaman scored on its first three possessions including a reverse pass from back Casen Stallbaumer to Jordan Zahn. Viking quarterback Reid Cowan then rushed for a touchdown and tossed a touchdown pass to Braden Colley for the three-score lead.
Hayden got on the board as Desmond Purnell caught a touchdown pass from Johnny Holloway. Purnell then returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown to pull the Wildcats within 21-15.
But Seaman would answer with a fourth-quarter touchdown by Nathan Zeferjahn to lead 28-15.
Ultimately, Hayden could only get as close as six after Holloway again hit Purnell on a second touchdown pass.
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Carroll wins the Holy War again
Bishop Carroll’s defeated rival Kapaun Mt. Carmel 31-28 on Friday night for the Golden Eagles’ 24-consecutive win in the series.
The Eagle secondary forced a Kapaun Mt. Carmel fumble inside the Carroll 15-yard line in the final two minutes which ended the Crusaders’ scoring threat and their chances of beating their cross-town rivals for the first time since 1999.
Kapaun led 28-24 until Carroll running back Hunter Trail scored with less than four minutes to go to put the Golden Eagles up 31-28. Trail finished with three rushing touchdowns on the night.
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Eisenhower beats Salina Central in OT
In one of the most exciting games of the night, Goddard-Eisenhower outlasted Salina Central, 45-42 in overtime.
Cody Hawks rushed for three touchdowns in the third quarter as Eisenhower turned a 27-21 halftime deficit into a 42-34 lead. In fact, Salina Central led this game 21-0 at one point.
The Tigers maintained that lead until Salina Central quarterback Parker Kavanaugh’s short touchdown run with under a minute to go. The Mustangs added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 42 and force overtime.
In OT, Salina Central got the ball first but the Tiger defense held them out of the end zone on fourth down.
Eisenhower’s Carlos Vidrio then connected on a 21-yard field goal to deliver the Tigers a 45-42 victory.
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Aquinas tops St. James behind “Tank”
St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Academy took the field for the first time this season with the Saints coming out with a 28-0 win.
Aquinas senior Tyron “Tank” Young carried 26 times for 245 yards and two scores as his team rushed for nearly 380 yards on the night.
Young broke a 96-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that opened the Aquinas lead to 21-0.
St. James was led by KC Piper transfer LaJames White who rushed for 107 yards on 17 attempts.
Aquinas quarterback Blake Anderson rushed for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to Evan Kammerer.
CLASS 4A
Paola holds off Spring Hill
Paola built a big lead against Spring Hill, then held off the Broncos, 41-38.
The Panthers led 34-6 at halftime behind another big performance from Jovanni Blackie. Blackie rushed for well over 150 yards in the first half and two touchdowns, while Garrett Williams added two rushing scores and a passing touchdown all before the break.
After Spring Hill scored out of the locker room, Fletcher Aude extended the Paola advantage to 41-12 in the middle of the third quarter.
That lead would hold until the fourth when Spring Hill would score four consecutive times to pull within 41-38.
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Tonganoxie slugs past Louisburg
Tonganoxie built a 10-0 lead on Louisburg 10-0 at halftime and held on for a 24-14 victory.
The two teams each traded a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Tonganoxie senior running back Tyler Bowden rushed 27 times for 202 yards and a pair of scores to lead the Chieftain offense.
Junior Sam Kleidosty added 40 yards rushing and a score for Tonganoxie. Senior quarterback Blake Poje did not play in the contest.
Ottawa edges Baldwin
Ottawa stopped a nine-game losing streak with a 33-32 win over Baldwin.
Leading 26-24, Cyclone quarterback Noah McCullough broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run to extend the advantage to 33-24.
Baldwin later pulled to within a point with a touchdown and two-point conversion. The Bulldogs had the ball back late driving for the victory, but Axavier Vink recovered a Baldwin fumble to seal the win for the Cyclones.
Baldwin has now dropped 16 consecutive games.
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CLASS 3A
Bishop Ward ends state’s longest losing streak
Bishop Ward snapped the state’s longest losing streak on Friday night with a 39-6 road-win at McLouth.
The Cyclones had dropped 57 consecutive games since a 26-21 win over Atchison on October 25, 2013. That win over Atchison followed a victory over KC Sumner Academy the week prior, which halted the Cyclones 33-game losing streak at that time.
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Holton blasts Chapman
In what was expected to be a competitive game, 3A No. 4 Holton went on the road and dominated Chapman, 55-13.
The Wildcats scored the game’s first 47 points helped by its defense. The Holton defense returned an interception for a touchdown and had another long interception return that set up another score in the first quarter.
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Southeast of Saline shuts out Beloit
Fifth-ranked Southeast of Saline battled for an 18-0 victory in the battle of the Trojans on Friday.
Southeast of Saline, which has beaten Beloit in the past five of six matchups, got all the offensive production they would need on a ten-yard run from Bryant Banks.
Jaxson Gebhardt would later throw two touchdown passes on the night, connecting with Banks in the second quarter and Michael Murray in the third quarter. Overall, Gebhardt went 11 of 20 passing on the night with 145 yards and two touchdowns, according to Wade Gerstner of NCKSSports.com.
Beloit was only able to muster 80 yards of total offense, with 63 coming from the ground. SES had 275 yards on the night.
Southeast of Saline continues their home stretch next week versus Ellsworth, while Beloit has their home opener against Concordia.
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Cherryvale, Parsons deliver first win for new coaches
Cherryvale rolled to a 44-0 victory over Leon-Bluestem on Friday night to deliver head coach Travis Young’s first even coaching victory.
The Chargers left little suspense in this one in scoring three times in the first quarter and leading 25-0 at halftime.
Meanwhile, Parsons rallied to top Iola, 25-20, to give new Viking coach Jeff Schibi his first victory.
The Vikings trailed 20-19 in the fourth quarter but sustained a 96-yard drive which resulted in the winning points.
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Hesston outscores Hillsboro
In a matchup of teams just outside of the rankings, Class 3A Hesston defeated Class 2A Hillsboro, 44-39.
The game featured several big plays, including a 63-yard touchdown run from Hillsboro’s Jamari Harris, and 59-yard scoring pass from Hesston’s Ryan Eilert to Brayden Schilling.
Hesston improved to 2-0 with quality victories versus Haven and Hillsboro.
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Holcomb handles Scott City
Holcomb stopped a three-game losing streak to Scott City with a 30-13 victory on Friday night.
The Longhorns trailed this game 7-6 at halftime, but took the lead for good on a short touchdown pass from Kaden Johnson to Race Ardery.
Johnson would later add his second touchdown pass to put the Longhorns up 22-7. Khai Kosner’s touchdown run pushed the lead to 30-7 and put the game out of reach.
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CLASS 2A
Rossville edges Rock Creek in shoot out
Top-ranked Rossville survived a wild game with Rock Creek by stopping a late Mustang two-point attempt to win, 58-57.
Rock Creek led 26-17 at halftime, but Rossville scored three consecutive times out of the break to lead 37-26. The Bulldawgs would explode for 27 points in the third quarter to lead 44-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams would trade touchdowns again with Rossville holding a 50-44 lead.
The Mustangs would finally take a 51-50 lead with a little more than six minutes remaining, but two minutes later, Rossville was back on top, 58-51.
Rock Creek scored with :27 seconds remaining to pull within 58-57. The Mustangs elected to go for the win, but the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
The two quarterbacks put on a show in this one. Rock Creek’s Charlie Killingsworth passed for 491 yards and five touchdowns in the loss. He also added 136 rushing yards and four more scores.
Rossville’s Torrey Horak rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns and added 84 passing yards and a pair of scores.
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Garden Plain shuts out Sterling
Defense was the name of the game at Sismor Stadium when Garden Plain traveled to Sterling and defeated the Black Bears 14-0.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first quarter, and Garden Plain broke through for a touchdown off a goal line push.
The Owls intercepted Sterling early in the fourth quarter to give Garden Plain the football deep in Black Bear territory. Reed Adelhardt would convert the turnover to a touchdown in the ensuing drive.
Garden Plain will play host to fellow unbeaten Central Plains League member Cheney next week, while Sterling heads on the road to Chaparral.
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Nemaha Central wins at Eudora
Class 2A’s fifth-ranked Nemaha Central Thunder went on the road and pulled out a convincing, 36-6 win over Class 4A Eudora.
The defending 2A champion Thunder scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to blow open what was a 13-6 game after three quarters.
This game was added when the two schools each lost their Week 2 opponent to a COVID situation.
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Colgan rallies for three late scores to top St. Michael the Archangel
St. Mary’s Colgan used a big night on the ground to top St. Michael the Archangel 38-24 in a game that was just added to the schedule on Thursday.
Colgan outscored the Guardians 22-0 in the fourth quarter, including a pair of touchdowns in a span of 30 seconds to take control.
Senior full back Domenico Bevilacqua scored on a 2-yard run and the Panthers added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 24 with 5:42 remaining.
On the ensuing possession Colgan senior Caleb Hamilton, in his second high school game, stepped in front of a Dillion Zaun pass and returned it 27-yards for a touchdown to put the Panthers up 31-24.
Bevilacqua later broke a 62-yard touchdown run as part of his 30-carry, 231-yard, three-touchdown night. Blaise Dawson added 132 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Panthers.
Colgan build a 10-0 lead early before Zaun led St. Michael to three consecutive scoring drives with a touchdown run and two long scoring passes to Michael Haggerty.
The Panthers closed to within 21-16 at halftime, and St. Michael added a field goal for the only score of the third quarter.
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Republic County moves to 2-0 behind big game from Baxa
Republic County ended a 26-game losing streak in Week 8 last season and finished 2-8. Now, the Buffaloes are 4-1 in their last five games.
The Buffs earned a 30-14 home victory versus Beloit in Week 1, and won at Ellsworth, 52-6, this Friday. Republic County moved from 1A to 2A this fall.
Ellsworth had its first game after COVID-19 cancelled in Week 1. It’s the first time Republic County opened 2-0 since ’15.
Republic County senior running back Jared Baxa delivered another massive game with 26 carries for 226 yards for three rushing touchdowns. The varsity did not play in the fourth quarter. Baxa had 264 rushing and 81 receiving yards in Week 1.
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CLASS 1A
Oakley edges Plainville, 10-7
Oakley, the 1A Kpreps Potential Breakout Team in the preseason, moved to 2-0 with a pair of Mid-Continent League victories versus Thomas More Prep-Marian and a quality win versus Plainville.
Before this year, the Plainsmen had not won a MCL game since ’15. Oakley is 2-0 for the third straight season, albeit against a much tougher schedule this fall. Plainville led 7-3 at halftime.
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Syracuse handles Elkhart
Syracuse improved to 2-0 with a 33-6 home win versus Elkhart and has already doubled its win total from a 1-7 season last year. The Bulldogs are 2-0 for the first time since 1999.
Last week, Syracuse won its home opener for just the second time in 12 years.
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8-Man, Division I
No. 5 Clifton-Clyde outlasts No. 3 Little River in OT
This game lived up to its billing.
Clifton-Clyde’s Aiden Rudolph scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to give the Eagles the 42-36 victory.
Clifton-Clyde almost won the game in regulation on a Hail Mary on the game’s final play, but the Eagles receiver was tackled just short of the goal line.
The two teams traded touchdowns and were tied 14-14 after one quarter. It was the visitors from Little River that held a slight 22-20 lead at the intermission.
Each time scored twice in the second half, and the Eagles and Redskins went into overtime tied at 36-36.
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Hoxie defeats La Crosse behind Obioha’s catch
Hoxie trailed at La Crosse until the final offensive play of the first half. Then, the Indians lined up at the La Crosse 23-yard line with 7.5 seconds left. Hoxie put 6-foot-11 lineman Harlan Obioha at wide receiver.
Obioha, the biggest recruit in recent Kansas history, caught the pass and cleared the end zone with .3 seconds left. Hoxie took a 18-14 lead at halftime and went on to win 36-14.
The Indians received two interceptions and a kickoff return for a score from senior Gavin Tremblay. Hoxie also had a TD score from Caden White, and junior quarterback Ashton Dowell threw for three touchdowns.
Hoxie is 1-1, and La Crosse dropped to 0-2. La Crosse junior running back Colby Stull cleared 100 rushing yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns.
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Wichita County blanks WaKeeney-Trego
Wichita County, ranked No. 2 in Eight-Man, Division I, defeated WaKeeney-Trego, 50-0 after a first week victory against Hoxie.
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Hill City edges Ness City; lowest points in a win since ‘97
In a wild game among teams hovering around the top-10 in Eight-Man, Division I, Hill City beat Ness City, 7-6.
Hill City, which is at Wichita County in Week 3, improved to 2-0 with a pair of quality wins. In Week 1, Hill City won at Osborne, 45-26. The Ringnecks had not beaten Osborne since 2010. The Ringnecks are 2-0 for the first time since ’12.
It marked the first time Hill City won a game with single figures since a 6-0 victory versus Atwood in Week 8 of 1997 with former coach Walt Alexander. After ’19, Alexander stepped down after 14 years with Topeka High to take a job in Missouri.
Hill City has only allowed 33 points this season, a sizable improvement from the last couple of years. Last season, the Ringnecks opened 1-1 and allowed 76 points. In ’18, a 1-1 start yielded 106 points permitted. In ’17, Hill City went 1-1 with 66 points allowed. A 1-1 start in ’16 delivered 54 points allowed.
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8-Man, Division II
Lebo blows past Chase County
In one of the more anticipated games on the eight-man schedule this week, Lebo rolled to a 52-6 win over Chase County.
The Wolves scored the games’ first 24 points and eventually led 38-6 at the half before ending the game midway through the third quarter.
Devan McEwen passed for 111 yards and three touchdowns and added 93 yards rushing in the victory. Kyle Reese added 75 yards on the ground and a pair of scores, caught two touchdown passes, and threw a touchdown pass to Jerome Ferguson.
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Bucklin delivers Powell’s first win against his alma-mater, Kiowa County
Bucklin used a 30-point opening quarter to build a lead, then held on for a 52-42 win over Kiowa County.
The Red Aces were led by Scott Price’s 196 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Price also returned a kickoff 76 yards for a score.
Kiowa County pulled to within four points on two occasions in the second half, but each time Bucklin had an answer. Price’s fourth touchdown run increased the Red Ace lead from 46-42 to 52-42 with just under nine minutes remaining.
Bucklin picked up the first win for first-year coach Trever Powell. Coincidently, Powell prepped at Kiowa County where he enjoyed a decorated career that included 4,871 rushing yards and 77 touchdowns in his final three seasons.
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Norwich outlasts South Barber, 52-50, ends an 11-game losing streak for the Chieftains
Norwich lost twice to South Barber in 2019: 64-6 in the regular season and 62-22 in the playoffs. In ’18, Norwich fell, 54-8, to SB. The last time Norwich defeated the Chieftains was a 46-12 win in Week 9 in 2007.
On Friday, Norwich delivered a key road victory, 52-50, after a Week 1 shutout loss to Argonia-Attica.
All of the 11 losses by Norwich in the series were by at least 36 points.
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Solomon edges Wakefield
Solomon’s only points of the second half came on a 4-yard touchdown run by Dylan Hynes early in the fourth quarter, but that’s all the Gorillas would need in a 32-28 win over Wakefield.
The Gorillas scored three times in the first quarter and added an Alex Herbel scoring run to lead 26-14 at halftime.
Wakefield would answer with consecutive touchdowns by Alec Vann on a run and a touchdown pass to Konner Murphy to lead 28-26 before Hynes’ fourth-quarter score.
Herbel rushed for a game-high 114 yards, while Hynes added 64 yards on the ground as Solomon improves to 2-0 on the season.
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Osborne overtakes Beloit St. John’s-Tipton
Osborne had it 13-game winning streak end after a Week 1 loss to Hill City. Osborne outscored Beloit St. John’s-Tipton, 30-8, in the fourth quarter.
Junior Mason Schurr finished with 32 carries for 265 yards and delivered 15 tackles. Overall, Osborne had 67 plays for 454 yards.
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6-MAN FOOTBALL
Burrton ends long losing streak
Congratulations to the Burrton Chargers for snapping a 27-game losing streak with a 71-34 victory over Fowler.
Burrton’s last victory came by 66-40 over Fairfield on September 1, 2017. This is the Chargers’ first season in 6-Man football.
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