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: Maize South (Matt Gilmore -- Kpreps)
Maize South gets a sticker this week for their 47-0 shutout of rival Maize at Wichita’s Riverfront Stadium. It was the Mavericks first win over Maize since 2015, ending a streak of six consecutive losses in the series.
Quarterback Tate McNew passed for 200 yards and a touchdown and added three rushing touchdowns in the win. Running back Braxton Bigley added 135 yards and two scores on the ground. The Maverick offense was balanced with 215 rushing yards and 204 yards passing on the night.
Maize South is 4-1 on the season, having already equaled its win total from a season ago.
The Mavericks have a challenging couple of upcoming games beginning with a home date with Goddard (4-1) this week followed by a trip to Derby (4-1).
Helmet sticker: Medicine Lodge (Conor Nicholl -- Kpreps)
Medicine Lodge pulled off a big 21-20 win at Sterling in Class 1A, District 7 and is quietly putting together a nice season at 3-2, 1-1 in the district. Hutchinson Trinity (2-0 in district), Conway Springs (3-2, 2-0), Sterling (3-2, 1-1) and Medicine Lodge are part of the classification’s deepest district. Two-time defending state runner-up Inman (1-4, 0-2) and Ellinwood (3-2, 0-2) are in the district.
ML defeated Chaparral and Belle Plaine in non-district, and then took close losses to Garden Plain (21-7) and Conway Springs (40-34). Last season, Medicine Lodge won three games and started 1-3 and 2-4.
Medicine Lodge has shown big improvement off 2022, a year where the Indians lost to Chaparral, beat Belle Plaine by three and took big losses to GP and Conway Springs. This marks Medicine Lodge’s second year back up in 11-man football. ML allowed 129 points in five games of ’22, a number that’s been lowered to 87.
Medicine Lodge trailed 7-0 in the first quarter and led 21-7 in the fourth quarter. Sterling scored on a four-yard run, and converted a 77-yard pass, though missed on the two-point conversion. ML held Sterling and outstanding sophomore running back Zane Farney to 38 carries for 138 yards.
Junior Keveon Ruiz (6-2, 180) enjoyed a big game with 14 of 28 for 156 yards with two scores against two interceptions. He rushed 16 times for 98 yards and a score. Plus, Jack Schreiner had 15 attempts for 102 yards. Four players had multiple catches. Junior Durham Nittler had 12 tackles with a TFL. Junior Sawyer Stone had 10 tackles, two for loss and a sack.
Helmet sticker: Mill Valley (Matt Gilmore – Kpreps)
A week after a 49-10 loss to 6A No. 1 Gardner-Edgerton, Mill Valley did what you would expect from a 4-time defending state champion program. They rebounded with a statement win.
The Jaguars rolled to a 77-21 road win over an Olathe South team that had won three consecutive games.
The 77 points set a school record for a program that has won six state titles. Mill Valley continues to run the ball at the highest clip in the Joel Applebee era at 82 percent of snaps on the ground.
MV has played two quarterbacks with junior Connor Bohon and senior Daniel Blaine. Plus, Tristan Baker has enjoyed another big season in the backfield with 96 carries for 523 yards and eight scores. MV has its excellent offensive line behind Gus Hawkins and Mason Kemp.
Olathe South led 7-0 and 14-7 and the game was tied at 21 in the second quarter. Then, MV scored 56 unanswered points. Baker finished with 23 carries for 175 yards and five scores. Blaine was four of four passing for 100 yards and two TDs and rushed eight times for 104 yards with a score.
Baker caught a 64-yard TD pass, and Clayton Sondgeroth recorded an 83-yard kickoff return. Kenten Laughman was a perfect 11 for 11 on extra points and had five touchbacks. The win re-asserts Mill Valley as a top contender in 5A.
Mill Valley will return home this week to take on Shawnee Mission South (1-4) before a trip to 6A No. 2 Olathe North (4-1).
Helmet sticker: Plainville (Conor Nicholl -- Kpreps)
Plainville trailed at halftime before it quickly pulled away in a 38-10 home Mid-Continent League rivalry victory versus Ellis. New coach Alex McMillian, who had great success at Madison, and longtime PHS assistants Justin Casey and Ryan Becker, have notably helped the Cardinals score four times with non-offensive touchdowns.
Versus Ellis, AJ Brown returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score. Brown threw a 63-yard pass and scored on runs of 30, 13 and 58 yards. Brown passed for 100 yards and ran 19 times for 162 yards and three scores. Mason Hogan delivered eight tackles, plus three for loss and a sack.
Plainville took control of Class 1A, District 8 and improved to 2-3, 2-0 with the victory. The Cardinals opened with three losses to bigger schools. Plainville fell 37-18 to currently undefeated Norton, and then lost one-score contests to Russell (20-13) and a back-and-forth game with Hays-TMP (36-28). The Cardinals won at Oakley, 53-6, in the district opener before the win against Ellis.
Against Oakley, Brown returned a punt 50 yards for a score. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 64 yards. Brown rushed 13 times for 134 yards and four scores. In the TMP victory, Brown brought back a punt 53 yards for a touchdown and rushed for a 28-yard touchdown. Roy Bright Jr. had a 65-yard pick-six. Bright was the starting quarterback as a freshman on Natoma’s undefeated six-man state championship team. Jesse Wilkerson ran 63 yards for a TD. In Week 1, Plainville kicked a 29-yard field goal, too.
Plainville will be heavily favored the next two weeks. The Cardinals have emerged as a darkhorse contender in 1A West, especially with the improved special teams. Last year, Plainville opened 0-4, though finished 4-6 and lost by four at Conway Springs. CS had beat Inman, the eventual 1A state runner-up, in the regular season. Inman lost by three to St. Marys in the state championship game.
Helmet Stickers (2023 Season)
Week 1 – Clay Center, Labette County, Riverton, Sedgwick, Thomas More Prep
Week 2 – Chetopa, Deerfield, Ellinwood, Goddard-Eisenhower, Pratt
Week 3 – KC Washington, Liberal, Mulvane, Sublette
Week 4 – Herington, Lawrence Free State, Ottawa, Oxford
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