Kpreps 2023 playoff coverage
Class 8-Man, Division I
VIEW: 8M-I BRACKET
8M-I EAST
Highlighted Game: (Gilmore)
D2-#2 Cair Paravel (9-2) at D2-#1 Lyndon (11-0) – Lyndon
This meeting between the Cair Paravel Lions and the Lyndon Tigers is one of seven district rematches that will be played in the state semifinal round in Class 3A and under. Lyndon claimed the District 2 championship earlier this fall and along the way, defeated Cair Paravel, 58-30, back in Week 4.
In the first meeting, Lyndon senior quarterback Tanner Heckel put up an incredible state line with 349 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 29 carries. Heckel also threw for 49 yards and a touchdown in the game. For the season, Heckel, who transferred to Lyndon from last year’s Class 1A runner-up Inman, has rushed for 1,965 yards and 44 touchdowns. He has also passed for nearly 900 yards and 17 scores.
While the Tiger offense runs through Heckel, Jalen Massey has added 1,261 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. The Tigers average nearly 300 yards per game on the ground led by Kaedin Massey (6-8, 280) up front. Lyndon has played an impressive schedule that includes victories over five teams that have won at least one playoff game in their respective classifications.
Lyndon will get another test from a Cair Paravel program that is in just its second season as a KSHSAA school. The Lions missed out on the playoffs last fall, finishing 3-6, but have put together a 9-2 campaign this fall with losses only to Lyndon and 8M-II No. 1 Axtell.
Cair Paravel features speed and athleticism led by junior quarterback Jase Pavlik and senior skill players Jesiah Bonura and Evan Will. Pavlik has passed for nearly 1,700 yards and thrown 34 touchdown passes this season. He has added 820 yards and 15 touchdowns rushing.
Bonura has caught 12 touchdown passes and has more than 600 receiving yards. He’s also added 1,118 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. The Lions kept things on the ground in rushing for nearly 350 yards in last week’s 48-23 win over Chase County.
Meanwhile, Lyndon cruised to a 58-12 victory over West Elk as Heckel rushed for more than 250 yards and five touchdowns. He also returned an interception for a score.
Pavlik and Heckel are two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in eight-man football, but Lyndon, with its depth and size, is the favorite again in the rematch.
8M-I WEST
Highlighted Game: (Nicholl)
D5-#1 Ell-Saline (10-1) at D8-#1 Leoti-Wichita County (11-0) – Wichita County
The defending state champion Indians have won a school record 24 straight contests. That included a 48-14 victory in Week 3 at Hoxie when they held Hoxie under 100 yards of total offense.
Wichita County has enjoyed impressive depth and has an excellent offensive line. Senior Wyatt Gardner has completed 55 of 66 passes for 885 yards with 21 scores against one interception. He has rushed 121 times for 1,247 yards with 21 TDs.
Junior Khris Hermosillo, who missed some time with injury earlier in this season after an all-state year last fall, has carried 107 times for 1,032 yards and 22 scores. Wichita County has averaged 9.3 yards per carry and 13.5 yards per pass. Chris Michel, Juan Tapia, Max Whitham and Brandon Price have led the line.
Coach Brant Douglas and defensive coordinator Haydon Parks have again led a prolific attack with a collective score of 678-92.
Ell-Saline, a Kpreps Potential Breakout Team this summer, has enjoyed a four-win improvement. The Cardinals have their first double-digit winning season since 2008. Ell-Saline made the move to eight-man football two years ago.
The Cardinals rolled over Meade (68-20) two weeks ago and beat Hoxie, 44-42, in a wild back-and-forth contest last week. Ell-Saline also enjoyed resume-bolstering victories against Hanover (44-28), Little River (24-14) and Clifton-Clyde.
Ell-Saline has enjoyed strong depth with quarterback Marshall Johnson, running back Joe Hiechel and Ryder Dent, tight end Trey Williams and wide receiver Kas Kramer. Johnson accounted for five touchdowns last week. Ell-Saline has an average score of 44-18. Last year, the Cardinals had an average score of 31-26.
The Cardinals have enjoyed a highly impressive season and steadily moved up the rankings. However, no team has been able to match Wichita County’s prolific offense and strong defense.
Class 8-Man, Division II
8M-II EAST
Highlighted Game: (Gilmore)
D3-#2 Frankfort (9-2) at D3-#1 Axtell (11-0) – Axtell
Twin Valley League rivals Axtell and Frankfort will meet for a second time this season with a spot in the Eight-Man, Division II title game on the line.
Axtell has won 37 consecutive games and is seeking a third consecutive 8M-II state title. The Eagles have rolled to 10 straight wins by the 45-point rule since a 60-44 shootout victory over Cair Paravel in the season-opener. Cair Paravel has reached the state semifinal round in Eight-Man, Division I.
The Eagles feature some of Eight-Man’s top players including Brandon Schmelzle and Eli Broxterman. Last week, the Eagles rolled past Osborne, 54-6. Schmelzle threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two scores. Broxterman caught two of the Schmelzle scoring passes and rushed for a score. The Eagle defense held Osborne to 84 yards of total offense.
Frankfort has enjoyed an outstanding season and reached the state semifinal round for the first time since a loss to Hanover in 2020. The Wildcats’ two losses this season have come to 8M-I semifinalist Lyndon (70-24) and Axtell (46-0).
The Wildcats are led by an explosive offense that averages 58.5 points per game. Quarterback Wes Andreson has passed for 2,047 yards and 33 touchdowns against only three interceptions. Cater Olson and Lane Loiseau have been Anderson’s primary receivers. Olson has 40 receptions for 768 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Loiseau has caught 46 passes for 682 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Loiseau and Brock Armstrong lead the Frankfort ground game. Loiseau has nearly 500 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, while Armstrong has rushed for more than 400 yards and scored 15 times.
In the first meeting, Axtell shut down the Frankfort offense in a 46-0 win. The Eagles allowed just 1 net rushing yard and held the Wildcats to 62 yards overall.
8M-II WEST
Highlighted Game: (Nicholl)
D7-#1 South Central (8-3) at D5-#1 Victoria (9-1) – Victoria
Victoria has cruised since a 20-14 season-opening road loss at Kinsley. The Knights have won all nine games by at least 22 points, including eight straight by the mercy role.
The Knights are highly senior-laden and experienced, paced by quarterback Landon Schmidtberger, end Seth Schwien, and lineman Kyle Huser. Plus, Victoria has enjoyed nice years from Matt Pfeifer, and Chase Schumacher in the backfield.
Victoria’s senior class has suffered competitive losses in the playoffs in each of the past three seasons having reached the quarterfinals last fall and the substate semifinal round in 2021 and 2020. The Knights have not reached a championship game since winning back-to-back titles in 2014 and ’15.
South Central has emerged from a close pack of Division II squads. The Timberwolves beat Kinsley, 44-14, in district play and have rolled in the playoffs with a 46-12 home victory over Bucklin, a 58-12 win against Central Plains, and a 58-12 decision last week over previously undefeated Minneola, the classification’s top offense. South Central (8-3) has doubled its win total from last fall and has enjoyed the best playoff advancement since Protection and Coldwater consolidated.
The Timberwolves are extremely run-heavy with 289 rushing attempts and just 65 passes. Junior JT Prusa has 154 carries for 1,610 yards and 28 scores. He has thrown nine touchdown passes against one interception. South Central has just one senior offensive skill player. Senior Gavin Uhl has 95 stops, 13 for loss.
South Central has pulled a couple of upsets this fall and played Division I contender Meade to a one-score loss. However, Victoria’s seniors have been on a mission since the loss to end their careers in Newton. Victoria will have the advantage in experience, size and playing at home.
Class 6-Man
6-Man EAST
Highlighted Game: (Gilmore)
D2-#2 Tescott (7-2) at D2-#1 Cunningham (9-1) – Cunningham
Cunningham’s quest for a second consecutive 6-Man state title will continue with a rematch against the Tescott Trojans. The two teams met back in Week 3 of district play with the Wildcats blanking the Trojans, 50-0.
Cunningham claimed the first-ever KSHSAA-sanctioned state championship with a 38-16 win over Ashland last year. Back in 2021, the Wildcats finished as the state runner-up in the 6-Man Football Association’s Wild West Bowl before the classification became sanctioned.
Tescott advanced to this state semifinal by outlasting previously-unbeaten Waverly 52-45 in five overtimes last week. The teams were tied at 39 at the end of regulation and neither could score in the first, third, and fourth overtime.
Tescott quarterback Austin Miller passed for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Carter Peters and James Dickerman each rushed for two scores. Peters also caught a touchdown pass and tossed a touchdown pass back to Miller. Dickerman led the Trojans with 116 yards on the ground, while Peters had 73 yards rushing.
Cunningham had its streak of eight consecutive shutouts end last week, although the Wildcats routed Pawnee Heights, 70-6. The Wildcats have won nine straight games since a season-opening loss to Ashland, 32-22.
In the first meeting this season, Cunningham’s defense came up with six interceptions of Tescott passes – two each by Luke Albers, Dagim Reed, and Luke McGuire. The Wildcats held the Trojans to less than 100 yards of total offense, including 29 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Cunningham’s Will Wegerer passed for 104 yards and three touchdowns in the win, while McGuire added a touchdown pass to Wegerer. Albers caught nine passes for 109 yards and two scores.
Cunningham is at home and the Wildcats are the favorite to advance to a 6-Man championship for a third straight year.
6-Man WEST
Highlighted Game: (Nicholl)
D3-#1 Ashland (9-1) at D4-#1 Cheylin (10-0) – Cheylin
Two familiar teams – and coaches with Ashland’s Ben Fox and Cheylin’s Chris Walden – match up for the second time this fall and the fourth occasion in the last two years. Both teams have been ranked in the top-four all fall. Cheylin has been No. 1 and Ashland No. 2 for the last several weeks.
In 2021, Ashland won 43-32 in a neutral site contest. In ’22, Ashland earned a 50-28 victory in the regular season and 78-34 in the state semifinals. In the ’23 regular season, the Cougars picked up a 62-32 victory. The yardage was close, and Cheylin held a 381-345 edge, but the Cougars benefited from five turnovers. Cheylin scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Each team has several of six-man’s most well-known players. Ashland features Lathan and Landen McPhail, Britt Grigsby and Kale Harris.
Grigsby has thrown for 760 yards with 15 scores against three interceptions. Overall, Ashland has 25 TDs against four INTs. Plus, Ashland has 9.3 yards per carry, including 10-plus from Harris. Harris was nearly unstoppable against Cheylin in last year’s substate semifinal with seven touchdowns.
Cheylin has outscored teams by an average margin of 64-5 behind its superb senior class, led by Logan McCarty, Pablo Bermudez and Brady Ketzner. Cheylin has set the single-season school record for wins, and this is the winningest four-year stretch in school history. McCarty has thrown for 1,560 yards with 33 scores against one interception. Bermudez has accounted for 37 offensive TDs, including seven non-offensive.
Cheylin has enjoyed big improvements from its supporting cast of Harley McPherson, Eddie Baca and John Sabatka, among others. This should be a closer game than the regular season contest. The stars will likely perform at their usual rate; the difference could come in which supporting cast plays better.
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