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 Sunday to see that week’s 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: Chaparral (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Under first-year head coach JC Zahradnik, Chaparral (3-0) is the last remaining unbeaten team on the western half of Class 2A.
Zahradnik took over for Jordan Moshier who left after two seasons to take the head coaching position at Goodland.
The Roadrunners dropped their final four games of 2020 and were outscored 160-2 in those contests. After consecutive season below .500, Chaparral is trying to get back to the level of consistency in which the ‘Runners showed while producing a 37-13 record over five seasons from 2014-2018.
Chaparral opened this season with victories over Wichita Trinity (36-0), Hutchinson Trinity (22-14) and Sterling (30-0).
Senior quarterback Wyatt Drouhard has completed 47 of 80 passes for 663 yards and six touchdowns to start the season. Drouhard has connected with ten different receivers this season led by juniors Jackson Swartz and Jack Francis. Swartz leads the team with 14 receptions for 313 yards and two scores, while Francis has caught 7 for 105 and a touchdown.
Chaparral has been less productive on the ground thus far this season. The Roadrunners have rushed for 317 yards in three games. Junior Austin Clark leads the team with 207 yards and three scores.
The schedule will get tougher with west contenders Garden Plain and Kingman looming in district play, but the Roadrunners have put themselves in position to make the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
Helmet sticker: Cimarron (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Cimarron delivered an under-the-radar key result with a 26-20 road win versus Scott City in GWAC play. Cimarron tallied the game-winning touchdown with 8.8 seconds left when Braxton Harrison hit Jordan Smith on a six-yard pass.
Cimarron led Scott City, 20-7, before the Beavers tied the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns.
Cimarron senior quarterback Braxton Harrison, a three-year starter with a rocket arm, continued his solid play. He finished 12 of 17 passing for 207 yards with two touchdowns against one interception. In the first two games, Harrison was 12 of 29 for 150 yards with no touchdowns against three interceptions, though cleared 100 rushing yards in both contests.
Against Scott City, Harrison had 12 rushes for 68 yards and a rushing score. He has tallied at least one rushing touchdown in each game. Harrison has also produced a terrific highlight versus Scott City when he scrambled around 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage, evaded pressure and threw a 42-yard pass to Janzen.
In his career, Harrison has passed for 1,749 yards with 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions, along with 1,605 rushing yards and 12 rushing TDs.
Senior Mason Eskam has 21 carries for 101 yards with a score for Cimarron. The performance helped him clear 1,000 career rushing yards at 1,028.
Seniors Jordan Smith, Luke Janzen and Eli Greene combined for all 13 catches. Smith caught two receiving scores, and Greene tallied one.
The top-five tacklers in the victory were all seniors: Harrison (14), Michael Feltman (11), Janzen (nine), Smith (nine) and Asher Navarro (eight).
The Bluejays improved to 2-1 with three one-score games. Cimarron lost, 23-16, to Holcomb, and Scott City beat Holcomb, 14-12, in Week 2.
Cimarron is technically in first place in the GWAC with a 2-1 mark, same as Scott City. Last year, the Bluejays beat Scott City, 22-13, and ended a seven-game losing streak in the series. In those seven games, Cimarron was outscored 342-31. Scott City leads the all-time series 14-7, per Scott City broadcaster Adam Kadavy and Western Kansas News.
Helmet sticker: Linn (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
The Linn Bulldogs earn one of our helmet stickers this week after improving to 2-1 on the season with last week’s 78-30 win over Twin Valley League rival Wetmore. A week prior, the Bulldogs beat Southern Cloud 48-26 for the schools’ first official victory since the 2018 season.
Linn made the difficult decision to not field a varsity team last season due to low numbers.
The Bulldogs officially finished 0-9 in 2019 as low numbers ultimately cost the team to forfeit six games. On the field back in 2019, the Bulldogs actually topped Tescott (66-16) and Southern Cloud (54-8) but because they had forfeited an earlier district game due to a lack of players, all district games were officially ruled forfeits.
The Week 2 win over Southern Cloud this season was the first for the Bulldogs first-year head coach Trevor Kuhlman. On Friday, Linn opened District 3 play by exploding for 72 points in the first three quarters against Wetmore. Senior quarterback Kevin Alvarado rushed for 306 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. He also passed for 125 yards and four scores – two of which went to Ezequiel Raucho who had 96 receiving yards. Sophomore Gavin Turk added 96 yards on the ground and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass.
Alvarado has paced the Bulldog offense this season with 497 rushing yards and five touchdowns through three games. He has also passed for 317 yards and six more scores.
Linn has a key district game this week at Onaga that could ultimately decide a playoff spot. The Buffaloes are 0-3, but their losses have been competitive against No. 1 Hanover, No. 5 Frankfort, and Eight-Man Division I contender Clifton-Clyde.
Helmet sticker: Towanda-Circle (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Circle has delivered a surprising 2-1 start. The Thunderbirds beat Chanute (20-12), lost to McPherson (44-0) and bested Augusta (42-35).
Circle had impressive numbers both offensively and defensively versus Augusta.
Senior quarterback Luke McGinnis finished with 23 of 35 passing for 364 yards and five touchdowns. Overall, he has 671 passing yards and six TDs this season. Junior Ty Smith delivered 14 catches for 244 yards and four scores.
McGinnis set Circle’s single-game passing record, and Smith broke school marks for receptions and yards in a game, per Chuck Chaney, who regularly covers Circle for the Butler County Gazette.
Junior Mathyas Montoya recorded 16 tackles, while Smith had 12 tackles. Jacob Garbee, Cannon McCormack and senior Jake Brown all finished with double-digit tackles.
Circle won its first season opener since 2012 and has its first 2-1 start since 2010. From 2011-20, the T-Birds had a cumulative 8-81 record, per the Kansas Football History database. Circle has not posted at least a .500 season since a 5-5 mark in 2010. The last winning season was a 5-4 mark in ’04.
Circle ended a six-game losing streak against Augusta that dated back to 2012. Circle had lost the season opener to Chanute each of the past three season openers with a combined 22 points.
Last year, Circle had a 1-6 season with an 0-3 start. Circle lost to Chanute (16-14), McPherson (41-0) and Augusta (20-12). Then, the T-Birds had three straight games cancelled.
Circle gets Mulvane (1-2, with two competitive losses to ranked teams) and Winfield (2-1) in the next two weeks, both surprising teams.
Helmet Stickers (2021 Season)
Week 1 – Bishop Ward, Chapman, Iola, Royal Valley
Week 2 – Natoma, Russell, Topeka West
Week 3 – Chaparral, Cimarron, Linn, Towanda-Circle
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