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: Abilene (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Abilene improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 27-8 win over North Central Kansas League (NCKL) rival Concordia. The Cowboys had dropped five straight in the series to the Panthers.
In the season-opener, Abilene snapped a 25-game losing streak with a 14-7 victory over Marysville. The Cowboys are on pace to turn the programs’ recent struggles around under third-year coach Brad Nicks. In Nicks’ first year at Abilene, the Cowboys finished 0-6 in a COVID-altered 2020 season where they were shutout four times. Abilene then went winless last fall playing a lot of young talent. The Cowboys were also 0-9 in 2019. Prior to this season, Abilene’s last win was a 26-21 decision over Ulysses in the 2018 regular season finale. Oddly enough, the Cowboys faced Ulysses again the following week in the first-round of the playoffs and lost 28-0.
On Friday against Concordia, Abilene fell behind 8-0 early before rattling off 27 unanswered points. Junior quarterback Stockton Timbrook tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the win and rushed for another score. He’s now thrown four touchdown passes in the first two weeks.
In the opener, Brax Fisher had 115 receiving yards and two scores, but missed the Concordia game. Instead, Abilene got key contributions from sophomore Weston Rock, and freshmen Taygen Funston and Heath Hoekman. Rock caught a pair of touchdown passes from Timbrook and junior Zach Miller added 109 yards on the ground and a score. Concordia defeated Abilene by 31 points a season ago.
The Cowboys’ last winning season came in 2016 when they finished 7-3 under coach Steve Simpson. That included a perfect 5-0 mark in the NCKL. Abilene will continue NCKL play with a trip to Clay Center this week before hosting Chapman in Week 4.
Helmet sticker: Baxter Springs (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Like Abilene, Baxter Springs snapped a 25-game losing streak with a win in the season-opener last week. The Lions opened with a 42-0 shutout of Southeast-Cherokee.
Last week, Baxter Springs celebrated Homecoming with a 51-27 win over Uniontown. The Lions jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of Javen Alexander touchdown runs and a field goal by Jacob Grant. The lead extended to 31-7 by halftime as Payton Gaines and Sam Weaver rushed for touchdowns.
Alexander added his third touchdown in the third quarter, Gaines tossed a long 71-yard touchdown pass to Grant, and Weaver added a touchdown to complete the scoring for the Lions.
The emergence of Gaines at quarterback has added a different dimension to coach Russell Burr’s offense. Gaines has the ability to get out of the pocket and make plays downfield with his arm and he has tall, athletic targets in Grant and Alexander. Grant had five receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown in the win over Uniontown.
Prior to the Week 1 win over Southeast, Baxter Springs’ last victory came 12-0 over Osawatomie in the Week 9 cross-bracket game back in 2018. The Lions will travel to Afton, Oklahoma this week before beginning a tough district stretch that includes trips to Parsons and Frontenac and home contests against Galena and Columbus.
Helmet sticker: Inman (Conor Nicholl -- Kpreps)
In 2021, Inman enjoyed the best season in school history with a 1A state runner-up finish. The Teutons finished 11-1. Inman returned several highly talented players, including Tanner Heckel, Harrison and Eli Brunk, and lineman Dominic Nuese-Rasmussen for coach Lance Sawyer.
Last week, Inman was the only one of the five 1A ranked teams to win with a 42-24 victory against rival Sedgwick. Inman rose to No. 1 in 1A this week. It is believed this is the first time Inman has been ranked No. 1 in the 15-year Kpreps era.
Heckel, Inman’s outstanding three-sport star, moved from an all-purpose role to quarterback this season, a position he played for many years growing up. Versus Sedgwick, Heckel suffered a shoulder injury. He completed three of six passes for 29 yards and delivered three rushes for 17 yards before exiting. Sedgwick led 8-0.
Then, Inman scored three unanswered first quarter touchdowns. Kellen Schrag had a 10-yard scoring run. Josiah Buller had never played quarterback before. Sawyer told Kpreps that Buller is “one of the smartest players he’s ever had.” Inman built a 42-16 lead in the third quarter. Overall, Buller completed 7 of 10 passes for 159 yards and three scores. Dawson McConnell delivered 10 rushes for 76 yards.
Defensively, Sawyer said Nuese-Rasmussen “took over” in the second half. All three defensive linemen of Nuese-Rasmussen, Zaden Johnson and McConnell have played really well.
Historically, Inman has struggled against Sedgwick. Last year, Inman defeated Sedgwick, 26-21. Before then, Inman had lost 12 straight in the series dating back to ’04.
Helmet sticker: Oswego (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Oswego had posted three straight winning seasons since coach Matt Fowler took over the program. Last fall, the Indians went through a variety of obstacles and finished 3-6 with just two on-field wins. Oswego lost two one-score games. The Indians fell, 68-66, to St. Paul on the final play in Week 2. A month later, Oswego lost, 106-98, to Marmaton Valley in the highest scoring contest in Kansas history.
Oswego went 0-4 at home and allowed 50 points a contest, No. 42 out of 48 Eight-Man, Division I teams. Many squads, including Burrton, Towanda-Circle, Macksville and Thomas More Prep-Marian have enjoyed its first 2-0 start in a long time.
Oswego has already beaten Marmaton Valley and St. Paul after the close losses. The Indians opened with a 63-34 home win versus Marmaton Valley, and beat St. Paul, 52-44, in Week 2. Both St. Paul and Marmaton Valley are 1-1, and the Wildcats are a Potential Eight-Man, Division II breakout team.
Senior running back Jake Hutchinson delivered 913 rushing yards and 11 rushing scores as a sophomore. Last year, he played in just two games and finished with 29 carries for 186 yards and four scores. Thus far, Hutchinson is at 33 rushes for 372 yards and nine rushing TDs this fall.
Oswego senior Jon Frisbie starts at one tight end. Junior David Figura and sophomore Tanner O’Neal rotate at the other tight end. The inside three are all sophomores: center Connor Minor, along with guards Alex Long and Rayden Myers.
Hutchinson, senior quarterback/defensive back Levi George, Frisbie, running back/defensive back Colton Goddard, Myers and senior Darrell Minor are returning starters.
Against Marmaton Valley, Oswego pulled away in the second half after it had a 28-20 intermission advantage. The Wildcats returned a kickoff early in the third quarter to close the deficit to 28-26 before the Indians scored five straight touchdowns.
Oswego delivered a comeback against St. Paul. St. Paul led 8-0 after the first quarter and 16-6 at halftime. In the third quarter, Oswego outscored St. Paul, 24-6. The Indians held a 28-22 edge in the fourth quarter. Oswego improved to 5-3 in one-score games under Fowler.
St. Paul ran 76 plays, while Oswego had just 29. Fowler is 25-14 in five seasons with Oswego and 87-46 overall. Fowler believed he’d never had a game where the opponent ran so many more plays than his team did. St. Paul outgained Oswego, 417-351. All of Oswego’s yards came on the ground.
Levi George scored Oswego’s first touchdown on a six-yard run. He opened the third quarter with a 63-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a key momentum-turning play. Then, Hutchinson scored five straight rushing touchdowns of 40, five, 35, 42 and 58 yards. Hutchinson finished with 19 carries for 266 yards. George and Frisbie pace Oswego with 26 and 22 tackles, respectively.
Helmet sticker: Shawnee Mission North (Dion Clisso – PrepsKC)
Shawnee Mission North celebrated Homecoming with a 28-21 victory over Olathe South last Friday. The win moves the Bison to 2-0 on the season – the first time Shawnee Mission North has opened 2-0 since the 2009 season.
The Bison entered this season having lost 20 of their past 22 games including six straight. Andy Walter took over the program as head coach in 2020 and after a pandemic-delayed start to the season, opened with a 48-0 win over KC Turner. The Bison then lost seven straight games before beating Olathe Northwest 14-7 in Week 3 last season.
In Week 1, North knocked off rival Shawnee Mission South 28-7 before topping the Falcons in Week 2. Against Olathe South, quarterback Jacob Needham tossed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Long and KeJuan Blake added a touchdown run for the Bison’s two first-half scores. Blake then added a pair of touchdown runs in the second half and held off Olathe South.
Shawnee Mission North will have a tough challenge this week when the Bison host Olathe North.
Helmet Stickers (2022 Season)
Week 1 – Atwood-Rawlins County, Coffeyville, Ellsworth, Ingalls, Topeka Highland Park
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