In our Picks to Click, we feature several players or units from across the state that we feel will have breakout performances on Friday night.
This season, we’ve assembled a team of media members across the state to each select one player (or unit) each week. We will track the cumulative statistics of our selections throughout the season similar to fantasy scoring.
Picks to Click contributors for the 2021 season include: Sean Boston (Southwind Broadcasting); Dion Clisso (PrepsKC.com); Matt Gilmore (Kpreps.com); Chet Kuplen (Sports in Kansas); Brent Maycock (KSHSAA Covered); Conor Nicholl (Kpreps.com); and Mark Schremmer (Kansas Chronicles & Kpreps.com).
Check back next Friday to see our picks for Week 3, and how the players performed that we picked the week prior. See the bottom of this article for details.
Evan Cantu, RB, Maize South (Boston)
Cantu (5-9, 195) opened the season with a 24-carry, 249-yard rushing performance with two touchdowns in a 32-0 win at Great Bend. The senior back rushed for 1,054 yards and 5 touchdowns as a junior last fall, while also posting 180 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Cantu will look to have another big night as the Mavericks look to move to 2-0 for the third consecutive season as they host Salina South.
Erhik Hermosillo, QB, Leoti-Wichita County (Schremmer)
In his first start, Hermosillo followed all-stater Kayde Rietzke by leading the Indians to a 56-6 win over Hoxie, which entered the season ranked fourth in 8-Man Division I. Hermosillo completed 11 of 14 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 238 yards and four TDs. Hermosillo and the Indians expect to keep rolling as they prepare for their home opener against WaKeeney-Trego.
Sage Huffman, RB, Blue Valley West (Clisso)
Huffman rushed for 196 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in last week’s win over Blue Valley Southwest. The Jaguars rushed for more than 300 yards as a team in the 45-21 win. If Blue Valley West is going to take down 6A No. 3 Blue Valley North, they will need another strong showing from Huffman and the ground attack.
Jaren Kanak, QB, Hays (Nicholl)
Kanak took over at quarterback for Hays High this year. The state's top recruit and Clemson commit, had previously served in an all-purpose role throughout his career. Kanak moved behind center once standout baseball player Dylan Dreiling elected not to play football in 2021. Last Friday, Kanak rushed for three touchdowns, passed for a 98-yard score, and accounted for 484 yards rushing, passing and on punt returns. He rushed for 240 and passed for 169. Hays High beat Wichita East, 35-6, at Lewis Field Stadium.
On Friday, Hays plays rival Great Bend, a winless team last season. In 2020, Kanak didn't play against the Panthers. Jordan Dale took over at quarterback and scored four touchdowns with 219 rushing yards in a 43-14 win. Great Bend allowed more than 200 rushing yards to Maize South's Evan Cantu last week. Hays High did a great job putting the ball in Kanak's hands in Week 1 - and expect another big output Friday.
Henry Martin, QB, Blue Valley North (Gilmore)
Martin looks to cap off an incredible career at Blue Valley North by getting the Mustangs back to the 6A state championship game. Last season, the 6-foot, 195-pound Martin passed for 2,981 yards and 35 touchdowns in leading North to a state runner-up finish. He will certainly challenge the state record for all-time passing yards (9,295) held by Bishop Miege’s Carter Putz. Martin entered this season with around 5,600 passing yards and 67 career touchdown passes. In last week’s season-opening 51-24 win over Bishop Miege, Martin completed 27 of 33 passes for 372 yards and six touchdowns in basically three quarters of work. He has a talented group of receivers with Missouri-commit Mekhi Miller and Cole Stratton. The Mustangs will take on Blue Valley West this week.
Cade Oliver, QB, Wabaunsee (Kuplen)
Oliver had a breakout season in 2020 with 2,083 passing yards for the Chargers. Last Friday in the 28-0 win over Mission Valley, Oliver threw for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth score. Expect a big night from the senior signal caller as Wabaunsee takes on Uniontown.
Colby Stull, QB/RB, La Crosse (Maycock)
Stull faced one of the toughest defenses he will see all season last week in a 52-26 loss to eight-Man II No. 2 Victoria and still enjoyed a fairly productive night, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown and catching a 50-yard touchdown pass. This week, he gets a Hoxie defense that gave up 56 points to Leoti-Wichita County last week. Stull ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns last year in a 36-14 loss to Hoxie, but finished the season with 1,519 yards and 32 TDs and could be primed for a big game against the Indians this time around.
Week 1 Picks to Click results (scoring):
Dylan Bice, QB, Thunder Ridge – Bice completed all nine of his passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 89 yards and three scores as the Longhorns blasted Stockton, 70-12. (Gilmore – 57 pts)
Tyler Claiborne, WR, St. James Academy – Claiborne had five catches for 39 yards in the Thunder’s 28-7 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas. (Clisso – 3 pts)
Lance Hoffsommer, QB, Sedgwick – Hoffsommer passed for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards and a score in Sedgwick’s 61-8 win over Sterling. (Kuplen – 73 pts)
Torrey Horak, QB, Rossville – The All-State quarterback helped Rossville open the season with a 38-0 win over Centralia. Horak completed 8 of 15 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 211 yards and two TDs. (Schremmer – 46 pts)
Avery Johnson, QB, Maize – Johnson completed 11 of 25 passes for 105 yards and a touchdowns in the Eagles’ 17-14 win over Andover. (Boston – 16 pts)
Logan McCarty, QB, Cheylin – McCarty passed for 190 yards and three touchdowns and added 171 yards and five scores on the ground in the Cougars’ 67-12 win over Golden Plains. (Nicholl – 84 pts)
Hayden Oviatt, QB, Wamego – Oviatt had a long and busy night as Wamego and Concordia battled through four overtimes before Concordia finally pulled out a 41-40 victory. Oviatt, in his second year as starting quarterback for Wamego, did all he could to lift the Red Raiders to victory, rushing for 185 yards and two touchdowns and throwing for another 65 yards and two scores. (Maycock – 48 pts)
Standings for the 2021 season through Week 1:
- Conor Nicholl, Kpreps.com 84 points
- Chet Kuplen, Sports in Kansas 73 points
- Matt Gilmore, Kpreps.com 57 points
- Brent Maycock, KSHSAA-Covered 48 points
- Mark Schremmer, Kpreps & Kansas Chronicles 46 points
- Sean Boston, KSKZ Radio 16 points
- Dion Clisso, PrepsKC.com 3 points
2021 Picks to Click
- The objective will be to have the most cumulative points over the course of the season.
- Participants may select a quarterback, running back, WR/TE, offensive line or a defensive player each week.
- Everyone must pick a WR/TE, offensive line and defensive player at least once.
- Points will be rewarded only for the player's offensive or defensive stats, depending on how you designate the player that week. For instance, if you pick a running back then you will not receive any of his points for defense.
Scoring system
QBs/RBs/WRs/TEs
- 1 point for every 10 yards passing, rushing or receiving from a quarterback, running back or wide receiver
- 6 points for every passing, rushing or receiving touchdown
Offensive line
- 1 point for every 50 yards gained as an offense
- 3 points for every offensive touchdown
Defensive player
- 2 points for every tackle
- 4 points for every INT, sack or fumble recovery
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