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Class 8-Man, Division I
VIEW: 8M-I Bracket
8M-I EAST
Highlighted Games:
D2-#2 Chase County (8-1) at D1-#1 Sedan (9-0) – Chase County
Maybe the premier matchup on the eastern side of Division I this week, Chase County will travel to unbeaten Sedan.
These two teams met in the second round last season with Chase County coming away with a convincing 56-18 victory. In that contest, Mitch Budke rushed for three touchdowns, threw a touchdown pass, and returned an interception for a score.
Budke is back and paces the Bulldog offense that averages nearly 55 points per game. Budke has rushed for 1,823 yards and 46 touchdowns this season. Chase County’s only loss came in a 66-50 district shootout with Madison.
Sedan will counter with two of eight-man football’s top players in quarterback Brec Long and receiver Dameion Hatten. Long (6-4, 200) transferred from Caney Valley over the summer and has had an exceptional season. He’s rushed for 1,056 yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging nearly 15 yards per attempt. When throwing the ball, Long has completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 1,230 yards and 30 touchdowns with only one interception. Hatten (6-3, 195) has 28 receptions for 764 yards and 18 scores.
D4-#2 Canton-Galva (7-1) at D3-#1 Clifton-Clyde (7-1) – Canton-Galva
Clifton-Clyde has been one of the most consistent eight-man programs in the state under Russ Steinbrock. The Eagles are 47-9 over the past six seasons and won at least one playoff game in each of the past four seasons.
This season, the Eagles have provided the most resistance to defending-champion Little River in a 14-6 loss back in Week 2. Last year, Clifton-Clyde defeated Little River 42-36 in overtime during the regular season only to see the Redskins prevail 46-26 in the playoffs on their way to winning the state title a few weeks later.
Now, Clifton-Clyde will host another heavyweight in Canton-Galva. The opposing Eagles have suffered only one defeat – a 60-52 high-level shootout to Little River. Canton-Galva boasts one of the top-scoring offenses in the state at 56 points per game. Quarterback Garrett Maltbie has passed for 1,256 yards and 20 touchdowns and added 411 rushing yards and 13 scores. Tyson Struber is a difference maker and continues to rewrite the eight-man state receiving record book. Struber has 43 catches for 948 yards and 16 scores this season to push his career totals to 181 catches for 3,516 yards and 62 touchdowns. He’s also added 896 rushing yards and 22 scores in his brilliant career.
Last week, Solomon was able to hang around by passing for 180 yards and a pair of scores against Clifton-Clyde. Although, the Eagles have Maison Slater in the secondary who leads the state with 12 interceptions this season.
Other first-round games:
D1-#2 West Elk (8-1) at D2-#1 Madison (9-0) – Madison
D3-#2 Burlingame (6-2) at D4-#1 Little River (9-0) – Little River
8M-I WEST
Highlighted Games:
D6-#2 Macksville (5-4) at D5-#1 Goessel (7-2) – Macksville
Last week, Macksville provided one of the bigger Week 9 upsets with a 64-30 win versus Medicine Lodge. In Week 3, Macksville lost, 54-14, to Medicine Lodge. However, Kpreps believed Macksville would win last week behind quarterback Ryan Kuckelman, some improved personnel and an impressive run from the Mustangs. After a 1-4 start, Macksville has won four in a row.
Goessel (7-2) had a surprise quarterfinal appearance last year and has won six straight in 2021. Last year, Goessel beat Pratt-Skyline in double OT. Last week, Goessel won, 44-36, versus Skyline in OT.
Skyline outgained Goessel, 334-330. Goessel finished with 37 carries for 262 yards and four scores. The Bluebirds have limited size, though have nice skill players with Grant Bryant and Jake Wiens. Against Skyline, Bryant had 90 passing yards and two scores, along with 79 rushing yards and three TDs. Wiens rushed for 98 yards and three TDs. Goessel trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter. Bryant intercepted a pass in the end zone to seal the win.
Goessel beat Medicine Lodge, 38-22, in Week 8 to clinch the district title. Medicine Lodge still delivered 358 total yards versus Goessel. Last week, Macksville held Medicine Lodge to 57 plays for 267 yards. Macksville rushed for 371 yards versus Medicine Lodge, including 28 carries for 195 yards and two TDs from Kuckelman. Overall, he has 474 passing yards with a 9/1 TD/INT ratio, along with 209 carries for 1,360 yards and 20 rushing scores.
Macksville has not made at least the quarterfinals since 2011. Goessel has its most wins in 12 years. Macksville is a slight favorite with a slightly stronger defense in the second half of the year.
D8-#2 WaKeeney-Trego (8-1) at D7-#1 Meade (9-0) – Meade
These two teams are exceptional offensive squads and have enjoyed big turnarounds. WaKeeney-Trego won one game last year and is 8-1 this season. Meade has a five-win improvement to 9-0 and has won 11 straight contests, the second-longest streak in eight-man football behind Division I defending state champion Little River.
Trego has averaged 57.3 points a contest in its eight on-field performances. The Golden Eagles have scored at least 42 points in all games. Trego, though, has allowed 26 points a contest. Meade has averaged 49 points a game and allowed just 9.3 points a game. Meade has averaged 8.4 yards per play.
Meade returned all its offensive skill production from 2020. Senior Korben Clawson has delivered a huge year with 200 carries for 1,396 yards with 23 rushing TDs. Junior Brayden Norris has 85 tackles. Trego brought back dynamic skill players in James Kriegh, Cole Feldt and Gunner Wilson and added quarterback Owen Day (hurt most of ’20) and end Charlie Russell (didn’t play football last year). Day has thrown for 977 yards with 15 scores against eight INTs. Kriegh has 1,717 all-purpose yards. Trego has 7.7 yards per play.
Trego likely has a special teams edge with Kriegh, though Meade has advantages in sacks (13 to 10) and turnovers created (21 to 16). Both teams have enjoyed great seasons. Trego has its most wins since 2002. Meade, in its second year of eight-man football, has its most wins since ’15.
Other first-round games:
D5-#2 Argonia-Attica (8-1) at D6-#1 La Crosse (7-2) – Argonia-Attica
D8-#3 Hoxie (6-3) at D8-#1 Hill City (8-1) – Hill City
Class 8-Man, Division II
VIEW: 8M-II Bracket
8M-II EAST
Highlighted Games:
D1-#2 St. Paul (6-3) at D2-#1 Lebo (8-1) – Lebo
The Saint Paul Indians will travel to Lebo to take on the Wolves with a spot in the Eight-Man, Division II quarterfinals on the line.
St. Paul has won three straight games after a 3-3 start which saw blowout losses to quality teams in Sedan, Yates Center, and Waverly. The Indians have averaged nearly 37 points per game, but have given up 38 points per contest. That could spell trouble against an extremely explosive Lebo offense that features senior standout Kyle Reese. Reese has completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,170 yards and 21 touchdowns and added 1,040 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. Sophomore Corey Reese has added more than 350 yards rushing for the Wovles. Lebo features three quality receivers in Landon Grimmett, Luke Davies, and Grayson Shoemaker. Grimmett leads the team with 524 yards and eight touchdowns, while Davies has 339 yards with six scores and Shoemaker 270 yards and five touchdowns.
St. Paul will counter with a young offense led by junior Trey Peters. Peters has passed for more than 600 yards and 13 scores and rushed for a team-high 345 yards and eight touchdowns. Landon Beachner has also added eight rushing scores and has six touchdown catches.
D3-#3 Hanover (6-3) at D3-#1 Axtell (9-0) – Axtell
Twin Valley League rivals Hanover and Axtell will meet for a second time for the fourth consecutive year. This will be the nineteenth meeting between the two contenders in the past 14 seasons. Hanover holds a 15-3 advantage in those meetings.
Back in Week 4, Axtell quarterback Isaac Detweiler rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles ended Hanover’s winning streak at 14 games with a 30-24 victory. Detweiler came up with a key interception on defense with just over a minute left to secure the victory and propel Axtell to the No. 1 overall ranking in the classification.
Axtell hasn’t looked back since. The Eagles remain unbeaten behind Detweiler who has passed for 1,333 yards and 24 touchdowns and added 731 rushing yards and 21 scores. Brandon Schmelzle has added 536 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns and 444 receiving yards and nine scores. Grady Buessing has added more than 350 receiving yards and nine more touchdowns.
Braelen Stallbaumer, Keagan Dimler, and Ethan Jueneman help lead the Hanover offense. When healthy, Hanover is still a legitimate championship contender despite having three regular-season losses (Frankfort and Osborne).
This will be the fifth time since 2008 that the two teams have met twice in the same season. Each time, the team that won the regular season matchup has also been victorious in the playoff rematch.
Other first-round games:
D2-#2 Marais des Cygnes Valley (5-3) at D1-#1 Waverly (6-1) – Waverly
D3-#2 Frankfort (7-2) at D4-#1 Thunder Ridge (9-0) – Thunder Ridge
8M-II WEST
Highlighted Games:
D6-#3 Norwich (5-2) at D6-#1 South Barber (8-1) – South Barber
This is a Week 2 rematch. Norwich won the first game, 26-24 in a key Heart of the Plains League and district contest. Last year, Norwich also beat South Barber by two in a 52-50 victory.
Norwich has dealt with significant COVID-19 and injury issues but has all key players back and had a quality 38-12 win versus Sylvan-Lucas last week. Quarterback Tray Schroeder went over 300 yards. Standout ends Jace Gosch and Chance Hilger finished with big games.
South Barber has big seasons from sophomore quarterback Briggs Jewell, senior all-purpose threat Gatlin Jewell and senior Caden Rathgeber. Briggs has completed 66 of 121 yards with 1,074 yards with 20 scores against four interceptions. Gatlin has 178 carries for 1,244 yards and 28 rushing TDs. Rathgeber has 228 tackles and 13 INTs in his career. In the first matchup, Norwich significantly contained SB’s passing game and held the Chieftains to 3 of 14 passing for 45 yards with zero TDs against one interception.
Against Sylvan, Schroeder accounted for four TDs. Gosch had 14 carries for 77 yards and a TD, while Hilger caught four passes for 52 yards and two TDs. They combined for 23 tackles. In the first South Barber matchup, Gosch rushed 18 times for 100 yards and a score. Hilger and Gosch combined for 15 tackles, two TFLs and a sack. As well, Hilger and Gosch both forced a turnover.
D8-#2 Quinter (8-1) at D7-#1 Dighton (8-1) – Dighton
This is a Week 2 rematch that Quinter won 36-22 at Dighton. Since then, the Hornets have not lost and been one of Kansas’ best turnaround stories. Dighton beat undefeated Bucklin for the district title. The Hornets had one on-field win in the last two years as they fought low numbers and cancellations, among other issues.
Quinter has its most wins since it won the state championship in 2009. Quinter coach Jeff Savage has announced his retirement, effective end of the year. Quinter has dealt with coaching turmoil in recent weeks. Plus, standout Bulldog football and basketball player Jaden Boone is out for the year with injury suffered in a Week 4 loss at rival Wheatland-Grinnell. Quinter has several nice players, including Preston Havlas, who has stepped in for Boone at quarterback.
The Bulldogs also have key lineman Braden Polifka and running back Trace Kinderknecht. Dighton junior quarterback Max Neeley has delivered an exceptional year with 47 of 88 passing for 640 yards with eight scores against four interceptions. He has 179 carries for 1,331 yards and 29 TDs.
Dighton had multiple drives deep in Quinter territory that ended without points. Dighton beat Minneola, 46-0, in Week 7, and held the Wildcats to 209 total yards. Last week, Quinter beat Minneola, 36-28. Minneola had 400 total yards. Boone is a big loss for Quinter, and Dighton has played very well on both sides. Dighton has an opportunity to flip the result from earlier this year.
Other first-round games:
D6-#2 Caldwell (8-1) at D5-#1 Victoria (8-1) – Victoria
D7-#2 Bucklin (8-1) at D8-#1 Wheatland-Grinnell (8-1) – Wheatland-Grinnell
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