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:
Hays High (4-2) at 5A No. 5 Great Bend (6-0)
This is the 86th consecutive year that Hays High and Great Bend will face each other, per HHS broadcaster Dustin Armbruster. This is one of the state’s top rivalries and a contest with massive conference and Class 5A West stakes. Armbruster has noted Great Bend leads the series 43-42-1 – as close as any storied matchup in the state.
Last year, Hays High beat Great Bend, 28-27, on a halfback pass for the game-winning touchdown on its final offensive play. The Panthers then missed a field goal as time ran out. The win allowed Hays High to capture its fourth straight Western Athletic Conference championship.
Great Bend was expected to be a rising power and was a Kpreps Potential Breakout Team in August. The Panthers have enjoyed a terrific season, including key wins at McPherson (28-6), versus Olathe South (26-14), Buhler (43-26) and back-to-back road wins versus Dodge (28-14) and Liberal (14-7) the last two weeks. Buhler, Dodge City and Liberal are all 3-2 or better when not playing against Great Bend.
Hays High has lost only to 6A No. 1 Derby and 6A No. 2 Manhattan, both in home games. In Week 1, Hays High lost 40-7. This remains tied for the most points Derby has allowed this season and its smallest margin of victory. HHS lost to Manhattan, 34-30, in Week 3 on the game’s final play.
In its wins, Hays High has solid victories at Garden City (41-8), at Junction City (27-17) and versus Dodge City (26-0) in the last three games. Hays High has queitly delivered an impressive defense under third-year coordinator Kip Keeley. HHS had 11 new starters in ’23 and was much more experienced this year. Linebackers Wyatt Kirkpatrick and Dalton Meyers, both acclaimed players, have more than 30 tackles apiece. Cooper Lindenmeyer is an excellent safety, and sophomore Tanner Geist has emerged at end with six sacks. Carter Graham is an experienced quarterback. Holden Lind, out with injury all last season, has rushed for 734 yards, second-most in the league. HHS sophomore center Gus Corsair has an Iowa State offer.
Great Bend has again posted a top-10 defense. Trenton Kern has 73 tackles, which paces the league. Aidan Davidson has seven sacks, also the conference best. Daxton Minton is a returning quarterback and among the Kansas’ top signal callers. Minton has thrown for 951 yards and 12 touchdowns. Ian Premer, with double-digit FBS offers, paces the league with 21 catches for 427 yards and seven scores.
Cooper Ohnmacht, an excellent all-purpose player, has 24 catches, three more than Premer for the league lead. He has 317 receiving yards, runner-up to Premer. Last year, Great Bend moved the ball efficiently in the passing game, but had some kicking issues, and Hays High came up with some key plays. Both teams can contend for 5A West, but Great Bend might have the edge at certain positions.
Our Pick: Great Bend 28, Hays High 24 (Nicholl)
2A No. 4 Silver Lake (5-1) at 2A No. 5 Osage City (6-0)
The state’s most competitive district resides in Class 2A, where District 3 features five playoff-quality teams. With two weeks remaining, Silver Lake and Osage City sit at 2-0 atop the District 3 standings. The fourth-ranked Eagles will travel to take on the fifth-ranked Indians in one of the biggest games in the state this week.
Silver Lake has faced a challenging schedule that includes an overtime victory over rival Rossville (33-26), one-score victories over St. Marys and Perry-Lecompton, and last week’s 28-6 win over Riley County. The Eagles lone loss came at the hands of two-time defending 2A champion Nemah Central back in Week 2.
Quarterback Dysen Schooler directs a Silver Lake offense that averages 27 points per contest. Schooler has passed for nearly 1,400 yards this season with 14 touchdowns. His leading receiver, Dayne Johnson, has more than 630 receiving yards and six scores, while Logan Cathcart and Brody Deiter provide additional options in the passing game.
Defensively, Silver Lake has been stout in allowing 16.5 points per game, but the Eagles are allowing only 9.5 points per contest over their last four games.
Osage City has put up more than 41 points per game. The Indians have rallied in consecutive weeks to beat Council Grove (26-20) and St. Marys (24-16). Osage City scored on the game’s final play to beat Council Grove, and trailed St. Marys 16-7 in the fourth quarter before rallying.
Quarterback Kasen Parsons is one of the more dynamic playmakers in the classification. Parsons has completed nearly 73 percent of his passes for 763 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 517 yards and ten scores.
Junior Dylan Theel has added 406 yards on the ground with seven scores, while sophomore Reed Silver has rushed for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Quenten Stark is Osage City’s leading receiver with 19 catches for 334 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Indian defense is led by junior Austin Lamb’s 40 tackels, while Theel has added 31 stops. The Osage City secondary has picked off six opponent passes and will be tested by Schooler and the Silver Lake passing attack.
Our Pick: Osage City 27, Silver Lake 26 (Gilmore)
1A No. 2 Sedgwick (6-0) at 1A No. 4 Moundridge (5-0)
There will be a lot at stake in this Class 1A showdown between the No. 2 Sedgwick Cardinals and No. 4 Moundridge Wildcats. The winner will likely be the Heart of America League champion and the game will decide the District 6 championship.
Moundridge is 5-0 after making the transition back from eight-man football where the Wildcats spent the last six seasons. The wildcats have been tested with road wins at Sterling (28-7) and last week at Marion (12-8). Moundridge had its showdown with then No. 2 Medicine Lodge cancelled back on September 20th due to severe weather.
Last week, the Wildcats trailed 8-0 at Marion before pulling within 8-6 at halftime. Moundridge would take the lead late in the fourth quarter as Bear Moddelmog scored on a 31-yard screen pass for the 12-8 victory.
Sedgwick has continued to move up the 1A poll thanks to a 6-0 start. The Cardinals have the same quality wins over Sterling (42-13) and Marion (35-8). Sedgwick’s closest game came in a 15-2 decision over Hutchinson Trinity.
The Cardinal offense is directed by senior quarterback Corey Crumrine. Crumrine has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 1,595 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has added 316 rushing yards and a team-high six rushing scores. Brandon Ferguson leads the Cardinals with 332 rush yards and has three scores.
Dallas Lagree leads a talented group of receivers with 41 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns. Owen Luper is second on the team with 26 catches for 349 yards and five scores, while Noah Little and freshman Spencer Crumrine each have more than 250 receiving yards and have combined for seven touchdowns.
Defensively the Cardinals by senior Gage Harris who has 75 tackles, including 16 for loss. Sedgwick allows 9.8 points per game and will need a similar performance against a physical Moundridge team.
Our Pick: Sedgwick 28, Moundridge 24 (Gilmore)
8M-II No. 3 Hanover (6-0) at 8M-II No. 1 Axtell (6-0)
The state’s premier eight-man rivalry continues Friday with a pair of undefeated teams. These squads have often matched up twice a year, once in district and secondly in the state semifinals. Hanover holds a 16-7 edge since 2004, though Axtell has won four in a row: 30-24, 52-26, 62-14 and 56-0 last year.
No. 1 Axtell has won 45 straight contests, currently the longest winning streak in Kansas eight-man history. Axtell’s senior class, headlined by Brandon Schmelzle and Eli Broxterman, has never lost a game in junior high or high school football. Axtell broke the record of 43 straight games, set by Hanover. The Wildcats’ winning streak came to a halt against Axtell in a 28-26 loss in Week 6 of 2019. Hanover last won a state title in 2020.
Since then, Axtell has won three straight state championships. Axtell has faced limited resistance with the last competitive game in the 2022 state semifinals against Canton-Galva. Schmelzle has committed to KU and is one of the best eight-man talents in state annals.
Hanover coach Matt Heuer has won six state titles. Hanover, a Kpreps Potential Breakout Team, vaulted up the rankings with a win against Frankfort, currently ranked fourth in the classification. Axtell will play Frankfort in Week 8. Currently, Axtell and Hanover are both 6-0, 2-0 in District 3, while Frankfort stands at 5-1, 1-1.
Axtell has completely dominated opponents, including a 46-0 win against Chase County in Week 3. Outside of that game, Chase County is 4-1 and has averaged just shy of 50 points a contest. In that win, Axtell scored 38 points in the first quarter in a game that ended at halftime.
Schmelzle opened the scoring with a two-yard run and added TD rushes of 59 and 23 yards. Rilyn Buessing also returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown. Wyatt Detweiler posted a 30-yard return for a score. Axtell held Chase County’s offense to seven rushes for -19 yards. Overall, Axtell has outscored teams, 438-22.
Hanover has posted a 278-38 margin. Hanover has earned quality wins against Ell-Saline in Week 1 (34-16) and against Frankfort (28-22). The Wildcats have battled injury at quarterback when Rieken Stallbaumer got hurt and Kadrick Cohorst has stepped in.
Hanover, like Axtell, is highly experienced with essentially all the yardage back from last year. Hanover can pull the upset and end the winning streak, but Axtell has stars across the field and generational talents with Schmelzle and Broxterman.
Our Pick: Axtell 36, Hanover 24 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
Blue Valley Northwest (4-2) at 5A No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (6-0) – Aquinas
6A No. 4 Blue Valley West (5-1) at 5A No. 3 Blue Valley (5-1) – Blue Valley West
Garden City (2-4) at Dodge City (3-3) – Dodge City
6A No. 3 Gardner-Edgerton (5-1) at Olathe Northwest (4-2) – Gardner-Edgerton
Maize South (5-1) at 6A No. 1 Derby (6-0) – Derby
6A No. 2 Manhattan (6-0) at Topeka High (4-2) – Manhattan
Olathe East (4-2) at Shawnee Mission East (4-2) – SM East
Shawnee Mission Northwest (4-2) at Lawrence Free State (4-2) – SM Northwest
Wichita South (4-2) at 6A No. 5 Wichita Northwest (5-1) – Wichita Northwest
Basehor-Linwood (6-0) at Topeka Seaman (5-1) – Basehor-Linwood
5A No. 4 Goddard-Eisenhower (6-0) at 4A No. 2 Andover Central (5-1) – Eisenhower
Pittsburg (4-2) at Chanute (5-1) – Chanute
St. James Academy (2-4) at 4A No. 3 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (5-1) – St. James
Buhler (4-2) at Winfield (4-2) – Buhler
4A No. 1 Louisburg (6-0) at Ottawa (5-1) – Louisburg
3A No. 2 Cheney (6-0) at 3A No. 4 Wichita Collegiate (5-1) – Cheney
Columbus (5-1) at Frontenac (6-0) – Frontenac
Girard (4-2) at Prairie View (4-2) – Prairie View
Goodland (4-2) at 3A No. 5 Scott City (5-1) – Scott City
Riley County (4-2) at Hesston (6-0) – Hesston
Beloit (4-2) at Ellsworth (5-1) – Beloit
Olpe (5-1) at 1A No. 5 Rossville (3-3) – Rossville
Troy (4-2) at Centralia (5-1) – Centralia
Cedar Vale-Dexter (4-2) at Oswego (4-2) – Oswego
Central Plains (5-1) at Little River (5-1) – Little River
Lincoln (5-1) at Sylvan-Lucas Unified (5-1) – Sylvan-Lucas
Mankato-Rock Hills (4-2) at Clifton-Clyde (4-2) – Clifton-Clyde
Oberlin-Decatur Co. (4-2) at Atwood-Rawlins Co. (5-1) – Rawlins County
Sublette (5-1) at Kinsley (5-1) – Sublette
Colony-Crest (4-2) at Marmaton Valley (5-1) – Marmaton Valley
Dighton (6-0) at Hodgeman County (6-0) – Dighton
6M No. 3 South Barber (5-1) at Pawnee Heights (4-2) – South Barber
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