Each week throughout the regular season, The Pick List will feature a few of the best match-ups across the state, and make our predictions on a handful of other games.
Feature Games of the Week:
Shawnee Mission Northwest (1-0) at 6A No. 3 Blue Valley Northwest (1-0)
One of several key matchups this week between teams from the Sunflower League and Eastern Kansas League pits Shawnee Mission Northwest against third-ranked Blue Valley Northwest.
Blue Valley Northwest has become a consistent contender in Class 6A under Coach Clint Rider. After winning the 6A state title in 2021, the Huskies have been eliminated by the 6A East representative, Gardner-Edgerton, in each of the last two seasons.
Northwest finished 6-5 a year ago, but have high hopes for this season despite the graduation of quarterback Nate Livingston. The Huskies return one of the most experienced offensive line units in the state including all five starters. Among those include one of the nation’s top-rated players in Andrew Babalola (6-6, 280) as well as Kansas State commit Brock Heath (6-4, 260). On the outside, Blue Valley Northwest brings back Trevor Garlington (6-1, 160).
In last week’s 34-13 win over Blue Valley North, the Huskies played a pair of quarterbacks in seniors Ford Bevins and Nathan Baxter. Bevins, a Blue Valley transfer, passed for 85 yards and two touchdowns, while Baxter also added a touchdown pass. Garlington, Ayden McGibboney, and Logan Chandler each caught touchdown passes. The ground game was led by L.J. Bowens who rushed 20 times for 131 yards and two scores.
On the other sideline will be the Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougars that are adapting to a new scheme on offense. Bo Black’s group switched to the flexbone this fall behind new Offensive Coordinator Kurt Webster who was formally the head coach at Chapman.
Shawnee Mission Northwest opened with great success in a 28-14 win over perennial 6A contender Olathe North. The Cougars rushed for 346 yards in the game including 250 yards and all four touchdowns from running back John Whitener. Whitener carried 41 times behind a strong group up front that includes Jacob O’Donnell (6-5, 300), Mason Barth (6-1, 250), Mike Fandel, II (6-3, 250), and Harper Engel (6-2, 215).
Senior linebacker Adam Hageman had nine tackles and a sack to lead a Shawnee Mission Northwest defense that limited Olathe North to 215 yards of total offense. Hageman has played in 16 games of the past three seasons and has registered 196 career tackles.
If the Cougars can control the clock with their ground game, they are going to be a factor in this game and in the eastern half of 6A this season. Blue Valley Northwest is still a slight favorite given they are at home.
Our Pick: Blue Valley Northwest 27, SM Northwest 24 (Gilmore)
2A No. 5 Nemaha Central (0-1) at 2A No. 4 Silver Lake (1-0)
Two of the state’s small school powers will meet for the first time as members of the new Big East Conference when Nemaha Central travels to Silver Lake.
Nemaha Central entered the 2024 season having won back-to-back Class 2A state championships and 26 consecutive games. The Thunder opened the season at No. 1 in the 2A rankings, but fell last week, 16-8, to Marysville. The Thunder committed three turnovers and were turned away twice more near the goal line by the Marysville defense.
Returning top-11 selection Carter Hajek rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown and added 121 yards through their air for the Thunder.
This week, Nemaha Central will look to get back in the win column with a trip to Silver Lake. The Eagles are coming off a 33-26, overtime win over rival Rossville.
Silver Lake trailed 10-0 early before getting a Dysen Schooler field goal on the final play of the first half to pull within 10-3. After a Rossville field goal, the Eagles scored on consecutive drives in the second half on touchdown passes from Schooler to Dayne Johnson to take a 16-13 lead. Schooler’s third touchdown pass went to J.P. Whitehead to put Silver Lake up 23-19.
But Rossville would regain the lead on a touchdown by Tayson Horak with :35 seconds left to take a 26-23 lead. Silver Lake responded with a 22-yard field goal from Schooler to tie it on the final play of regulation.
The Eagles would score on a 2-yard touchdown run by Allen Lees in overtime to take the 33-26 lead. Silver Lake then knocked down a pass in the end zone and stopped the Rossville quarterback short of the goal line on fourth down to preserve the win.
Schooler passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his first game as the Eagle quarterback. Johnson proved to be the main target with 144 receiving yards on ten catches.
It could be a game of contrasting styles on Friday. The two schools last met in the 2020 playoffs with Nemaha Central claiming a 40-30 win.
For the Thunder to win on Friday, they’ll need to take care of the ball and control the clock.
Our Pick: Nemaha Central 24, Silver Lake 21, (Gilmore)
1A No. 1 Conway Springs (1-0) at Garden Plain (1-0)
One of state’s longest running and closest rivalries continues this week. The teams have played each other every year since at least 1980, per Kansas Football History, and twice a fall in several recent seasons. These are extremely run-heavy teams. Last season, Conway Springs led 1A in run rate at 92.8 percent, while Garden Plain was second in 2A at 88.2 percent.
Conway Springs has won 12 straight games, including a 42-0 win versus Nickerson. The Cardinals opened last year with a 20-14 loss to Garden Plain and a 40-19 loss to Kingman before 11 straight victories to win the 1A state title. The Cardinals paced 1A in rushing offense and rushed for 369 yards per game, top-five all time for one of the state’s all-time great running attacks. Conway Springs’ Brayden Kunz graduated after 2,709 rushing yards, though the Cardinals had plenty of returners.
This is normally a very close contest. In addition to last year, Garden Plain won, 6-0, in the ’22 season opener, and 14-7 in Week 1 in ’21. Garden Plain also won, 14-13, in 2020. The Owls won 32-21 in ’19. Conway Springs’ last win in the series came in a 28-7 result in ’18.
Conway Springs has the edge this year, particularly in experience. The Cardinals return several offensive linemen and veteran back Isaac Winter logged 175 rushing yards in Week 1. The Cardinals ran the ball 46 of 52 snaps. Senior fullback Cade Howell (5-9, 225), senior lineman Cooper Koster (6-4, 250) and junior Ashton Stull (5-10, 265) pace the front.
Garden Plain beat pass-heavy Trinity Academy, 49-14. The Owls ran 37 times for 354 yards and attempted only five passes. Junior Emrick Hays delivered 22 carries for 148 yards and three scores. Senior Cooper Scheer finished with eight rushes for 118 yards and two TDs.
Conway Springs finds a way to end the losing streak in another run-heavy, close, low-scoring game.
Our Pick: Conway Springs 24, Garden Plain 14 (Nicholl)
Lyndon (1-0) at 8M-II No. 2 Frankfort (1-0)
Lyndon finished 13-0 and won the Eight-Man, Division I state championship last season in dominant fashion. Lyndon and Leoti-Wichita County were 1-2 in the rankings in some form all year. Lyndon beat Wichita County for the championship.
The Tigers earned the first state title after multiple deep playoff runs. Lyndon notably graduated its two elite players: quarterback Tanner Heckel and lineman Kaedin Massey. Heckel played one season for Lyndon after a stellar career at Inman. He signed with Illinois for football.
Massey was the state’s top recruit and signed to Kansas State. Lyndon also graduated Jalen Massey, who delivered 1,373 rushing yards and 19 scores. Heckel accounted for 69 total touchdowns, 19 passing. The top-three receivers combined for 55 catches and 15 scores and all graduated.
Additionally, Lyndon had eight players with at least 65 tackles. Seven have graduated. The only one back is junior James Marcotte, who was second with 99 tackles.
Frankfort occupies a similar state to Lyndon in 2023. Axtell is the clear No. 1 team in Division II, and Frankfort is ranked second. Frankfort has enjoyed multiple recent deep playoff runs and won at least seven games in five of the last six years.
Last year, Frankfort finished 9-3 and went to the state semifinals before a 52-6 loss to Axtell. Frankfort, though, last went to a championship with an undefeated state title of 1996.
Frankfort lost, 70-24, to Lyndon in Week 3 of last year, and 50-0 in ’22. Before then, the last time the teams met came in 2001, a 27-8 Lyndon victory. Frankfort also won, 32-14, in 2000.
Frankfort is expected to have a big year and showcased its offensive ability with a 70-34 road win versus Clifton-Clyde. In the four previous meetings, from ’14-17, Frankfort scored a combined 82 points against Clifton-Clyde. Wildcat quarterback Wes Anderson completed 13 of 17 passing for 381 yards with seven touchdowns and a rushing score last week.
Lyndon is outside the deep Division I rankings. The Tigers opened with a 50-0 win against Pretty Prairie, a struggling program. A win Friday likely solidifies a top-five ranking. Frankfort has significantly more experience and is the favorite here.
Our Pick: Frankfort 36, Lyndon 18 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
Dodge City (1-0) at Olathe East (0-1) – Olathe East
Olathe South (0-1) at Great Bend (1-0) – Olathe South
Shawnee Mission South (0-1) at Pittsburg (1-0) – Pittsburg
Washburn Rural (1-0) at 5A No. 2 Blue Valley (1-0) – Blue Valley
Wichita Northwest (1-0) at Wichita East (1-0) – Wichita Northwest
4A No. 2 Bishop Miege (0-1) at Blue Valley Southwest (0-1) – Miege
Goddard (1-0) at 5A No. 4 Goddard-Eisenhower (1-0) – Eisenhower
Spring Hill (1-0) at Tonganoxie (0-1) – Spring Hill
5A No. 5 St. James Academy (1-0) at 5A No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas (1-0) – Aquinas
3A No. 1 Andale (1-0) at Wellington (0-1) – Andale
Rock Creek (1-0) at 4A No. 4 Wamego (1-0) – Wamego
3A No. 2 Cheney (1-0) at Kingman (1-0) – Cheney
2A No. 2 Southeast of Saline (1-0) at Clay Center (1-0) – SE Saline
St. Mary’s Colgan (1-0) at Frontenac (1-0) – Frontenac
Cair Paravel (1-0) at Osage City (1-0) – Osage City
Mission Valley (1-0) at Council Grove (1-0) – Council Grove
2A No. 3 St. Marys (1-0) at 1A No. 3 Rossville (0-1) – St. Marys
Maur Hill-Mount Academy (1-0) at 1A No. 5 Jackson Heights (1-0) – Jackson Heights
Central Plains (1-0) at 8M-II No. 3 Victoria (1-0) – Victoria
Osborne (0-1) at Ell-Saline (0-1) – Osborne
Rural Vista (1-0) at 8M-I No. 2 Little River (1-0) – Little River
8M-I No. 4 West Elk (1-0) at Oxford (1-0) – West Elk
Waverly (1-0) at 8M-II No. 5 Burlingame (1-0) – Burlingame
6M No. 2 Ingalls (1-0) at Golden Plains (1-0) – Ingalls
Peabody-Burns (1-0) at 6M No. 1 Cunningham (1-0) – Cunningham
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