The Kpreps Friday First Look provides our impressions of some of the game’s most notable games and performance from Friday night’s action!
Class 6A
Derby holds off Bishop Carroll, 44-36
After a high-scoring first half, 6A No. 1 Derby held off 5A No. 3 Bishop Carroll 44-36 to remain unbeaten.
The two teams played an incredible first half that resulted in several big plays and a 41-23 Derby lead.
Carroll led 3-0 early after a field goal, but Mercer Thatcher quickly put Derby on top with an 8-yard touchdown run. Thatcher added a second touchdown run after a Carroll turnover to push the Panther lead to 13-3, before Carroll would answer with a touchdown pass from Chase Smarsh to Matt Holthusen to pull within 13-10.
That didn’t last.
Derby speedster Dylan Edwards returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and a 20-10 Panther lead. He then broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 27-10 and put Carroll in danger of losing touch.
But the Golden Eagles would respond. Holthusen put Carroll in great shape with a long kickoff return and the Eagles cashed in on a Smarsh to Tate Blasi touchdown to pull within 27-17.
Derby would score twice more on a Mercer Thatcher touchdown pass to Drake Thatcher and an interception return for a touchdown by Kaden Shelton.
Smarsh then hit Blasi for another score to pull Carroll within 41-23 at halftime and then connected with Holthusen again in the third quarter to make the score 41-30.
Carroll got as close as 41-36 in the fourth quarter before Derby added a field goal for their sixth consecutive win in the series.
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Olathe North grinds out win over Free State
Olathe North used a strong defensive performance and a consistent passing game to top Lawrence Free State, 21-7.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles got on the board on a Jacob Parrish touchdown run to lead 7-0. That lead held until the third quarter when Jet Dineen tied the game for Free State with a short touchdown run.
Olathe North quarterback Noah Palmer later gave the Eagles the lead for good with a 2-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
Parrish then provided the separation with a 35-yard run in the fourth quarter to push the lead to two scores. He finished with 73 yards on the ground and had eight receptions for 185 yards. Palmer passed for nearly 250 yards for Olathe North in the win.
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Junction City tops Seaman in OT
In a game that didn’t see its first touchdown until 6:09 in the fourth quarter, Junction City forced overtime and then forced a turnover to edge Topeka Seaman, 23-16.
Seaman led 9-0 after three field goals before the Blue Jays pulled closer with a field goal of their own. Junction City then tied the game on a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, but the PAT was missed.
Seaman responded shortly after on along touchdown catch and run by Casen Stallbaumer to put the Vikings up 16-9.
David Rowell then answered for Junction City with a 14-yard touchdown run with just under a minute left to tie the game at 16.
Junction City got the ball first in overtime and scored on a short Rowell touchdown to lead 23-16. Seaman’s overtime possession was short-lived as the Vikings lost a fumble on the very first play sealing the win for Junction City.
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Blue Valley puts up 67 on Lee’s Summit
Blue Valley scored 67 points as part of a 67-36 win over Lee’s Summit (Mo.) on Friday night.
The Tigers scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and four more in the second to lead 50-20 at halftime.
Blue Valley rushed for 341 yards on the night led by Michael Solomon’s 153 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Greyson Holbert added 138 yards on the ground and two scores. Holbert also passed for 215 yards and three touchdowns – two of which went to Sterling Lockett.
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Class 5A
Kapaun slows down powerful Wichita Northwest
Kapaun Mt. Carmel outscored Wichita Northwest 27-7 in the second half in pulling away for a 34-17 victory.
Northwest put together a drive late in the second quarter that resulted in a field goal and a 10-7 halftime lead.
Kapaun came out in the third quarter and forced a three-and-out followed by a long Omari Elias run to put the Crusaders near the Northwest red zone. A few plays later Elias broke free for a 19-yard touchdown and a 13-10 Kapaun lead.
The Crusaders then turned away the Grizzlies scoring threat by throwing Geremiah Moore for a loss at the 15-yard line on fourth down.
Kapaun then went on a time-consuming drive that resulted in an Austin Ruda 15-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to push the lead to 20-10.
Northwest quickly moved into Crusader territory, but turned the ball over on downs again. Kapaun then drove 65 yards for a touchdown and a 27-10 lead after two-yard run by Elias.
Northwest would score on a touchdown by Moore with 3:24 remaining to pull within 27-17, but Elias would ice the game with a 48-yard touchdown run.
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Jay throws Mill Valley past Shawnee Mission East
Defending Class 5A champion Mill Valley scored 34 points in the first half in rolling to a 41-10 win over Shawnee Mission East.
Jaguar quarterback Hayden Jay passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns on the night, including 129 yards and two scores to Jared Napoli. Aidan Jacobs had to catches for 91 yards and a score and Kendrick Jones also hauled in a touchdown pass.
Mill Valley was led on the ground by Reice Kennedy who rushed for 129 yards on nine carries and scored twice.
The Jaguar defense came up with three interceptions in the game with one each from Dylan Massey, Jack Fischer, and John Anderson.
Mill Valley (3-0) remains unbeaten on the season with a showdown against Lawrence scheduled for next week.
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Turner wins first game since 2018
The Turner Golden Bears rolled past KC Harmon on Friday, 52-0. The win was the first for veteran coach Rick Byers who took over at Turner this season. It also stopped a 23-game losing streak for the Bears. Their last victory came August 31, 2018 against Harmon, 28-20.
Turner had scored a combined 151 points in the 23 losses since that last win over the Hawks. They scored 52 on Friday night.
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Class 4A
Miege edges Aquinas, 23-20
In a battle of top-ranked teams, 4A No. 1 Bishop Miege scored a late touchdown and a field goal to top 5A No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas, 23-20 on Friday night.
The Stags led 7-6 at halftime, but trailed Aquinas 12-7 entering the fourth quarter.
Miege took the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter as David Garcia scored from a yard out to put the Stags up 13-12.
Aquinas answered right back as Sean Carroll scored from 7 yards out to put the Saints back on top, 20-13.
Miege tied the game with 5:30 remaining on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mac Armstrong to Daegan Jensen in the corner of the end zone. Jenson leaped for the ball and appeared to land on it with the ball deflecting far away from his body when he hit the ground. The official ruled touchdown must to the disbelief of the Aquinas defender and the game was tied 20-20.
Aquinas then fumbled on its next possession giving Miege the ball at the 20-yard line. The Stags converted the turnover into a Stephen Neenan 32-yard field goal and a 23-20 lead with 4:07 remaining.
Aquinas mounted a drive into Miege territory that included an incredibly determined fourth-down conversion by Carroll. Ultimately, the Saints drive resulted in no points when Maxxwell Ford’s fourth-down pass to Evan Kammerer fell incomplete.
Armstrong passed for 219 yards and a touchdown for Miege. Christian Bowen-Webb was Armstrong’s primary target with 8 connections for 103 yards.
Carroll rushed for 245 yards and a score to lead Aquinas.
The win was Miege’s first against Aquinas since 2017.
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Basehor scores late to top Center
Basehor-Linwood quarterback Brady Garrison scored on a 9-yard touchdown run with under a minute to go to propel the Bobcats to a 26-21 win over KC Center (Mo.).
Basehor-Linwood was originally scheduled to play De Soto, but the Wildcats cancelled on Friday morning due to COVID protocol. Center and Basehor-Linwood quickly made a connection and played a great game later that night.
Basehor-Linwood led 20-13 at halftime after Zack Sisemore scored on a short touchdown run.
Centre regained the lead with a little over two minutes remaining in the game which set up Garrison’s last-minute heroics.
Garrison rushed for two touchdowns and tossed a touchdown pass to Chants Nelson. Sisemore was the workhorse for the Bobcat offense carrying 32 times for 202 yards.
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Buhler grinds out win over Winfield
Buhler used a consistent ground game and an opportunistic defense to grind past Winfield, 18-7.
The Crusaders forced four Viking turnovers on the night, including three interceptions. Jackson Childs’ pick-6 in the third quarter gave Buhler a two-score lead.
Sam Elliott rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown to lead the Buhler offense. Bradley Neill passed for 100 yards including a touchdown to Matthew Eddy.
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Circle scores late to top Augusta
Towanda-Circle scored on 32-yard touchdown pass from Luke McGinnis to Ty Smith with under two minutes remaining to shock Augusta, 42-35.
The Thunderbird connection of McGinnis to Smith struck earlier in the quarter and could have tied the game, but a missed PAT kept Circle trailing 35-34. That’s when McGinnis connected with Smith again – their fourth touchdown connection on the night.
McGinnis passed for more than 350 yards and five touchdowns in the game. Smith hauled in nearly 250 yards receiving and scored four times.
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Mulvane snaps 6-game skid after emotional week
Mulvane earned a 32-13 road victory against Clearwater after an emotional week that saw the passing of Wildcat Athletic Director Doug Evers.
While the Wildcats were competitive in losses to Wichita Collegiate and Andale to open the season, the put things together on Friday as quarterback Mason Ellis rushed for a pair of touchdowns and passed for another. Ellis missed nearly all of last year with an injury.
Mulvane ended a six-game overall winning streak and was 1-10 in its 11 contests.
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Class 3A
Cheney tops rival Garden Plain
Harrison Voth passed for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns as 3A No. 3 Cheney pulled away from 2A No. 4 Garden Plain, 34-7.
The Cardinals led 20-7 at halftime thanks to a pair of Voth touchdown passes and his short touchdown run. He added another of each in the third quarter to help the Cardinals pull away.
Voth rushed for more than 100 yards in the game to go along with his two scores.
Garden Plain’s usually consistent ground game was slowed to a little more than 100 yards on the night by the Cheney defense.
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Wamego edges Clay Center in OT
On Friday, Wamego again found itself a part of a multi-overtime game, but this time the Red Raiders came out on top.
Wamego and Clay Center finished regulation tied at 27 before the Red Raiders held on for a 47-41 victory in 3 OTs.
Wamego lost a 4 OT game to Concordia, 41-40 back in the season-opener.
Class 2A
TMP beats 1A No. 5 Plainville
Last year, Thomas More Prep earned its first signature win in a 10-7 victory versus Plainville, the first win versus the Cardinals since the ‘70s. Plainville had looked really strong with home wins versus Phillipsburg and Oakley by a combined score of 71-13. TMP lost in triple overtime to Russell last week.
TMP beat Plainville, 21-0, at Lewis Field Stadium. Plainville struggled all game with mistakes. The Cardinals had several crucial bad snaps at key times.
Plainville missed a field goal and the game remained scoreless through into a good portion of the second quarter. Kade Harris gave the Monarchs a 7-0 lead with 5:30 left in the first half. The Monarchs picked off Plainville and turned the short field into points with 3:59 before halftime. Then, Plainville had a TD called back because of penalty.
A bad snap gave TMP the ball at the Plainville 25. The Monarchs scored again with 65 seconds left before halftime. In the second half, Plainville went down to the TMP 10 but had a turnover on downs. Plainville later had 4th-and-1 at the TMP 13-yard line but fumbled the snap.
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Class 1A
Inman dominates Sacred Heart
Inman continues to prove they are once again a legitimate contender in Class 1A. On Friday the Teutons blasted Sacred Heart, 86-0, in a game that was delayed by lightning to start.
After the delay, the Teutons exploded for 48 points in the first quarter and led 72-0 at halftime.
Jace Doerksen threw four touchdown passes – three to Tanner Heckel and another to Kyler Konrade. Kendyn Blank returned a punt for a touchdown and then added four rushing touchdowns to account for Inman’s 72 first-half points.
The Teutons have now outscored its three opponents this season 206-0.
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8-Man Football
Trego wins road thriller in Kpreps Game of the Week
WaKeeney-Trego continued its surprising season with a 42-40 road win versus Victoria. Trego (3-0) is ranked fifth in Eight-Man, Division I. Victoria is ranked second in Division II. Victoria had won 11 straight regular season/Week 9 bracket games. The contest marked Victoria’s Homecoming.
Trego essentially sealed the win on a 4th-and-2 conversion from its own 29-yard line with two minutes left. Quarterback Owen Day hit senior end Charlie Russell on a bootleg. In 2020, Victoria beat Trego, 54-8. Russell did not play football last year, and Day was hurt early in the Victoria contest.
Trego led all first half as the teams exchanged scores. Gunner Wilson opened the scoring with a 12-yard TD pass from Day. Then, Victoria junior Carson Werth returned the kickoff 75 yards for a score.
Trego all-purpose threat Cole Feldt took over at quarterback when Day had to exit the game for a play. He rushed for a 20-yard score. Victoria responded with a two-yard run from Nate Windholz. Then, Day found Wilson on a 39-yard touchdown pass. Windholz immediately responded with a 65-yard run to cut the lead to 20-18.
Just before halftime, Victoria senior quarterback Grant Schoenrock found Seth Schwien for a 43-yard reception. Schoenrock scored from one yard out, and Victoria led 26-20 at halftime after the conversion.
Trego took the lead for good when junior tailback James Kriegh had a 10-yard scoring run. Then, Day tacked on a two-yard run for a 36-26 lead after three quarters. Schoenrock and Windholz missed significant chunks of the second half with cramping. However, Victoria backup quarterback Thaddeus Wohler led a pair of scoring drives and cut the deficit to 42-40. WaKeeney never allowed the Knights to get the ball back.
The speedy Kriegh recorded 21 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Day amassed 263 yards of total offense and three scores in another big performance. Russell recorded four catches and picked off a pass. Wilson finished with four catches for 71 yards and two scores. Victoria did amass 16 penalties and had several crucial dropped passes.
Werth had a big game for Victoria. He finished with more than 170 all-purpose yards and a pair of scores.
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West Elk delivers No. 100 for Haag
West Elk went on the road and defeated Flinthills 34-14 on Friday night. The Patriots led 20-14 at halftime and added a touchdown each in the third and fourth quarter to pull away. The victory was the 100th in the coaching career of West Elk’s Chris Haag who is in his 21st year with the school.
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Additional 8-Man notes:
In a wild game, Bucklin continued its impressive turnaround with a 50-48 win versus Hodgeman County. Bucklin won its season opener for the first time since 2007, a year when it started 6-0. Before then, Bucklin had not started 3-0 since 1996. Bucklin had been 0-3 versus Hodgeman County since ’04, including a 60-14 loss last season. Bucklin led Hodgeman, 28-20, at halftime.
We thought Onaga could possibly be primed for an upset against Frankfort, ranked No. 5 in Eight-Man, Division II, this week. Onaga had played Hanover, No. 1 in Division II, in a rare four-quarter game last week for the Wildcats. Onaga put up 454 yards versus Hanover. Frankfort needed overtime, but Ethan Armstrong provided the winning points for the Wildcats as they topped Onaga, 28-22. Frankfort has won nine straight in the series dating back to 2004.
6-Man Football
No. 2 Ashland tops No. 1 Cheylin
Second-ranked Ashland held off top-ranked Cheylin 42-32 in what could be a preview of a late-season playoff game later this season. The Blue Jays stopped Cheylin’s 11-game winning streak by holding the Cougars to 67 yards rushing and forcing a pair of turnovers.
Cheylin sophomore quarterback Logan McCarty passed for 395 yards and five touchdowns on the day, including two to freshman Harley McPherson. Fellow sophomores Brady Ketzner and Pablo Bermudez each had more than 100 receiving yards for the Cougars.
Martinez leads Natoma past Weskan
Kayden Martinez rushed for 265 yards and five touchdowns as Natoma handled Weskan, 67-19 on Friday to remain unbeaten.
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