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: Goddard (Matt Gilmore – Kpreps)
After five weeks in the regular season, Goddard and Valley Center are a couple of teams hanging around the top of the 5A West standings that are maybe a bit unexpected. Valley Center is a great story at 4-1 with the Hornets’ only loss coming 30-7 to Goddard.
The Goddard program has been there before – posing a 32-6 record in the three-year span from 2016-18. That run included a state runner-up finish in 5A (2016) and in 4A (2018). The 2018 season was the first for Tommy Beason as head coach after Scott Vang stepped aside. The Lions finished 4-6 in 2019 and 7-3 in 2020, with both season ending in second-round playoff exits.
Last season, the Lions finished 0-9 and were only as close as single digits in one of those losses. It was Goddard’s first winless season since 2004.
This season, the Lions are off to a 4-1 start with a 20-13 OT loss to Andover as the only blemish on their record.
Last week, the Lions needed a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally past Andover Central, 20-14. Andover Central led 14-0 in the first half before Goddard closed the gap to 14-6 at halftime. Lion quarterback Ashton Sell connected on his second and third touchdown passes of the night in the fourth quarter. Sell’s 19-yard touchdown to Micah Johnson with under three minutes left proved to be the winner.
Sell has thrown eight touchdowns thus far this season despite having completed only 16 total passes. He’s thrown for 238 yards and has two scoring passes a piece to Devin Mathes, Jake Jasnoski, and Mason Healy. Micah Johnson and Jaden Cohens have each caught one touchdown pass.
Johnson leads the Lion ground game with 517 yards and five scores, while Mathes has added 398 yards and three touchdowns. Cohens has chipped in 239 yards on the ground as the Lions average 265 yards rushing each time out.
The Lions defense has given up nearly 21 points per game and is paced by junior Lane Nelson’s 55 tackles, including six for loss. The Goddard defense will have a big test this week against Maize South sophomore quarterback Tate McNew who has passed for 1,514 yards and 12 touchdowns in five games.
Helmet sticker: Goessel (Conor Nicholl -- Kpreps)
On Friday, Goessel defeated a solid Solomon squad, 54-22. It marked the Bluebirds’ second straight victory and moved Goessel to 3-2, including 3-0 against unranked teams.
The win continued an impressive streak of consistency for Goessel, an Eight-Man, Division I state quarterfinalist each of the past two seasons. Since the start of 2020, Goessel is 16-9 overall. The Bluebirds have won 15 straight contests against unranked teams, per Kpreps research.
The last loss to an unranked team came in a 42-14 home defeat to Argonia-Attica in Week 4 of the 2020 season. Of the current 48 Eight-Man, Division I programs, Goessel has the second-longest stretch of games between losses to unranked opponents.
It’s longer than defending state champion Meade, which has won 20 overall straight games. The Buffs’ last loss to an unranked team came in a 48-0 defeat at Ness City in Week 7 of 2020.
The only Division I program to go longer without a loss to an unranked team is Little River, which won state in ’20, was runner-up in ’21 and ranked fourth in the classification currently. LR has not lost to an unranked team since before Kevin Ayers became coach in ’19.
Goessel fell to Canton-Galva and Chase County this year, both ranked in the top-three of an eight-man class at the time of meeting. Last season, losses came to C-G, LR and Meade. In 2020, the playoff defeat came to Hoxie, an eventual state semifinalist.
The run of unranked wins included a 54-48 double-overtime win at Pratt Skyline in ’20, 44-36 in overtime versus Skyline last season and quality ’21 wins against Argonia-Attica, Medicine Lodge and Macksville. A&A finished 8-2 last year.
Solomon is a solid team and will likely finish with a winning record. Goessel coach Garrett Hiebert has a veteran squad that includes backs Grant Bryant and Jake Wiens. Bryant was injured on the first drive of the Week 2 game against Canton-Galva. He missed Week 3, played a couple snaps versus Herington in Week 4, and had some offense and defense against Solomon.
Wiens would likely rank in the top-three for most rushing categories for Goessel in the last 20 years. The offensive line has two returning starters: senior Caleb Burkholder (OG/TE) and junior Kylie Valdois (center). Three Bluebirds, junior Eli Boden and sophomores Luke Stucky and Royser Duran have been key. Wiens rushed 19 times for 278 yards and six scores against Solomon. Burkholder caught a 35-yard TD pass.
Wiens rushed for 646 yards and 13 scores as a sophomore, and 1,227 yards and 20 scores last fall.
Helmet sticker: Jayhawk-Linn (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Among the three remaining unbeaten teams in Class 1A you’ll find top-ranked Inman and traditional power Centralia. You’ll also see Jayhawk-Linn.
The Jayhawks are off to a great start in Dustin Johnson’s first year as head coach. Jayhawk-Linn is averaging nearly 51 points per game while only allowing seven.
The Jayhawk offense is directed by senior quarterback Dylan Nickelson. Nickelson has plenty of weapons to spread the ball around including Braeden Nation, Garrett Seely, Gus Grote, and Trevor Brownback.
In last week’s 58-13 win over Central Heights, Nickelson passed for 302 yards and five touchdowns. Nation caught five passes for 142 yards and two scores, while Grote had two touchdown receptions, and Seely the other. Brownback led the ground game with more than 150 yards and two scores.
It was an emotional week for the Jayhawk school and community as they mourned the passing of former head coach Randy Leach. Leach passed away from pancreatic cancer on Sunday, September 25th. Leach was instrumental in bringing consistency to the Jayhawk-Linn football program – posting a 34-22 record in his six seasons from 2015-2020. The Jayhawks had posted 18 total wins in the ten previous seasons prior to his time as head coach.
The schedule will get tougher for the Jayhawks – including a showdown with Linn County rival Pleasanton this week. The Blu-Jays are 4-1 with their lone loss coming in a 27-0 shutout at two-time defending champion Olpe. In that game, Olpe returned three interceptions for touchdowns. Pleasanton is also the former school of Jayhawk head coach Dustin Johnson, who led the Blu-Jays to a 22-25 record from 2015 to 2019 including their return to 11-man football in 2018.
Helmet sticker: La Crosse (Conor Nicholl -- Kpreps)
Coach Jon Webster picked up career win No. 100 as the head coach at his alma mater with a 46-0 home victory Friday versus Pratt-Skyline. Webster, who previously coached at Conway Springs, served one season as La Crosse’s defensive coordinator before he became head coach.
Webster joins an elite group of current eight-man coaches to win 100 games all at one school: Clifton-Clyde’s Russ Steinbrock, Hanover’s Matt Heuer, Victoria’s Doug Oberle and West Elk’s Chris Haag. Notably, Webster, Steinbrock and Heuer are all coaching at their alma maters. Oberle graduated from Claflin, Haag from Olpe.
As well, Rush County has two schools: La Crosse and Otis-Bison. Last season, O-B coach Travis Starr picked up career win No. 100, all with the Cougars. He is now O-B’s athletic director. Ness City is half an hour from La Crosse and in the same league.
Ness City coach Marc Cowles, including a 2-3 season as a six-man independent in 2014, has crossed 100 wins this fall, too, per Kansas Football History. Cowles is 39-32 at Ness City after a long stint at Weskan.
Earlier this fall, Kpreps talked with Webster about 100 wins. He has served in a variety of roles, including social studies teacher, current principal. Previously, he'd been head track coach and assistant basketball coach. Webster wanted to credit his coaches and players with helping reach 100. Chris Delimont served a long stint on Webster’s staff before he returned to Norton this season. Webster presented Delimont with a commemorative plaque for his service.
This fall, La Crosse has needed to replace multi-year all-state running back Colby Stull and opened 4-1. Junior Caden Morgan has enjoyed a big year with 60 of 102 passing for 1,125 yards with 18 scores against two interceptions. Senior Bryce Conner and junior Gage Burk are the top targets. Burk paces the defense with 33 tackles, 8.5 for loss. Junior Conner Barriger (four sacks) is another strong player.
Helmet Stickers (2022 Season)
Week 1 – Atwood-Rawlins County, Coffeyville, Ellsworth, Ingalls, Topeka Highland Park
Week 2 – Abilene, Baxter Springs, Inman, Oswego, Shawnee Mission North
Week 3 – Deerfield, Great Bend, Meade, Valley Falls
Week 4 – Chanute, Shawnee Heights, Stafford, West Franklin, Wichita Independent
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