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Class 8-Man, Division I
VIEW: 8M-I Bracket
8M-I EAST
Highlighted Games:
D4-#4 Lyndon (6-2) at D1-#1 West Elk (8-0) – Lyndon
Maybe the top match-up in the first round has Lyndon traveling to unbeaten West Elk. Don’t let Lyndon’s fourth-place finish in District 2 fool you, the Tigers are legit and coming off a 60-59 win over then No. 2 ranked Burlingame. Jalen Massey and Evan Feuerborn are both good athletes out of the backfield and Jackson Biggs can provide balance with the passing game. The Tigers also feature 6-foot-8, 255-pound lineman Kaedin Massey who has multiple Big 12 offers. West Elk will counter with sophomore standout Creyo Koop who has his second 1,000-yard rushing season. Trent Haag has passed for nearly 640 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Patriots. Dustin Montgomery leads the West Elk receivers with 350 yards and six scores. West Elk’s closest game was a 28-6 victory over Central Burden, while Lyndon has played four games decided by single digits.
D3-#3 Central Burden (5-3) at D4-#2 Moundridge (5-3) – Central Burden
This should be a competitive first-round game between the Raiders and Wildcats. Jeff Savage is in his second stint inleading the Central Burden program and has a talented quarterback in Jace Wunderlich. Wunderlich has passed for 1,583 yards and 28 touchdowns this season and added 463 yards rushing and eight scores. Central Burden’s two losses have come to South Sumner County and Wichita Independent. Moundridge also has a new coach in Bret Lange. The Wildcats’ losses have come to Ell-Saline, Little River, and Wichita Independent. Henry Hecox directs the Moundridge offense and has thrown for 718 yards and ten touchdowns with 470 rushing yards and seven more scores.
Other first-round games:
D1-#4 Flinthills (2-6) at D2-#1 Burlingame (7-1) – Burlingame
D4-#3 Goessel (4-4) at D3-#2 Wichita Independent (7-1) – Independent
D4-#4 Herington (3-5) at D3-#1 South Sumner Co. (8-0) – South Sumner Co.
D1-#3 Sedan (4-4) at D2-#2 Chase County (7-1) – Chase County
D3-#4 Argonia-Attica (5-3) at D4-#1 Little River (7-1) – Little River
D2-#3 Madison (5-3) at D1-#2 Oswego (6-2) – Madison
8M-I WEST
Highlighted Games:
D8-#3 Sublette (4-4) at D7-#2 WaKeeney-Trego (5-3) – WaKeeney-Trego
WaKeeney-Trego will still post a winning season after it graduated its entire line, plus two all-state players in Cole Feldt and Charlie Russell from an 8-2 squad that finished top-10 in Division I scoring offense. The Golden Eagles started 0-2 and 1-3. All-purpose threat/running back James Kriegh hasn’t played since Week 1. However, the Golden Eagles have won four straight and scored at least 52 points in every game. Senior quarterback Owen Day has delivered another impressive year with 68 of 116 passing for 823 yards with 12 scores against three interceptions. He has rushed 98 times for 804 yards and 14 scores. Junior Nolan Kinderknecht has 14 offensive scores, and senior Gunner Wilson has 42 catches and seven receiving TDs. Sublette was expected to be much improved in its first year of eight-man football. Quarterback Miguel Hernandez has enjoyed a big season with 50 of 108 passing for 1,126 yards with 12 scores against four interceptions. He has 100 carries for 1,095 yards and 17 scores. Expect a high-scoring game, and a slight edge to Trego with its depth and home field advantage.
D6-#3 Hoxie (6-2) at D5-#2 Ell-Saline (6-2) – Hoxie
Hoxie had moved to No. 5 in Division I before a 46-18 loss to Atwood-Rawlins County dropped the Indians to third in District 6 because of the tiebreaker. Hoxie has played multiple quarterbacks this season. Against Atwood, Hoxie ran for 76 yards and 3.2 yards per carry. Sophomore Brady Jones returned with 11 of 20 for 218 yards with two scores against one interception. Ell-Saline is in its first year of eight man after a long 11-man stint. Sophomore Duncan Bell and senior Brady Jones have combined for 918 passing yards, 58 percent completion and 15 scores against five interceptions. Hoxie is known for its depth with four players between 214 and 527 rushing yards. Junior Jonathan Mader has 89 tackles, 14 for loss; sophomore Sam Watkins has 36 stops, 11 for loss. Senior Kade Wilson has helped pace E-S’ offense. Some of the game hinges on Hoxie’s health, but the Indians’ depth and experience with winning in football and wrestling is likely the differing factor.
Other first-round games:
D6-#4 Quinter (3-5) at D5-#1 Clifton-Clyde (7-1) – Clifton-Clyde
D7-#3 Ness City (5-3) at D8-#2 Meade (7-1) – Meade
D5-#4 Washington County (5-3) at D6-#1 Hill City (7-1) – Hill City
D8-#4 South Gray (2-6) at D7-#1 Macksville (8-0) – Macksville
D5-#3 Lincoln (3-5) at D6-#2 Atwood-Rawlins Co. (6-2) – Rawlins County
D7-#4 La Crosse (4-4) at D8-#1 Leoti-Wichita Co. (8-0) – Leoti-Wichita Co.
Class 8-Man, Division II
VIEW: 8M-II Bracket
8M-II EAST
Highlighted Games:
D1-#3 Marmaton Valley (4-4) at D2-#2 Hutchinson Central Christian (3-5) – Central Christian
Marmaton Valley will travel to Central Christian in what could be a high-scoring game. The Wildcats average 38 points per contest while the Cougars score 37 per game. Central Christian’s defense has been a bit better in allowing only 33 points per game compared to the Wildcats’ 46. Marmaton Valley is coming off of a 64-56 win at St. Paul in which quarterback Brayden Lawson rushed 46 times for 300 yards and eight touchdowns. Jaedon Granere is a solid compliment to Lawson and added 150 yards and a score last week. Central Christian is playing well of late as evidenced by last week’s 60-22 win over Norwich. Emilio Ibarra has had a solid season at quarterback and threw a pair of touchdown passes last week. Tommy Barnett and Ry Kooiman can catch the ball and have speed out of the backfield while Justus Huff is another good target at tight end. Two of Central Christian’s losses have come to unbeaten teams in Stafford and Canton-Galva.
D3-#3 Frankfort (3-5) at D4-#2 Beloit St. John’s-Tipton (6-2) – Beloit St. John’s-Tipton
This is the fifth time the teams have met up since 2018. Frankfort is 4-0, including a 54-43 win in the 2020 playoffs. However, the Wildcats will likely finish with their fewest wins since 2013. Frankfort has allowed 35.5 points a contest, including a 36-33 loss to Hanover last week. BSJT has allowed 24.5 points per game. Sophomore Tyson Gates has completed 57 of 126 passes for 839 yards with eight scores against eight interceptions. He has 635 rushing yards and 18 scores. Junior Chance Jermark has 136 carries for 706 yards and nine scores. Senior Cooper Jermark has 114 tackles, 23 for loss. Junior Chance Jermark has 111 tackles, 18 for loss. Frankfort has played a more difficult slate, but BSJT has the depth to get a win.
Other first-round games:
D2-#4 Rural Vista (2-6) at D1-#1 Lebo (6-2) – Lebo
D1-#4 St. Paul (4-4) at D2-#1 Canton-Galva (8-0) – Canton-Galva
D4-#3 Lakeside-Downs (5-3) at D3-#2 Hanover (4-4) – Hanover
D4-#4 Pike Valley (3-5) at D3-#1 Axtell (8-0) – Axtell
D3-#4 Linn (3-5) at D4-#1 Osborne (7-1) – Osborne
D2-#3 Norwich (3-5) at D1-#2 Colony-Crest (6-2) – Crest
8M-II WEST
Highlighted Games:
D7-#3 Kinsley (4-4) at D8-#2 Minneola (7-1) – Kinsley
Kinsley has a strong chance to pull the upset. Kinsley played undefeated Stafford to a four-point loss last week and has played significantly better since halftime of Week 6. In Week 6, Kinsley trailed Central Christian 30-0 in the second quarter. Then, the Coyotes delivered a big comeback for a 52-38 win. Kinsley had back-to-back shutout victories before the Stafford loss. Peyton Schmidt had completed 22 of 60 passes for 330 yards with eight scores against six interceptions entering the Stafford contest. Conner Chamberlain is a key all-purpose player. Kinsley delivered more than 350 yards of offense against Stafford. Minneola dropped more than six passes in a halftime road loss to Dighton last week. Minneola really struggled running the ball against Dighton’s front. Minneola junior quarterback Eli Lang has completed 111 of 189 passes for 1,588 yards with 20 scores against five interceptions. He has rushed 72 times for 763 yards and 15 scores. Minneola should catch more passes than it did against Dighton, but Kinsley has been playing much better in the last month.
D8-#3 Hodgeman County (5-3) at D7-#2 South Barber (6-2) – Hodgeman County
These two teams met last week in a non-district game at Jetmore. Hodgeman County won that contest, 40-30, behind a huge night from senior Seth Pelton. Pelton rushed for 322 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries as the Longhorns pounded out 404 yards on the ground. Hodgeman County led 34-14 at halftime and held off South Barber in the second half. South Barber quarterback Briggs Jewell passed for 193 yards and three scores in the contest. Lukas Dunham rushed for a touchdown and had two receiving scores for the Chieftains. This week’s rematch will be in Kiowa.
Other first-round games:
D6-#4 Wheatland-Grinnell (1-7) at D5-#1 Victoria (8-0) – Victoria
D5-#4 Wilson (2-6) at D6-#1 Thunder Ridge (7-1) – Thunder Ridge
D8-#4 Bucklin (5-3) at D7-#1 Stafford (8-0) – Stafford
D5-#3 Central Plains (2-6) at D6-#2 Sharon Springs-Wallace Co. (5-3) – Wallace County
D7-#4 South Central (4-4) at D8-#1 Dighton (8-0) – Dighton
D6-#3 St. Francis (4-4) at D5-#2 Sylvan-Lucas Unified (6-2) – Sylvan-Lucas
Class 6-Man
VIEW: 6-Man Bracket
6M EAST
Highlighted Games:
D1-#5 Altoona-Midway (3-5) at D2-#4 Pawnee Heights (3-5) – Pawnee Heights
Altoona-Midway will make the 230-mile trip to Rozel to take on the Pawnee Heights Tigers. Altoona-Midway has posted three wins in a season for the first time since 2006 and the Jets nearly earned a fourth victory, falling 41-40 to Burrton last week. Chase Nalley rushed for three scores in the game. Pawnee Heights has on-field wins over Chase (81-60) and Natoma (52-32) in addition to a forfeit victory over Southern Cloud. Davin Hamby rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 146 yards and two scores in last week’s win at Natoma. Comparing common opponents, the Tigers lost to Burrton 82-60 in Week 6. Pawnee Heights and Altoona-Midway both also played Peabody-Burns. The Tigers lost to Peabody 53-6, while the Jets lost to Peabody, 45-19.
D2-#5 Natoma (4-4) at D1-#4 Centre-Lost Springs (3-5) – Natoma
Last year, Natoma captured the 6-Man Association Wild West Bowl Championship completing a 9-0 season. After taking significant losses to graduation, the Tigers have posted a 4-4 record this fall and enter this contest having dropped two straight. A win clinches Natoma’s fifth straight non-losing season, a school record. Natoma will travel to Lost Springs for the second time this season, having defeated the Centre Cougars, 37-28, back in Week 5. Centre has lost four of its last five games, but those have come against quality opponents. The Cougars have lost to unbeaten Waverly, Natoma, Wetmore and Peabody-Burns. For Centre to advance they’ll have to find a way to slow down Natoma’s Javon Letsch (6-2, 230) who scored nine touchdowns in a game earlier this season. The Cougars have allowed 155 points in their last two games. Centre has fairly strong junior and freshman classes, including freshmen twin brothers Kolby and Koltin Steiner. Juniors Santiago Knepp, Gentri Holub and Nick Krch are key veterans.
Other first-round games:
D1-#7 Chetopa (0-7) at D2-#2 Tescott (7-1) – Tescott
D2-#6 Chase (0-7) at D1-#3 Peabody-Burns (5-3) – Peabody-Burns
D1-#6 Southern Coffey Co. (1-7) at D2-#3 Burrton (5-3) – Burrton
Teams with a first-round BYE:
D1-#1 Waverly (8-0)
D2-#1 Cunningham (8-0)
D1-#2 Wetmore (6-2)
6M WEST
Highlighted Games:
D3-#5 Rolla (1-5) at D4-#4 Golden Plains (2-6) – Golden Plains
Golden Plains had five straight winning seasons before it dropped to two wins last year. This year, the Bulldogs have an eight-point loss to Deerfield, and three losses to ranked teams. Plus, the Bulldogs have a competitive loss to Weskan. Rolla lost to Deerfield by 36 points. Freshman Diego Perez has 86 carries for 598 yards and four scores. Sophomore Josh Rath has completed 20 of 53 passes for 319 yards with seven scores against seven interceptions. Junior Landon Meier has 78 tackles, while Perez and senior Mason Green both have 29 stops.
D4-#5 Triplains-Brewster (2-6) at D3-#4 Moscow (3-3) – Moscow
Moscow won the regular season contest, 53-19, in Week 3. Both teams started strongly. Moscow opened 2-0. The Wildcats, which won six-man in 2019 and state runner-up in 2020, has allowed 40 points a contest. Triplains-Brewster won its season opener and opened 2-2 in its first six-man season. The Titans have allowed 38.3 points a game. But Triplains-Brewster has scored 12 points in the last month. Triplains-Brewster has Brock Woolf, a Kansas State commit.
Other first-round games:
D4-#6 Western Plains-Healy (0-8) at D3-#3 Deerfield (4-3) – Deerfield
Teams with a first-round BYE:
D3-#1 Ashland (7-1)
D4-#1 Cheylin (7-1)
D3-#2 Ingalls (5-2)
D4-#2 Northern Valley (6-2)
D4-#3 Tribune-Greeley Co. (4-4)
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