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: Canton-Galva (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Canton-Galva senior wide receiver Tyson Struber, a Kansas State University commit, continues to move closer to all the eight-man career receiving marks. As of Monday, Struber had 171 receptions for 3,294 yards and 59 receiving touchdowns, per KPreps confirming with C-G head coach Shelby Hoppes.
The state record is 210 receptions set by Brewster’s Kyle O’Connor from 2002-05. The receiving yards mark is 3,347, also by O’Connor. The receiving TDs record is 63 from Axtell’s Hunter Koch from ’16-18.
No. 3 Canton-Galva is 5-1 after a 62-6 road win versus Stafford. C-G is home against Lincoln for Senior Night, a performance where Struber should break at least one, possibly two state marks.
O’Connor has a connection to Struber. His brother, Tyler, is Canton-Galva’s current veteran defensive coordinator. Kyle’s and Tyler’s dad, Larry, is the current C-G athletic director and boys’ basketball coach. Larry O’Connor had a hugely successful run with Brewster and Sharon Springs basketball before he came to Canton-Galva. O’Connor won two state titles at both places and spent 20 years as the WC head boys’ coach.
Larry coached Kyle in his first two football years at Sharon Springs. Larry, who also had experience as a head football coach at Brewster and Sharon Springs, had teams that passed a lot. Larry noted that Kyle was not as fast as Struber but was very quick out of moves with outstanding hands. Kyle played his last two seasons at Brewster with Beau Sheets as coach.
In Kyle’s last game, he finished with 18 receptions and five touchdowns versus Cheylin. The starting quarterback was suspended, and Tyler, a freshman, was pressed into duty as the starting quarterback. All of Tyler’s completions went to Kyle. Kyle never played on a team that made the playoffs that made the playoffs, so he participated in 35 career games. C-G, with a minimum of two games left this season, is 38-4 with a state title in Struber’s career.
Helmet sticker: Hiawatha (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Hiawatha shut out Royal Valley 56-0 on Friday to improve to 4-3 on the season. The victory also secured the 12th playoff appearance in program history and the first since 2013.
The Redhawks led Royal Valley 7-0 after the first quarter before exploding for 28 points in the second and 21 more points in the third. Junior quarterback Brandt Barnhill rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns in the victory on only 12 attempts. Two of Barnhill’s three completions also went for touchdowns – one to Ashton Rockey and the other to Tyler Davis.
On the season, Barnhill has thrown for 483 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s also rushed for more than 400 yards and seven scores. Senior Cody Nevels has added 248 rushing yards and three scores. Junior Carson Gilbert is the team’s leading receiver with 249 yards and four scores.
The Redhawks travel to Sabetha (3-4) this week with the winner claiming the third-place finish in Class 3A, District 4, and the loser finishing fourth.
Helmet sticker: Parsons (Matt Gilmore – Kpreps)
The Parsons Vikings scored on a Jahmarion Washington 45-yard touchdown run in the final four minutes to complete a 21-20 district victory over Columbus.
With the victory, the Vikings clinched the runner-up spot in Class 3A, District 1. Parsons have won three straight games since consecutive losses to Prairie View and Galena. During that three-game streak, the Vikings defeated Baxter Springs (42-7), Caney Valley (28-20), and Columbus (21-20).
Parsons is in the unique situation of already knowing its first-round playoff opponent – a rematch with Prairie View. First, the Vikings will host Cherryvale (2-5) this week to close out the regular season.
Against Columbus, Washington led the Vikings with 98 rushing yards, while sophomore quarterback Tra Mack passed for 124 yards and two scores. Mack threw touchdown passes to Cade Brown and J.J. Kendrick.
Mack has passed for 981 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, while Washington leads the ground game with 432 yards and four scores. Senior Dion Sylvester is the team’s leading receiver with 533 yards and four touchdowns.
After missing the playoffs for 10 out of 11 years from 2007-2017, the Parsons program has now reached the postseason in three of the past four years.
Helmet sticker: Sedgwick (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Last Friday, No. 4 Sedgwick beat Elkhart, 56-8, on Senior Night. The victory held historical and personal reasons for Sedgwick senior Connor Tillman, a standout kicker and lineman with a remarkable story.
A four-year starting specialist, Tillman moved closer to the breaking the all-time Kansas kick scoring record. This season, he is 49 of 54 on extra points and 6 of 8 on field goals. For his career, Tillman stands 211 for 228 on extra points and 18 of 29 on field goals for 265 kicking points. He is a three-time first team all-league and all-state kicker.
Tillman should break the record in the next two weeks, perhaps as soon as this Friday’s district championship game at Conway Springs (6-1). Carson Arndt, who kicked for Wichita Northwest the last three years, holds the record for kick scoring (275) and extra points (236).
Before then, Phillipsburg’s Jonathan Hunnacutt set the record in 2018 when he finished with 263 career kick points. Hunnacutt broke the long-standing mark of 214 points set by Olathe North’s Joe Garcia from ’94-96, per Kansas Sports Hall of Fame archives.
Because of an umbilical cord wrapping, Tillman’s right arm was injured at birth. Tillman can grasp and do basic tasks with his right arm.
“He can only use his left hand to play,” Sedgwick coach Jeff Werner said.
Werner said medical personnel believed that Tillman wouldn’t play high school football as a positional player. They looked for a way to keep Tillman involved. He had always held an interest in kicking. Tillman first kicked extra points in peewee football. In peewee, an extra point is two points and the defense cannot rush.
Tillman came into high school right after Brayden Francis, who is now playing at Bethel College, graduated. Sedgwick needed a kicker, and Tillman started his freshman year. Werner labeled Tillman an “outstanding kicker.”
Tillman has always been very good as the field goals, but, as he has matured and gotten stronger, he has become highly effective with touchbacks on kickoffs. He received a Bethel College offer Oct. 1. After 2020, Sedgwick became aware that Tillman could set the kick scoring record.
Tillman is currently starting on both lines. Tillman plays defensive end and offensive tackle. Werner called the 6-foot-2, 218-pound Tillman probably the team’s best lineman. One of the lifts that Tillman can easily do is squat. Tillman enjoys squatting and has really become stronger. Sedgwick standout lineman Sam Culp, a four-year starter, is out for the year an injury suffered in a district game versus Ell-Saline.
Tillman played right field and was a pitcher on Sedgwick’s state championship baseball team last spring. Tillman’s play is akin to former famous collegiate and professional pitcher Jim Abbott, who won an Olympic gold medal and pitched 10 years in Major League Baseball. Tillman wears the glove under the armpit, throws and puts the glove on with the same left hand. Tillman was a key player for the 2-1A state champion Cardinals. Tillman is also a strong shooter in basketball.
“He has really adapted to his injury, and then played at a high level,” Werner said.
On July 21, 2020, Connor’s brother, Alec, passed away. A driver ran a stop sign, and hit Alec on the main intersection just outside of Sedgwick. Alec had previously played football for Sedgwick. Nate Werner, coach Werner’s son, and Alec were in the same class.
Alec wore No. 5 for Sedgwick, which has been retired by the school. Connor wears No. 55 to honor his brother. Last Friday, Sedgwick put Connor in as a tight end, and he wore No. 5 jersey at the end of the game and ran a route. Then, Connor kicked the final extra points wearing his brother’s number.
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
Week 7 – Canton-Galva, Hiawatha, Parsons, Sedgwick
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