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: Cair Paravel Latin School (Topeka) (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Cair Paravel will join the KSHSAA ranks in Eight-Man, Division I next year. This season, Cair Paravel is having a dominant season in the KCAA: Kansas Christian Athletic Association. The Lions are 6-0 and have won every game by at least 46 points. Overall, Cair Paravel has outscored teams, 332-40.
Cair Paravel has already captured its most victories since an 8-3 mark in 2014. Before then, CP had a school record 10-1 season and KCAA title in ’13, Bonura’s first with the program, per MaxPreps. CP also went 9-0 with a KCAA crown in ’07. The program started in 2001, according to the Kansas Football History database.
This year includes a 50-0 win in Week 2 versus Wichita Homeschool, 60-6 versus KSHSAA-affiliated Maranatha Academy the following week, and then 50-0 at Sunrise Christian Academy in Week 4. In the last two weeks, CP beat St. Marys Academy, 54-8, and defeated Northland Christian (Mo.), 58-12, last week.
Last year, Cair Paravel finished 5-5, including a 54-46 loss to Sunrise Christian and a 47-32 at St. Marys Academy.
The St. Mary’s win ended an eight-game losing streak in the series that dated back to 2014.
Cair Paravel had dropped seven in a row to Sunrise Christian with the last win coming in ’14. The Lions were 1-13 in the last 14 contests against Sunrise. This year’s result marked the biggest margin of victory for Cair Paravel versus Sunrise in more than 19 meetings.
Bonura has turned around the program with a 19-player roster that has three seniors: quarterback/cornerback Carter Brian, 6-foot-1 wide receiver/outside linebacker Max Colombo and 6-6 tight end/defensive end Noah Hastert, also one of Kansas’ top basketball players.
Brian has put up remarkable numbers with 65 of 93 passing for 1,193 yards with 28 scores against zero interceptions. He is the national eight-man leader in passing scores, per MaxPreps.
Colombo has 15 carries for 240 yards and three scores. Sophomore Evan Will has 12 carries for 134 yards and four TDs. Hastert has 24 catches for 484 yards and 14 scores. Junior Jachin Bonura has 15 catches for 251 yards and six TDs, and sophomore Simon Everhart has 10 catches for 163 yards and six scores.
Sophomore Ian Brian has 35 tackles, 6.5 for loss. Hastert has 24 tackles, eight for loss, and 3.5 sacks. Everhart has four interceptions, and Ian Brian has three forced fumbles.
Cair Paravel finished 10-8 in basketball. Hastert delivered 15.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals a game.
Helmet sticker: Chanute (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
The Chanute Blue Comets improved to 5-1 on the season with a 41-0 victory at Fort Scott on Friday.
The Blue Comets have now won five consecutive games since a season-opening loss to Towanda-Circle, 20-12. That includes a 21-7 victory at Pittsburg High – the first time in 11 years that Chanute has defeated the Purple Dragons.
Chanute has posted shutouts in each of the past three weeks including Ulysses (48-0), Independence (44-0) and Fort Scott (41-0).
On offense, Eric Erbe has passed for more than 1,000 yards on the season. His top receivers include sophomore Kaiden Seamster, senior Kam Koester, and junior Dagen Dean. Junior Ty Leedy leads the Blue Comet ground game with more than 600 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Leedy and Kedrick Emling lead the Blue Comet defense that has allowed less than six points per game.
Chanute now sits in a tie for second with Atchison (5-1) in the Class 4A eastern standings. The Blue Comets have remaining home games against Coffeyville-Field Kindley (1-5) and Labette County (0-6)
Helmet sticker: La Crosse (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
La Crosse senior running back Colby Stull delivered arguably the best game of his highly productive career with 21 carries for 292 yards and six touchdowns in a key 54-20 road win versus Kinsley.
La Crosse, its second season of eight-man football, won its fourth consecutive contest and improved to 4-2, 3-0 in Division I, District 6. The Leopards can secure the district title this week with a win versus Pratt-Skyline (2-4, 1-2).
Kinsley has substantially improved and stands at 4-2 under coach Corey Dunlap. However, Stull continued to deliver a strong case as the classification’s best running back. La Crosse led 20-0 in the second quarter. He opened the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run. The Leopards were up 34-8 after three quarters.
Stull and La Crosse have benefited from strong blocking and a challenging schedule. Stull, senior linemen Cooper Barriger and Deagan Andrews are both team captains. Andrews started his career as a tight end and has since moved to guard after injuries. Coach Jon Webster said those two players have really opened the run game because of their high athleticism, physicality and ability to pull and trap. La Crosse has averaged 7.3 yards per rush and 7.2 yards per pass.
Webster noted La Crosse has had a “revolving door” on the offensive line. When healthy, the group starts sophomore Conner Barriger at center, with Cooper and Andrews at guards. Juniors Devyn Brown and Brodie Schmidt are at end.
La Crosse opened with losses against Victoria (52-26) and Hoxie (64-28). However, the Leopards led Victoria early. The Leopards trailed Hoxie just 6-0 after the first quarter and 34-20 entering the fourth. La Crosse had just 33 fewer yards versus Hoxie. On Friday, Stull said playing Victoria, Hoxie and Ness City the first three weeks prepped La Crosse for district play. Webster said La Crosse played really physical at the start of Kinsley.
Stull, who was in 11-man football for the first half of his career, cleared 1,000 career yards for the third time. He has 114 carries for 1,027 yards and 14 scores. In 33 career games, Stull has 536 carries for 4,400 yards, 65 rushing touchdowns and 81 total scores. Stull has the most rushing yards by any La Crosse back in the last 15 years, a group that includes multiple all-state selections.
On a per-game basis, Stull matches up well with Joel Struckhoff, the former Thunder Ridge standout running back and current TR coach. Struckhoff holds all-time 8-man records for rushing yards (6,919) and touchdowns scored (127). However, Struckhoff played in many more games than Stull. In his career, Struckhoff averaged 165 rushing yards, 2.97 total TDs and 2.76 rush TDs. Stull is at 133 rushing yards, 2.45 total TDs and 2.33 rushing TDs a game.
Stull’s per-game averages are better than many great standouts, including St. Francis running back Shadyron Blanka, the reigning SIK Eight-Man, Division II Offensive Player of the Year, and Osborne’s Cullen Grabast. In ’17, Grabast was 8MI OPOY.
Helmet sticker: Onaga (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Onaga opened with three straight losses to Twin Valley League teams: 46-0 versus Clifton-Clyde, 70-36 at Hanover and 28-22 at Frankfort in overtime. However, Onaga played Clifton-Clyde into the fourth quarter and still delivered 167 yards of total offense. In Week 2, Little River, ranked No. 1 in Eight-Man, Division I and on a current 14-game winning streak, beat C-C, 14-6. LR posted 284 yards against C-C.
Against Hanover, the defending state champions, Onaga outgained the Wildcats, 454-417. C-C is currently 4-1, Hanover was ranked in the top-5 in Division II until this week, and Frankfort is currently No. 5 in Division II.
Since then, Onaga has defeated Linn (68-12), Wetmore (60-12) and delivered a quality 58-36 road win at Beloit St. John’s-Tipton. Onaga, paced by junior Zac Fisher, has enjoyed a sizable offensive improvement to 48.3 points a game this season and could be a surprise playoff squad in Division II.
Onaga finished 2-6 last year and tallied 25.5 points per contest. That included big losses against Clifton-Clyde (62-18), Hanover (58-0), Frankfort (62-12) and twice versus Beloit St. John’s-Tipton (36-12 and 50-14).
Against Hanover, Fisher passed for 98 yards, rushed for 216 and accounted for five touchdowns. Versus BSJT, Fisher rushed 35 times for 363 yards and six TDs. Overall, he has 328 passing yards with six touchdowns against three interceptions. He has 124 rushes for 982 yards and 17 rushing scores.
Onaga led 16-6 after the first quarter versus BSJT and 24-12 at halftime. Senior Rilyn Mayginnes finished with 29 carries for 163 yards and two TDs.
Other key returning starters were: senior lineman Jason Abitz, senior end/defensive back Casey Myers, sophomore lineman Rayce Fisher, junior lineman Jeremiah Dorsey and lineman Colby Fordham. Abitz paced the defense with 10 tackles, two for loss in the BSJT win.
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
Week 4 – Axtell, Mulvane, Olathe West, Weskan
Week 5 – Kinsley, Otis-Bison, Rock Creek, Spring Hill
Week 6 – Cair Paravel, Chanute, La Crosse, Onaga
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