We are planning to do things a little different this year with our weekly feature called The Pick List.
In past seasons, we would preview a few of the best matchups across the state each week, make our prediction, and make our picks for a list of other notable games. We still plan on doing that, but now our weekly poll will allow you to vote on the handful of games we will preview with The Pick List each week.
This week, we have chosen to highlight several key matchups to open the 2024 season.
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6A No. 1 Derby at Hays – Both teams struggled to fill Week 1 and will face off for the first time ever. Hays High features sophomore center Gus Cosair, who holds an Iowa State offer, and plenty of skill position talent with Johnny Cano and Jarek Purdy. Both squads were somewhat unsettled at quarterback with HHS a two-man battle between Zane Viegra and incumbent Carter Graham. Derby has Maize transfer quarterback Drew Kemp and Aiden Heckathorn, a Sterling College commit. Derby features multiple Division I prospects, including tight end Da’Shaan Brame (6-6, 235, Tennessee commit).
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Wichita Northwest at Bishop Carroll – This game has often shaped both team’s seasons. Frequently, each squad has been ranked in the preseason top-5, though Northwest is just outside of the Class 6A rankings. Bishop Carroll is coming off its worst record since the mid-1990s and again will be very young. Northwest has its usual bevy of star talent for its high-octane offense. However, Carroll has pulled several upsets against Northwest when they have been the lower-ranked school. Bishop Carroll is a Kpreps Potential Breakout Team. Northwest quarterback Jaylen Mason helped the Grizzlies to a 7-3 record and 47 points per game. He threw 16 touchdown passes, while junior Aaron Bohannon rushed for 1,248 yards.
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5A No. 1 Mill Valley at Olathe South – Mill Valley begins its quest for a sixth consecutive Class 5A state championship with a Sunflower League test against Olathe South. The Jaguars graduated a large senior class, but return plenty of experience on the defensive side of ball including Penn State commit Jayden Woods at defensive end. Olathe South finished 6-4 a season ago, and now must replace the Sunflower League MVP in Bryce Noernberg. Max Armstrong is back in the backfield after 1,000-yard season last fall and will benefit from several starters back on the offensive line. The Falcons will also benefit from the addition of Kansas-commit Juju Marks who transferred to South from St. Thomas Aquinas. Last season, Mill Valley rushed for 420 yards in rolling past Olathe South, 77-21.
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Blue Valley West at 5A No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas – Aquinas returns to Class 5A after winning the 4A state title a season ago. The Saints will begin the Eastern Kansas League gauntlet with an experienced Blue Valley West team that has high expectations after a 4-6 record a season ago. Quarterback Tate Nagy paces the Jaguar offense and has some experience back in front of him on the offensive line. He will look for replacements for standout running back Sage Huffman and wideout Crew Myers. Aquinas returns Elzie Slaughter and Calin Arndt who both saw significant time in the backfield last season. Aquinas has won eight of the past nine in the series.
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5A No. 2 Blue Valley at Blue Valley Southwest – Blue Valley returns to Class 6A where the Tigers are expected to be an immediate factor. The Tigers feature several players that are being recruited to play at the next level, including Alabama commit Dawson Merritt, Kansas State commit Maguire Richman, and Lincoln Stueve. The Tigers also return quarterback Christopher Aiello and receivers Grady and Grant Westphal. Blue Valley Southwest will look to replace all-state quarterback Dylan Dunn and his incredible group of receivers. The Timberwolves are looking to show their staying power after falling by 1-point to Mill Valley in the 5A state semifinals a season ago.
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St. James Academy at 4A No. 1 Bishop Miege – This should be a great showdown between St. James and Miege to open the season. Miege has won three straight in the series since St. James defeated the Stags twice back in 2021. Last year’s two meetings were completely different. Miege won the first meeting 48-7, while the Stags squeaked by the Thunder, 21-17, in the playoffs. Miege brings back quarterback Marco Rodriquez and wideout Teryn Jackson among others. St. James also brings back an experienced quarterback in Spring Hill transfer Tyson Beashore, who will have the benefit of playing behind an experienced offensive line.
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5A No. 5 Great Bend at McPherson – Both teams have lofty aspirations, and Great Bend enters fifth in the 5A rankings and a Kpreps Potential Breakout Team. GB lost multiple one-score games, especially on the road, and finished 2-4 in away games last year (4-0 at home). Great Bend started last year with a 29-16 win at McPherson, a game that was closer than the final score. Junior QB/WR combination of Daxton Minton and Ian Premer is among the state’s best, and sophomore Cooper Ohnmacht should contribute in all three phases. McPherson (7-4) returns the bulk of its rushing yards from one of 4A West’s stronger squads.
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Topeka Seaman at KC Piper – A key United Kansas Conference game will open the head coaching stint of Cole Orrick at KC Piper. The Pirates will be experienced up front, having returned all starters across the line. But Piper will have to break in some skill kids, especially at quarterback. Topeka Seaman does not have that problem. The Vikings return one of the state’s top signal callers in Max Huston. Huston passed for more than 3,250 yards and 38 touchdowns last fall.
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4A No. 2 Andover Central at Hutchinson – Andover Central finished as the 4A state runners-up last season to Aquinas. The Jaguars now return several key players to make another deep playoff run. Jace Jefferson returns at quarterback after a 2,000-yard, 24-touchdown passing season. Maddox Archibold will join him in the backfield after rushing for nearly 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall. Central will open with a challenging contest at Hutchinson. The Salt Hawks will be looking for ways to get the ball to electric athlete Terrell King. This will be the first meeting between the Jaguars and Salt Hawks in football.
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KC Harmon at Maranatha Academy – Maranatha returns to 11-man football after a six-year stint in 8-Man, Division I. The last time the Eagles were an 11-man team, they competed in Class 3A. Now Maranatha steps up to take on Class 5A opponent, KC Harmon. Harmon has not picked up an on-field game since 2019 (28 straight games).
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Winfield at Arkansas City – Rivals Ark City and Winfield will square off again in the Cowley Cup to open the season. The Bulldogs managed just one win a season ago, but Chet Pobolish’s team returns several weapons on offense including quarterback Jordey Pierce. Winfield won this contest 21-13 last season, then lost four straight contests. The Vikings finished the year wining three of their final four contests.
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Holcomb at 3A No. 2 Cheney – Cheney opens its Class 3A state title defense with a challenging home contest against perennial playoff contender Holcomb. While the Cardinals must replace several weapons from last years team, including Jackson Voth, Josh Burdick returns at quarterback and is poised for another all-state caliber season. Holcomb is coming off a 7-3 season which ended with a second-round playoff loss to Cheney. Keegan Johnson returns at quarterback with his brother, Korbin, at wideout. The Longhorns also feature promising offensive line prospect Drayton Knoll (6-5, 300).
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Sabetha at Holton – These former Big 7 Conference rivals will now meet for the first time as members of the new Big East League. Sabetha is now under the direction of Kalbe Moeller, a long-time assistant under Garret Michael. The Blue Jays were hit hard by graduation, but there is proven consistency in this program that will ensure they remain competitive. Michell Kramer returns at quarterback and will have Luke Renyer blocking for him up front. Holton graduated a key class of linemen which helped the Wildcats reach the state semifinals last fall.
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3A No. 3 Topeka Hayden at Eudora -- The Wildcats will look to make a run at the 3A state title again this fall after finishing as runners-up to Cheney a season ago. Hayden returns plenty of talent on offense with quarterback Jett Wahlmeier, receiver Jenson Schrickel, and Kade Mitchell and Broderick Desch in the backfield. Eudora will look to improve on 2023’s 5-5 season and will likely rely on the ground game with senior Errol Siemon running behind a couple of key pieces up front in Leland Bradshaw and Cage Crabill.
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Wellington at 3A No. 4 Wichita Collegiate – Hopes are high for Wellington as the Crusaders return several key players from last season’s 8-3 squad. Quarterback Dusty Bannister returns to lead the offense after passing for more than 2,600 yards a season ago. His top receivers also return in Sky Branam and Carter Burnett along with Nick Giefer in the backfield. Collegiate brings back Julian Johnson and Jaden Parker in the backfield along with Sebastian Hines-Turner at receiver. The Spartans will be breaking in a new quarterback with Hudson Ferralez lost to graduation.
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1A No. 2 Rossville at Silver Lake – One of the state’s top rivalries, Rossville will visit Silver Lake in the latest rendition of the War on 24. The Bulldawgs drop down to Class 1A this cycle and will look to be an immediate factor. Meanwhile, Silver Lake sits just outside the top five in Class 2A. The Eagles will look to replace standout quarterback Tanner Martin, but whoever steps into that role will have receiver Trent Rollenhagen to throw to and the benefit of an experienced offensive line. Rossville will look to either Tayson Horak or Canann Mitchell to take over at the quarterback position. Silver Lake has won two straight in the series, while Rossville had won three in a row prior to that.
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Sterling at 1A No. 5 Sedgwick – The Heart of America teams will have very opposite offenses. Sedgwick opens fifth in 1A after it led the class in passing offense. Sterling counters with an offense that ranks top-15 for all classes in run rate. Sedgwick has QB Corey Crumrine and WR Dallas Lagree back from an 8-2 team. Crumrine threw for 3,158 yards with 34 scores against two interceptions. Sterling RB Zane Farney is top-10 all classes in production the last two falls. He delivered 1,506 yards for a 6-4 team that looks to be a 1A contender this year. Sterling won 41-6 in sloppy conditions last year and has won the last two in the series. Sedgwick had won the previous seven.
- Argonia-Attica at 8M-I No. 5 West Elk -- Can West Elk assert itself as a top-5 team? The Patriots went 9-2 last season, though fell out of the rankings after an early season loss. Senior running back Creyo Koop has rushed for 3,964 career yards and paced the Patriots with 96 tackles. A&A has never had a losing season since it formed the co-operative agreement just over a decade ago. West Elk will be more experienced on offense, though A&A returns junior Carson Vineyard, its leading tackler with 106 stops. The Titans return seven of their top-nine tacklers. This is the first-ever matchup between the squads.
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8M-I No. 3 Little River at Chase County – Little River will look to rely on its defense to start the season while the offense takes shape. The Redskins graduated standout Andrew Smith who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 36 touchdowns. But Little River returns plenty of experience across the line to compete at a high level. Chase County returns quarterback Wyatt Griffin and speedy back Luke Budke.
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Moundridge at Bennington – These two Heart of America rivals are each transitioning back to 11-man football this season. The two teams met in Week 2 last season in an eight-man contest with Moundridge winning, 52-6. The Wildcats have several key returners including quarterback Henry Hecox, tight end Bear Moddelmog, and receiver Kaizer Kanitz as well as four starters across the line.
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Hanover at 8M-I No. 4 Ell-Saline – The Wildcats and Cardinals will meet for a third consecutive season. Ell-Saline post victories of 50-14 in 2022 and 44-28 last season. The Cardinals return several key players including Reese Krone, Jacob Tillberg, and Victor Ruiz-Torres.
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8M-II No. 2 Frankfort at Clifton-Clyde – A key Twin Valley League contest to open the season has Frankfort, No. 2 in 8M-II, traveling to Clifton-Clyde. Frankfort returns Wes Anderson at quarterback after passing for more than 3,500 yards and 55 touchdowns in his first two seasons. His targets will include Carter Olson, Trent Hardin, and Lane Loiseau. Loiseau combined for nearly 1,200 yards of total offense and 23 combined rushing/receiving touchdowns last season. Clifton-Clyde brings back six players with playing experience from last season’s 7-3 team. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2017.
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8M-I No. 2 Hoxie at Osborne – Hoxie opens as the No. 2 team in Eight-Man, Division I and will take on Division II contender Osborne. Hoxie features quarterback Duncan Bell, running back Braydon Sheetz as well as Sam Watkins at receiver. Osborne returns Dalton Garman who saw significant action at quarterback a season ago.
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Atwood-Rawlins Co. at 8M-II No. 4 Dighton – This should be a good one to open play in the Northwest Kansas League. Rawlins County features one of eight-man football’s top backs in Ryan Sramek. Sramek rushed for nearly 2,000 yards last fall with more than 30 touchdowns. The Buffs will be a team to watch in Eight-Man, Division I. Dighton will also be experienced. The Hornets open as the No. 4 ranked team in 8M-II thanks to the return of senior quarterback Daniel Cramer. Cramer nearly combined for 2,000 yards passing and rushing a season ago. The Hornets also return top tackler George von Leonrod. Rawlins County defeated Dighton, 30-12, last season.
- 6M No. 1 Cunningham at No. 3 South Barber -- Possibly the first of two meetings between Six-Man No. 1 Cunningham and No. 3 South Barber. South Barber moves down from eight-man after and 8-2 season. South Barber had no six-man scrimmages/camps against opponents this summer. However, coach Matt Cantrell is long known for his effective offensive scheming. Oakley Duvall (129 tackles) was an elite eight-man player. Cunningham is the significant favorite after second, first and second showings in the last three falls. No six-man team throws the ball as much as the Wildcats. Senior Will Wegerer threw 20 touchdowns, and Cunningham is highly experienced. Senior Dagim Reed has significantly played since he was a freshman.
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