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:
Garden City (2-1) at Hays (3-0)
This will be a critical Western Athletic Conference game at Fort Hays’ Lewis Field Stadium. Hays High opened 5-0 last season and went a perfect 4-0 in WAC play before three straight losses. This season, the Indians have been especially dominant, especially after it led Wichita East, 7-0, at halftime in Week 1.
Since then, Hays outscored East, 28-6, followed by Great Bend, 51-0, and Liberal, 58-14. Hays High completely dominated the last two weeks against overmatched foes. The Indians had at least 50 points by halftime.
East, which returned multiple key pieces from the No. 1 scoring defense in Class 6A last season, is 1-2. Great Bend has lost 13 straight games. Liberal is 3-15 in its last 18 games versus Kansas opponents, including a win versus Great Bend.
Garden City has had a nice turnaround under longtime coach Brian Hill after 2-7, 2-7 and 3-6 records. Last year, the Buffs lost two games by one point, including a 21-20 loss to Hutchinson in Week 2. This season, Garden City fell, 21-6, to Manhattan, in Week 1. Manhattan is currently ranked fifth in Class 6A.
Then, Garden City won at Hutchinson, 13-7, in overtime, and beat Wichita West, 49-0. Hill stands at 62-49 in 12 seasons with Garden City.
Hays High coach Tony Crough, a Garden City graduate, is 15-15 in his fourth year with the Indians.
Hays High and Garden City have enjoyed statistically strong defenses. Last year, Garden City was seventh in 6A with 20.3 points a game allowed. Hays was fourth in 5A with 16 points permitted a contest. Neither team ranked in the top-half of its classification in scoring offense. HHS scored 23 points a game, and Garden City tallied 17 points a contest.
This year, Hays has increased its offense with senior Jaren Kanak, the state’s top recruit and Clemson commit after he moved to signal caller this year. The Indians have generated 1,318 yards of offense (439 yards per game), while Garden City has 224 yards a contest. Kanak leads the WAC with 349 passing and 446 rushing yards a game. He had nearly 500 yards accounted for in Week 1 against West.
Senior Roy Moroni missed the first game with illness and has 301 yards in the last two weeks, per HHS broadcaster/WAC statistician Dustin Armbruster.
Senior Jordan Dale has four catches for 154 yards and two TDs. Gavin Meyers has FBS offers and is Hays High’s all-time leading tackler. Meyers has 26 stops and two sacks. Iden Baalman has seven TFLs in a breakout performance, and Meyers has six.
Garden City has heavily relied on the run with just 14 passing attempts. Colin Kleystuber has 274 rushing yards. Garden City has run the ball on 89 percent of snaps, well up from 71 percent last year.
Sergio Garcia leads the Buffs’ defense with 28 stops, and Joel Bellows, a returning all-conference player, has 26. Senior defensive lineman Terrell Elliott is a returning first team all-league and has two FBS offers.
Hays High won this contest, 28-7, in 2020 and held the Buffs under 100 total yards. Before then, Garden City had won five in a row, the last three by a combined 14 points.
This is definitely the biggest team Hays High has played through the first month and likely the most disciplined. Hays, though, is expected to have more athleticism and offensive firepower. Garden City is plenty improved, but the Indians’ defense has played well after DE Gaven Haselhorst, a Kansas State signing, graduated. Plus, Hays has done well with giving Kanak plenty of touches.
Our Pick: Hays 28, Garden City 14 (Nicholl)
Atchison County (3-0) at 2A No. 2 Nemaha Central (2-1)
The Nemaha Central Thunder opened the season with a heartbreaking 25-24 loss to Holton. Since then, the second-ranked Thunder have taken care of business with a 49-0 win over Royal Valley and a 19-7 win at Sabetha.
Although Nemaha Central fell in its first game with Michael Glatczak as head coach, it was a promising start. Holton remains undefeated and is ranked fifth in Class 3A. Royal Valley and Sabetha also are 3A schools, and the Thunder limited those teams to a total of 7 points.
The Thunder are led by senior quarterback Zac Kramer. In last week’s 19-7 win over Sabetha, Kramer threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for a score.
Sam McWilliams compliments Kramer in the backfield and eclipsed the 100-yard mark in last week’s win over Sabetha.
Atchison County enters with a 3-0 record. The Tigers have defeated Horton, Pleasant Ridge and McLouth by a combined score of 125-7. Unlike Nemaha Central, however, those wins have come against one 1A school and two 2A schools.
The Tigers are trying to rebuild under new head coach Alex Thornburgh’s first season. Atchison County is seeking its first winning season since 2012 and first playoff appearance since 2011.
Atchison County hasn’t won more than three games in a season since 2012 when the Tigers were 5-4.
Senior Kieran Courter scored five touchdowns in the win over McLouth, including an 83-yard kick return and a 50-yard punt return. Courter has rushed for 153 yards and has 15 receptions for 211 yards this season.
Junior quarterback Bricen Lee has passed for 260 yards and eight touchdowns thus far this season. Lee is also the team’s leading rusher with 167 yards on the ground, while classmate Coltin Myers has added 123 yards.
Our Pick: Nemaha Central 28, Atchison County 16 (Schremmer)
8M-II No. 2 Axtell (3-0) at 8M-II No. 1 Hanover (3-0)
It doesn’t get much bigger than this! Defending champion and top-ranked Hanover will host No. 2 Axtell in a key game in the Twin Valley League and in Eight-Man, Division II, District 3.
These two teams have met twice in each of the past three seasons and are among the favorites on the eastern half of Division II again this fall.
Hanover claimed its seventh state football championship last fall with a 46-24 win over St. Francis.
The Wildcats graduated multiple all state selections in quarterback Jacob Jueneman, running back/receiver Colin Jueneman, and linebacker Jacob Klipp.
But Coach Heuer and the Wildcats have plenty returning. Hanover has posted shutout victories over Pike Valley (44-0) and Blue Valley Randolph (68-0) sandwiched around a 70-36 win over Onaga.
Braelen Stallbaumer has taken over at quarterback for Hanover and has thrown for 383 yards and 11 touchdowns thus far. He’s connected with Josh Zarybnicky for 198 yards and seven touchdowns, while Emmitt Jueneman has 133 receiving yards and three scores.
Keagan Dimler leads the Hanover rushing attack with 341 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 16.2 yards per carry. Stallbaumer has added three rushing scores. Philip Doebele, a 2020 all-state selection, returns on the line and has 23 tackles including four for loss through three weeks.
Junior Cole Meyer leads the team with 32 tackles.
Eric Detweiler is in his ninth season as head coach at Axtell and produced a 66-24 record with six playoff appearances. The Eagles have advanced to the state semifinals four times during his tenure including a state runner-up finish in 2019.
This season the Eagles feature a returning all-state player in Detweiler’s on Isaac who passed for 1,970 yards and 31 touchdowns last fall while adding 484 yards and 16 scores on the ground. Through three games this season, Detweiler has only thrown seven incompletions and has passed for 460 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s also added 238 yards and nine scores on the ground.
While the Eagles graduated all-state receiver Michell Buessing (59 rec. 1,096 yards, 17 TD in 2020), Brandon Schmelzle has emerged as a “go-to” weapon for the Eagles on offense. Through three games, Schmelzle has 194 yards rushing and five touchdowns, and 170 receiving yards and four more scores. Eli Broxterman leads the team with 176 yards receiving and has two scores, while rushing for 141 yards and two more touchdowns.
Axtell opened the season with a 62-16 blowout of a quality Wheatland-Grinnell team. The Eagles then rolled over Blue Valley Randolph (68-6) and Mankato-Rock Hills (62-14).
Hanover has been incredibly consistent in posting a 162-20 record in the past 15+ seasons. The Wildcats have reached the playoffs 14 of the past 15 years (except 2011). Since 2006, Hanover has reached the state championship game nine times and won six state titles. Four other times during that span the Wildcats season ended in the state semifinals.
The Wildcats have won 15 of the past 17 in the series with Axtell winning both contests in 2019. The regular season win by Axtell in 2019 ended Hanover’s 43-game win streak.
This should be another outstanding game and don’t be surprised if these two don’t meet again late in the playoffs.
Our Pick: Hanover 34, Axtell 30 (Gilmore)
Quinter (3-0) at Wheatland-Grinnell (2-1)
It’s rare to say that a contest is definitely the biggest in a rivalry history, but that is definitely the case with Quinter and Wheatland-Grinnell. The Gove County rivalry teams are separated by 15 miles on I-70. This will likely decide the top-two spots in Eight-Man, Division II, District 8.
Both teams have high expectations. Wheatland-Grinnell finished 8-3 and reached the state quarterfinals last fall, the best season in school history. Quinter moved to eight-man football in 2008 and delivered a 10-1 record. The following year, the Bulldogs finished 12-1 and won a state championship. Then, Quinter posted 6-3 and 6-4 seasons – and has not posted a winning record since.
Quinter went 3-4 in 2020 under well-traveled coach Jeff Savage, known for his passing offense. Savage has coached at many schools in the last 15 years, including Quivira Heights, Central Burden, Canton-Galva, Goodland, Mission Valley, and Doniphan West. Savage turned around Quivira Heights with back-to-back nine-win seasons, and led Central Burden to a 9-2 mark in 2011, the school’s best showing since 1987.
Each team is just outside the top-5 Division II rankings. Wheatland-Grinnell opened No. 5 in Division II before losing at Axtell, 62-16, in Week 1. In Week 2, the Thunderhawks earned a quality win, 58-34, versus Kinsley, a 2-1 squad. Quinter has defeated Atwood-Rawlins County (38-8), at Dighton (36-22), and Oberlin (54-6).
Wheatland-Grinnell enters Friday healthy. Senior quarterback Trey Vincent, a four-year starter, has completed 60 percent of its passes for 466 yards with five touchdowns against one interception. Senior Isaac Mendez has 42 carries for 281 yards and six TDs. Mendez has 2,568 career rushing yards, including 1,607 last year.
Trey’s brother, Jett, has 19 catches for 296 yards and four scores.
Junior Adam Phillips leads with 35 tackles, while Jett has 30 and Mendez with 29. Jett has picked off a pass this year and has 23 in his career. He has a good chance to break the all-time eight-man record for career interceptions. Wheatland-Grinnell is inexperienced up front and graduated Trevor Zarybnicky, the Division II Defensive Player of the Year.
Quinter has standout Jaden Boone, a quarterback and 1,000-point career scorer in basketball. He is banged up and is expected to play outside linebacker. Junior lineman Braden Polifka (6-0, 235) is an impressive player. Junior Preston Havlas has stepped in at quarterback and passed for 310 yards last week. Sophomore lineman/linebacker Lakin Getz is a hard hitter.
Much of the game hinges on Wheatland-Grinnell’s speed, and Quinter’s ability to slow down Mendez. In the Axtell loss, Mendez had six carries for six yards. Last year, he had 42 yards in a loss to St. Francis. He had a combined 39 carries for 258 yards in the losses to Victoria and Axtell.
This will be the second game played on Grainfield’s surface on Friday. At 2 p.m., Rolla and Northern Valley meet in a six-man game, five hours before the Gove County rivalry.
Overall, Quinter is a much-improved program with Boone and Polifka, and Wheatland-Grinnell has several of Kansas’ most well-known eight-man players with the Vincent brothers and Mendez. The Thunderhawks have a slight edge in several areas and gets home field advantage. Wheatland-Grinnell has won the last two games, 36-18, and 34-26.
Our Pick: Wheatland-Grinnell 44, Quinter 36 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
5A No. 3 Bishop Carroll (2-1) at Dodge City (3-0) – Bishop Carroll
Blue Valley (2-1) at 5A No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (2-1) – Blue Valley
6A No. 4 Blue Valley Northwest (3-0) at St. James Academy (0-3) – Blue Valley Northwest
6A No. 2 Olathe North (3-0) at Olathe West (2-1) – Olathe North
Washburn Rural (3-0) at Junction City (2-1) – Junction City
Wichita East (1-2) at Wichita Northwest (1-2) – Wichita Northwest
Lansing (2-1) at De Soto (1-1) – De Soto
Leavenworth (2-1) at Blue Valley Southwest (1-2) – Blue Valley Southwest
Wamego (2-1) at KC Washington (2-0) – Wamego
El Dorado (2-1) at 4A No. 5 Buhler (2-1) – Buhler
Winfield (2-1) at 4A No. 3 McPherson (3-0) – McPherson
Clay Center (2-1) at Riley County (3-0) – Riley County
3A No. 5 Holton (3-0) at Sabetha (1-2) – Holton
Humboldt (2-1) at Eureka (3-0) – Humboldt
Plainville (2-1) at Ell-Saline (2-1) – Plainville
8M-I No. 1 Canton-Galva (3-0) at Bennington (3-0) – Canton-Galva
Clifton-Clyde (1-1) at Burlingame (1-1) – Clifton-Clyde
Goessel (1-2) at Argonia-Attica (3-0) – Argonia-Attica
Hill City (2-1) at Atwood-Rawlins Co. (2-1) – Hill City
Hodgeman County (2-1) at 8M-I No. 5 Leoti-Wichita Co. (2-1) – Leoti-Wichita Co.
Hoxie (2-1) at 8M-I No. 4 WaKeeney-Trego (3-0) – WaKeeney-Trego
Meade (3-0) at Spearville (2-1) – Meade
Oswego (2-1) at Yates Center (3-0) – Yates Center
West Elk (3-0) at Sedan (3-0) – Sedan
Lakeside-Downs (2-1) at 8M-II No. 4 Thunder Ridge (3-0) – Thunder Ridge
Lebo (2-1) at Hartford (1-2) – Lebo
South Central (1-2) at Bucklin (3-0) – Bucklin
Moscow (3-0) at 6M No. 1 Ashland (2-0) – Ashland
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