Each Thursday throughout the regular season, The Pick List will feature a few of the best match-ups across the state, and make our predictions on a handful of other games.
Feature Games of the Week:
6A No. 5 Junction City (1-0) at Manhattan (1-0)
The Centennial League powers match up for the annual Silver Trophy, one of Kansas’ long-standing and best football rivalries. Last season, Junction City scored in the final three minutes to beat Manhattan, 36-29. In 2019, Manhattan edged Junction City, 31-28, on a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
Eleven of the past 12 meetings have been decided by single digits.
Junction City and Manhattan both took significant graduation losses. Junction City graduated quarterback Andrew Khoury, and Manhattan lost signal caller Dayne Aschenbrenner. Plus, Junction City graduated standout skill players Russell Wilkey and Marcello Bussey. Manhattan lost defensive lineman Damian Ilalio, the 6A Defensive Player of the Year, to Kansas State.
Junction City returns no player with more than 144 offensive yards. Manhattan had a little more back. Vincent Smith rushed for 460 yards and seven touchdowns. Keenan Schartz passed for 157 yards and a TD in limited time. Joe Hall was expected to be a breakout player after 221 receiving yards and can play both ways. Manhattan is notably strong in the secondary with defensive back Colby Klieman.
Last year, Junction City led 6A with 45.4 points a game, while Manhattan delivered 29.9 points a contest. Manhattan had the better defense with 20.4 points a game, which was eighth in 6A.
Manhattan traveled several hours to Garden City, a team known the last several years for strong defense and limited offense. Manhattan won 21-6.
The Indians rushed for 247 yards. Schartz rushed nine times for 161 yards and two TDs, along with 62 passing yards. Senior Vinny Smith had 20 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Junior Phil Vikander had nine tackles and a TFL. Senior Eleazar Whitfield had 1.5 sacks.
Junction City opened with a 34-0 win against Topeka at Hummer Park in a game that ended at halftime because of weather. Senior quarterback David Rowell contributed three touchdowns after he had previously played defensive back. It marked win No. 201 in coach Randall Zimmerman’s career.
Expect both teams to finish with winning records and likely in the top-10 in 6A. Junction City has 13 winning seasons in the last 14 years. Manhattan has been over .500 every year from ’08-’20. Coach Joe Schartz took over in ’09.
Both teams require multiple breakout players this year, especially offensively. Junction City is ranked, but Manhattan has slightly more experience at QB and on defense. The Silver Trophy has often gone to the underdog in this one, and Manhattan is the pick in another close game.
Our Pick: Manhattan 24, Junction City 21 (Nicholl)
4A No. 4 Buhler (1-0) at 4A No. 3 Andover Central (1-0)
A key Class 4A matchup that features two top-five ranked teams. Andover Central is ranked third, and Buhler moved into the poll at No. 4 this week. This game will significantly help set the early season pecking order in 4A West.
Last week, Andover Central held on to beat Newton, 10-6. Buhler was impressive with a 42-14 win versus Goddard when Sam Elliott rushed for more than 250 yards and three touchdowns.
Buhler recorded two pick-sixes with Matthew Eddy and Cameron Campbell. Buhler also had a goal line stand and another fourth down stop at the red zone.
Elliott, a two-time state wrestling champion, was just short of 2,000 rushing yards and earned conference offensive player of the year honors in 2020. Both teams return a high number of key players. Both were picked as Kpreps Potential Breakout Teams last week. In 2020, Andover Central went 7-2 with losses by a combined seven points. Buhler finished 6-4 with all close losses.
This game was cancelled last year.
Andover Central features back RB/LB Ashton Barkdull and its standout line that includes Drew Daniels and Isaac Sheeran, among others. Daniels has an Emporia State offer. The Jaguars averaged 5.7 yards per carry, its best since 2010, and delivered 31.1 points a contest. Plus, quarterback Kai Kunz transferred from Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
Buhler was top-three in 4A defense the last two years. Like Andover Central, Buhler is heavily experienced with quarterback Bradley Neill and end Bo Van Bruggen. Neill threw for two touchdowns last week.
Last week, Kunz completed 11 of 17 passes for 88 yards. Barkdull had 14 rushes for 127 yards. Overall, Andover Central still averaged 6.5 yards per rush – though had just 40 offensive plays. Last year, Andover Central averaged 55 plays a game.
Sophomore Colin Sheeran led with 10 tackles, while senior Kamden Wilson finished with 4.5 sacks. Senior Dillon Savage recovered a fumble.
Buhler is 4-2 in the last six meetings in the series, all since 2008. Andover Central won 31-14 in 2019.
This one could go either way and expect Elliott to have another big game. Andover Central likely has more depth but will need have more offensive plays than it did against Newton. The Jaguars have a slight overall edge at several position groups, but Elliott could definitely take over this game.
Our Pick: Andover Central 28, Buhler 26 (Nicholl)
Hesston (1-0) at Hillsboro (1-0)
An intriguing game in the Central Kansas League pits two teams that look to make some noise in their respective classifications. Both the Hesston Swathers and Hillsboro Trojans opened the season last week with dominating wins over CKL opponents.
Hesston traveled to Haven and topped the Wildcats, 45-8, while Hillsboro throttled Nickerson 50-22 in a game in which the Trojans led 50-0 at halftime.
For Hesston, a group of experienced players hope to help the Swathers rebound from a 4-5 season in 2020, however the schedule and district will once again be difficult. Hesston will play in 3A District 7 with the likes of defending state champion Andale, second-ranked Wichita Collegiate, and traditional playoff contenders Clearwater and Halstead.
The Swathers looked the part of a team ready to challenge in that district based on last week’s first half against Haven. Sophomore quarterback Hudson Ferralez (6-0, 175) passed for 208 yards and three touchdowns in leading Hesston on six first-half drives that resulted in touchdowns.
The Swathers have a talented trio of receivers in Brayden Schilling, Max Werner, and Nick Arnold and Ferralez threw touchdown passes to all three of them last week.
Ryan Eilert added 57 yards rushing and three scores for Hesston.
Ferralez passed for 936 yards and 8 touchdowns as a freshmen last season when Eilert transitioned into the backfield. The versatile Eilert passed for 1,036 yards and 6 touchdowns last year and can be used in several different ways in Tyson Bauerle’s offense.
Hesston also has a solid nucleus of experienced players up front and should have a size advantage over Hillsboro.
Hillsboro enters Demetrius Cox’s third season with high expectations after posting consecutive 6-4 marks. The Trojans return four experienced players up front to lead the way for standout senior quarterback Matthew Potucek and back Jamari Harris.
Potucek (5-11, 185) is a dynamic athlete and dual-threat at the quarterback position. He passed for 1,477 yards and 19 touchdowns last season while adding 805 yards rushing and four more scores.
Against Nickerson, Potucek rushed for 94 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 62 more yards. Harris led the Trojans with 115 yards and three touchdowns on only 8 carries.
Tristan Rathbone led the Trojan defense and had 8 tackles last week.
Last season, Hesston edged Hillsboro 44-39. This should be another entertaining game given Hesston’s ability to throw the ball with its talented group of receivers and Hillsboro’s experienced secondary on defense.
Our Pick: Hesston 30, Hillsboro 27 (Gilmore)
Clifton-Clyde (1-0) at 8M-I No. 1 Little River (1-0)
This is the third matchup between the schools since the start of 2020. In Week 2 last season, Little River lost, 42-36, in overtime at Clifton-Clyde. Coach Kevin Ayers said several times the loss was a learning experience and several key plays, including turnovers, swung the game. In the playoffs, the Redskins beat Clifton-Clyde, 46-26.
Little River finished the year on an eight-game winning streak and defeated Leoti-Wichita County, 70-58, to win the Eight-Man, Division I state title. Ayers, in his third year at the school, is the first eight-man coach in Kansas history to win titles at three different schools. Overall, Ayers is 179-43 in his career after a 62-6 win versus Peabody-Burns in Week 1.
Clifton-Clyde coach Russ Steinbrock stands at 131-69. Since the start of 2018, Clifton-Clyde (86.7 percent) and Little River (84.9) rank fifth and sixth in eight-man winning percentage. Little River finished first and Clifton-Clyde fifth in the final 2020 Kpreps poll.
Little River graduated its well-known QB/hybrid duo of Graham Stephens and Jayden Garrison. Clifton-Clyde graduated single wing quarterback Aidan Rudolph. However, Little River returned its entire offensive line, which played progressively better after the Clifton-Clyde loss. The group features Kaden Shafer, Carter Holloway and Kyle Bruce.
Little River is still balanced at the skill positions with Ty Herzog, Grant Stephens, Braxton Lafferty and Braden Young. Last week, the Redskins threw for 143 yards and rushed for 239. Lafferty and junior Rylan Konen went 3 of 3 for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Konen finished with eight carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Clifton-Clyde cruised to a 46-0 win at Onaga. Steinbrock noted Clifton-Clyde’s best linemen were junior center Kansas Damman and junior uncovered guard Seth LeClair. The Eagles finished 10 of 18 for 182 yards and four passing touchdowns, along with 28 rushes for 245 yards and two passing scores. Jett Skocny and Trent Long each passed for two scores.
Maison Slater finished with five receptions for 91 yards and two TD. Skocny delivered 13 rushes for 123 yards. Skocny served as the kicker, punter and primary returner. Tee Koch had 11 tackles with a fumble recovery.
Skocny played a variety of roles last season with 13 offensive touchdowns and at least 240 passing, rushing and receiving yards. Rudolph graduated after he rushed 164 times for 1,183 yards. He rushed for 1,550 yards as a junior. Rudolph accounted for 226 points.
Four of the top-six tacklers graduated, though Seth LeClair is back after he was second with 73 tackles. Koch was fourth with 47 stops. LeClair and Damman are the only two starters back.
These two are similar in returning personnel, but Little River has slight edge being at home and with a little bit more experience up front. Little River has arguably the best eight-man defensive line. Two keys will be the team that wins the trenches and turnovers. Little River had a pair of turnovers versus Clifton-Clyde. They had just four the rest of the season.
Little River posted 318 yards in the first game and 448 in the second contest versus Clifton-Clyde.
Our Pick: Little River 34, Clifton-Clyde 26 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
4A No. 1 Bishop Miege at 6A No. 4 Blue Valley Northwest – Blue Valley Northwest
Garden City at Hutchinson – Hutchinson
Kapaun Mt. Carmel at Wichita East – Kapaun Mt. Carmel
4A No. 2 St. James Academy at Blue Valley – Blue Valley
Andover at Arkansas City – Andover
Basehor-Linwood at Leavenworth – Basehor-Linwood
Blue Valley Southwest at De Soto – De Soto
Topeka Seaman at Topeka Hayden – Topeka Seaman
5A No. 4 Wichita Northwest at Wichita Heights – Wichita Northwest
Chapman at 3A No. 5 Holton – Holton
Holcomb at Scott City – Holcomb
Oakley at 1A No. 5 Plainville – Plainville
Whitewater-Remington at Conway Springs – Conway Springs
8M-I No. 5 Hill City at Ness City – Hill City
La Crosse at Hoxie – Hoxie
Lebo at Chase County – Lebo
8M-I No. 2 Madison at Hartford – Madison
South Barber at Norwich – South Barber
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