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: Blue Valley Northwest (Matt Gilmore – Kpreps)
After having the start to their 2020 season delayed by a couple of weeks, the Blue Valley schools kicked off last Thursday night with a pair of games. Blue Valley North doubled-up Blue Valley Southwest 42-21 in one matchup and Blue Valley Northwest defeated then Class 6A’s No. 3-ranked Blue Valley Tigers, 24-17, in the other.
It marked Blue Valley Northwest’s first win over the Tigers since 2013 – stopping a string of six consecutive losses to one of the Eastern Kansas League’s heavyweight programs.
The Huskies scored three times in the second quarter to take a 17-0 lead into halftime and held off a second-half rally by Blue Valley. Northwest’s Zachary Yates sealed the victory with an interception in the final minute.
Northwest junior quarterback Mikey Pauley rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts and added 109 passing yards including a touchdown to Max Muehlberger.
The win was Blue Valley Northwest’s first in its season opener since 2013. The Huskies have won only four of the last 15 meetings against Blue Valley.
Helmet sticker: Hutchinson (Alex Hammeke -- Kpreps)
After two straight 2-7 seasons, Hutchinson coach Mike Vernon looks to have the pieces in place for a breakout season.
Vernon, a former Hutch High assistant under Randy Dreiling when Hutch won seven state championships, coached at Inman and Nickerson before making the move back to lead the Salthawks.
Hutchinson is currently off to its best start since 2017, sitting at 3-0. If the Salthawks defeat Newton this Friday, their 4-0 start would be their best since 2009, when they went undefeated and won the Class 5A state title.
Much of the Salthawk start has been because of the work of Alec McCuan and Myles Thompson. McCuan has rushed for 472 yards and five touchdowns on the season, while Thompson has rushed for four touchdowns while passing for 190 yards and another score. The Salthawk defense has also been stingy, only allowing 330 rushing yards through three games this season.
Helmet sticker: Lakeside-Downs (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Lakeside-Downs and Osborne are both in Osborne County. The towns are 12 miles apart. In ’04-05, the teams met up in 11-man, and Osborne captured both wins by a combined score of 77-12. The squads didn’t face again until ’11, when Osborne first dropped to eight-man football.
That fall, the teams played a great season-opening game in Osborne, a 46-42 Bulldog victory. That marked Lakeside’s only regular season loss in an 8-2 year. Osborne went 10-2 and to the state semifinals.
The next season, the teams were again on the east/west dividing line and nearly matched up in Week 1 and the state championship game, an extreme rarity. The teams again played a tremendous season opener, as Lakeside won 32-26. Both teams reached the state semifinals again. Osborne went 10-2, and Lakeside had its best year in school history at 11-1.
Then, from ’12-19, Lakeside went a combined 18-55 with one playoff game and a lone winning season, a 5-4 year last fall. Osborne joined Hanover as the dominant eight-man powers. In ’12-19, the Bulldogs finished 79-14, set multiple state records for offense, captured three state titles and finished second another year. In that run, Osborne finished 6-0 against Lakeside with a combined score of 350-36.
This season, Osborne has 18 players with two seniors. Lakeside has 18 players with three seniors after it graduated just one player off last year’s team. On Friday, Lakeside defeated the Bulldogs, 44-34, for the second win in the series in school history. The Knights trailed 8-0 after the first quarter but outscored Osborne, 30-6, in the second and third quarters.
Junior quarterback Kylan Cunningham finished 18 of 32 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 16 times for 102 yards and four scores. Senior Wyatt Eberle delivered eight catches for 85 yards. Junior Tyler Schoen recorded five catches for 74 yards, and junior Jace Schoen finished with three catches for 47 yards and two TDs. Eberle and Cunningham led Lakeside with 16 and 10 tackles, apiece.
Additionally, it placed the Knights atop wild Eight-Man, Division II, District 4. Lakeside is 2-1, 2-0 in district. Four teams, Pike Valley, Thunder Ridge, Osborne and Beloit St. John’s-Tipton, stand 1-1 in district. Drew Duskie is in his seventh year with the Knights.
Lakeside opened with a 32-28 road loss to Logan-Palco and then defeated Rock Hills, 44-12. For the year, Lakeside has a 7/0 TD/INT ratio, including six TDs from Cunningham. Schoen was one of eight-man’s top receivers in ’19 and has delivered 13 catches for 246 yards and six TDs this year.
Helmet sticker: Syracuse (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jordan Irsik, the Syracuse Bulldogs are 3-0 for the first time since 1999.
The Bulldogs have opened with victories over Sublette (25-0), Elkhart (33-6), and Stanton County (27-0).
Senior running back Kolbey Brummett leads the Bulldog offense with 363 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Brummett has averaged 121 yards per game thus far this season and went over 1,000 career rushing yards in last week’s win over Stanton County.
Freshman quarterback Jay Gould has been impressive in rushing for 346 yards and a team-high five touchdowns while passing for 207 yards and two more scores.
The Syracuse defense has allowed only six points all season. The Bulldogs have six players that have already registered at least 20 tackles through three games – led by sophomore Roy Aguilar’s 31 tackles, including five for loss.
Senior Joe Mitchell is second on the team with 25 tackles and has intercepted two passes. Junior Alex Barraza also has a pair of interceptions.
Syracuse begins a challenging district schedule this week with a road game at Thomas More Prep (2-1). The remaining District 7 members include Cimarron (1-2), Ellis (1-2), Lakin (1-2), and Southwestern Heights (1-2).
Syracuse has won four games in a single season only twice in the past ten years.
ACA Sportsmanship Award (Week 3): James Lynn of Wichita Heights
Kpreps is excited to bring back the A Class Athlete (ACA) weekly sportsmanship award for the 2020 season. 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.
This week, we are pleased to recognize James Lynn of Wichita Heights High School.
Last week, James stopped to assist a motorist involved in a car accident. James helped the woman involved in the accident out of her vehicle and helped to assist in directing traffic around the accident until police arrived.
For his actions, James became the first Wichita Heights student to receive the schools’ challenge coin – a new recognition awarded by the schools’ principal.
Wichita Heights defeated Wichita West on Friday night, 17-7.
Congratulations James!
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 (2020 Season)
Week 1 – Cunningham, Goodland, Norton, Wichita Trinity
Week 2 – Bishop Ward, Burrton, Oakley, Wichita Collegiate
A Class Athlete Sportsmanship Award (2020 Season)
Week 1 – Drew Schmelzle, Sabetha High School
Week 2 – Herington High School
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