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 Wednesday 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: Chetopa (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Chetopa has its first 2-0 start since a 10-1 record in 2014. The Green Hornets were just 1-20 in their last 21 games entering the 2023 season.
Tommy Heatherly, from Oklahoma, is in his first season leading the Green Hornet program. He punted collegiately for Florida International and in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins.
Chetopa has opened with two road wins, 78-33 against Altoona-Midway and 46-26 versus Peabody-Burns. Peabody-Burns finished 6-4 last fall.
The Green Hornets pace the 6-Man classification with 124 points. Chetopa scored 39 total points in all eight games last year, per the Sunflower Sports Solutions database. Senior skill players Blake Carter, Cauy Ross, and Derrick Thomas are key returners for the Hornets.
Chetopa and Ashland are the only six-man schools to start 2-0 and not yet play a home game. The Green Hornets will host Southern Coffey County (1-1) for homecoming this week.
Helmet sticker: Deerfield (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
The Deerfield Spartans get one of my helmet stickers this week for starting off the season 2-0 for the first time since 2010.
Deerfield snapped a 15-game losing streak in last year’s season-opener, and have since won 7 of their last 10 contests. It is quite a turnaround for a program that has seen five winless seasons over the past seven years. Prior to a 4-5 finish in 2019, Deerfield lost 27 consecutive games spanning a period from the 2015 to 2019 season.
Coach Adam Leroux’s Spartans have opened with wins over Triplains-Brewster (51-18) and Western Plains-Healy (55-0). In last Friday’s win over Western Plains, junior Elijah Byrne and classmate Yulexis Quintero-Robles each rushed for two touchdowns. Trey Hill and Colten Musil also scored on the night.
Through two games Quintero-Robles leads the team with 285 yards rushing and five touchdowns and has four catches for 60 yards and another score. He also leads the team in tackles with 16 stops.
Macias, the lone senior on the roster, has scored on the ground, caught a touchdown pass, and added a kickoff return for a touchdown past week. Junior quarterback Maverick Najera has passed for 175 yards and five touchdowns through two games. Najera passed for 1,180 yards and 18 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022.
The Spartans are hoping they have turned the corner as a program and will have some staying power. The 13-player roster is made up of a strong junior class of eight players as well as four freshmen. Freshman Cristian Botello is the team’s leading receiver through two games with four catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, the Spartans will take on Golden Plains (0-2), looking for their first 3-0 start since 2008.
Helmet sticker: Ellinwood (Conor Nicholl – Kpreps)
Ellinwood is one of several teams off to rare 2-0 starts. The Eagles have back-to-back road wins, 42-0 against Syracuse and 40-6 versus Douglass.
Last year, Ellinwood posted a 3-6 mark with a 1-2 start. The Eagles shutout Syracuse, though lost, 14-0, to Douglass.
Ellinwood has not been over .500 since a 6-3 season in 2015. The Eagles last started 2-0 in 1998.
Ellinwood will play Stanton County this Friday and could post its first 3-0 start since a 7-2 record in 1986, per Kansas Football History. Coach Brett Stindt, in his second season, returned several key pieces, including quarterback Drew Heinz and running backs Logan Panning and Bryan Jaske.
The Eagles are currently tied for second in 1A scoring defense.
Helmet sticker: Goddard-Eisenhower (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Goddard-Eisenhower moved into the Top 5 rankings this week thanks to an impressive start that included wins over Hutchinson (7-3) and Salina Central (44-28). It is the first 2-0 start in Eisenhower’s 12-year football history.
In last week’s win over Salina Central, senior Lucas Dickman rushed for 208 yards and two scores and quarterback Derek Morgan had a standout performance. Morgan rushed for 74 yards and two scores, and passed for 174 more yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was Eisenhower’s fifth consecutive win over Salina Central.
This is a Tiger football team that was expected to me much improved from last year’s 3-6 mark. Especially since you consider five of the Tigers’ six losses last season came by seven points or less. Add in the returning nucleus of a strong offensive line with the likes of Tycen Biering, Nate Hamm, and Noah Packard, and the pieces were there for the Tigers to contend. Dickman has already rushed for 336 yards through two weeks and senior Carter Pabst has emerged as a “go-to” receiver. Pabst had nearly 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season.
If Morgan continues to excel at quarterback, it could be a strong season for Eisenhower. The Tigers will get a significant challenge this week when they visit Valley Center (2-0). The Hornets defeated Eisenhower, 7-6, last season.
Helmet sticker: Pratt (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
The Pratt Greenbacks are a team quickly building momentum in a deep 3A classification. Pratt opened the season just outside the Top 5 in our 3A poll and is closing the gap on the ranked teams thanks to a pair of dominating victories over Larned (48-12) and Hesston (54-13).
The Greenbacks are led by senior Max Younie (6-2, 190) who has done a little bit of everything for Brent Hoelting’s team thus far this season. Through two games, Younie has rushed 35 times for 502 yards and nine touchdowns, passed for 197 yards and three scores, and has 13 receiving yards. Defensively, Younie has nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, and forced a fumble, which he recovered.
While the Greenbacks are averaging more than 330 yards per game on the ground, senior Noah Riley has contributed 165 receiving yards and three touchdowns through two games. Defensively, the Greenbacks are young, but talented. Younie and Riley are the only two seniors among the team’s top 14 tacklers through two weeks.
Pratt has been building momentum the past couple of seasons. The Greenbacks won the 2016 state championship in Class 4A, Division II by defeating Topeka Hayden, then narrowly captured another championship in 2018 – falling to Sabetha 43-42 in overtime in the 3A title game. After that season, coach Jaime Cruce left for Haysville Campus and Brent Hoelting came over from Lyndon.
The Greenbacks will be challenged by an absolutely loaded Class 3A, District 7 which includes top-ranked Andale and No. 2 ranked Cheney. Andale currently carries the nation’s longest active consecutive win streak at 53 games. The last team to defeat the Indians? Pratt, 21-19 in the 3A state semifinal game in 2018.
Helmet Stickers (2023 Season)
Week 1 – Clay Center, Labette County, Riverton, Sedgwick, Thomas More Prep
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