The Andover Central Jaguars and St. Thomas Aquinas Saints programs have combined for eight state football championship game appearances in their proud histories. But the two programs have only one combined state championship – that won by St. Thomas Aquinas in 2018 in Class 5A.
The Saints and Jaguars each hope to add to the ultimate plaque to their trophy case this weekend as they meet in the Class 4A state championship game.
Kickoff is set for 1:00 P.M. at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.
Both the Saints and the Jaguars battled through their share of adversity this season.
Andover Central emerged from a balanced western half of Class 4A which did not have much ranked representation throughout the season. The Jaguars won their first three games before suffering a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season. Andover Central was beaten by 5A semifinalist Goddard-Eisenhower (41-17), returned to Goddard the following week and lost to the Lions (35-21), then fell 25-24 to Salina Central at home.
Andover Central has since won six straight, including a pair of one-score decisions over Abilene and McPherson in the playoffs before last week’s 26-7 road win over last year’s runner-up Wamego in the semifinal.
St. Thomas Aquinas faced significant injuries through the regular season and dropped three of four games against a stout Eastern Kansas League schedule. The Saints lost a pair of starting running backs to injury in a 45-44, overtime loss to Missouri-power Rockhurst in Week 5. Aquinas followed that up with a 19-7 loss to top-ranked Bishop Miege, then bested 6A semifinalist Blue Valley (10-7) before losing 42-21 to 5A semifinalist Blue Valley Southwest.
Aquinas has since won four straight contests, surviving a gauntlet of an eastern playoff bracket that included wins over Bishop Miege (14-7), Basehor-Linwood (38-7), and Tonganoxie (42-14).
The two teams have done things with contrasting offensive styles this season.
Andover Central has averaged 183 yards passing per contest and 113 yards on the ground. The Jaguars are led by junior quarterback Jace Jefferson. Jefferson has completed nearly 58 percent of his passes for 2,141 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Jefferson has a trio of talented receivers to look towards when the Jaguars go to the air. Brandt Stupka has a team high 816 receiving yards and five touchdowns, while Jace Adler has a team-leading 58 catches for 799 yards and 13 touchdowns. While Stupka and Adler are both juniors, senior Landon Kitterman has 40 catches for 441 yards and three scores.
When Central runs the football, Maddox Archibald has led the way with 1,225 yards on the ground and 17 scores.
It is no secret that Aquinas wants to run the football out of the flexbone – a staple of a Randy Dreiling coached team. The Saints have a talented offensive line and are starting to get heathier in the backfield. Injuries to Gianni Rizzi and Calin Arndt slowed the Saints around the midpoint of the season, but seniors Cole Richardson and Gavin Middendorf have stepped up and combined for nearly 900 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Elzie Slaughter has also added 535 yards and three scores.
Aquinas got a big boost with the return of Rizzi over the last couple of weeks. Rizzi rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win over Tonganoxie. For the season, he has a team-high 842 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Quarterback Aiden Skinner has passed for nearly 800 yards and nine touchdowns. Joe Loughman is the teams’ leading receiver with 436 yards and six scores.
Aquinas is led by an outstanding defense that features North Dakota State commit Kian Payne (6-4, 255) up front. Payne has 62 tackles this season, including eight for loss and seven sacks.
Senior linebacker Wyatt Potter leads the defense with 74 tackles.
Andover Central has allowed 19.3 points per game. Junior Landon Preston leads the Jaguar defense with 103 tackles, while Kyle Newsom has 73 stops including 17.5 tackles for loss.
Each team has been well-prepared from playing larger class opponents. Both the Jaguars and Saints have played six opponents that are in classifications larger than 4A.
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