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:
6A No. 2 Derby (3-0) at 6A No. 4 Maize (3-0)
Derby and Maize will meet Friday night in what has become one of the most anticipated games of the 6A slate each year. For the second consecutive season, Derby enters this matchup ranked No. 2 in Class 6A and Maize enters ranked No. 4 in the classification.
Derby has opened the season with three dominant victories over Goddard-Eisenhower (45-21), Hutchinson (55-13), and Haysville Campus (41-6).
The Panthers are scoring 47 points per game thanks to an explosive offense directed by Coach Brandon Clark’s son Blade Clark at quarterback. The younger Clark has completed 76 percent of his passes for 476 yards and 8 touchdowns without throwing an interception. He’s also a threat with his legs having rushed for 114 yards and four scores.
Surrounding Clark are plenty of playmakers. Davon Morrison leads the Panther ground attack with 293 yards and six touchdowns through the first two weeks. Returning all-state back Arieus Finley returned from injury in last week’s win over Campus and added 54 yards on 14 carries. Finley had missed Derby’s first two games.
The backs will follow a talented offensive line group that includes Weston Jackson and Kaelin Scarth who committed to Central Arkansas this week.
Michael Castillo leads the receivers with 197 yards and four touchdowns, but Morrison and Finley must be accounted for in the passing game as well.
Defensively, Mason Moaliitele leads the Panthers averaging 10.3 tackles per game. Junior linebacker Taylen Washington has 19 tackles and a pair of sacks and just committed to Kansas State this week. Brody Hopper is also a consistent force at linebacker and Chyler Walker provides the size up front on the defensive line.
The Maize Eagles took Class 6A by surprise a season ago by winning their first ten games before a playoff loss to eventual champion Manhattan.
Maybe the biggest question entering the 2026 season was who would replace quarterback Brayden Myovela. Through three weeks, senior Colt Curry has certainly answered that question. Curry has passed for 467 yards and eight touchdowns through the first three weeks. He’s added nearly 200 rushing yards and three more scores.
Demarye Smith is the primary workhorse out of the backfield with 46 carries for 214 yards and two scores.
South Dakota-commit Pearce George leads the group of Eagles receivers with 15 catches for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Smith has 120 receiving yards and two scores.
The Maize defense has been stout thus far allowing only 11 points per game in victories over Andover Central (28-13), Salina South (48-6), and Maize South (42-14). Connor Goerzen, Josiah Cole, and Drake Blasi are the team’s top three tacklers. Sophomore Karson McCray already has three sacks, while Isaac Lerma and Cole have two sacks each.
Last season, Maize outscored Derby 21-0 in the second half to win 42-21. Derby has won eight of the last 12 in the series, but the two teams have split the last six meetings. Whichever team comes out on top will be the lone undefeated team remaining on the western side of Class 6A.
Our Pick: Derby 36, Maize 31 (Gilmore)
4A No. 3 Great Bend (3-0) at Buhler (2-1)
This game will significantly shape Class 4A West. Great Bend has retooled after massive graduation losses from an 11-1 season that ended in the 5A semifinals. The Panthers dropped to 4A this year and is ranked third in 4A. Wamego and Great Bend are the only undefeated 4A West squads. Buhler is one of eight teams in 4A West at 2-1.
Great Bend has posted three impressive victories with a home win versus Scott City (47-28), home against McPherson (21-3) and at Garden City (28-21). Buhler won at Maize South (28-7), versus Mulvane (28-23) and lost at McPherson (32-13).
Junior Maxson Smiley, a transfer quarterback, has stepped up with 43 of 69 passing for 524 yards with five scores against no interceptions. Junior Cal Schartz has stepped up with 62 carries for 349 yards and six touchdowns. Great Bend has posted 200 rushing yards and 6.2 yards per carry.
Senior Cooper Ohnmacht is a versatile threat and the state’s top 2027 recruit. Ohnmacht, a Kansas State commit, contributes in all three phases and paces the Panthers with 404 all-purpose yards.
This is the fifth straight year the teams have met up. Great Bend picked up a 31-6 victory in 2022. In 2023, Buhler controlled the game and won 20-14. Great Bend earned a 43-26 victory in ’24 and 38-14 last year.
Buhler brought back nine starters from a 6-4 squad. Coach Steve Warner has 292 career victories, including 172 with Buhler. Senior quarterback Asher Zachary returned, along with experienced linemen Nixon Standlee and John Aldrich and tight Jax Pratt. Standlee was first team all-league. Jacob Burklow is back on defense after a first-team all-conference season.
Great Bend has been able to capably fill production after all the major graduations, especially five-star recruit Ian Premer, a Notre Dame signee, and quarterback Daxton Minton.
Our Pick: Great Bend 31, Buhler 20 (Nicholl)
3A No. 5 Chapman (3-0) at Wellsville (3-0)
The Chapman Irish will meet the Wellsville Eagles in an intriguing non-league, non-district showdown on Friday. The teams are two of the ten remaining unbeaten teams left in Class 3A, and the winner of this game could stake its claim to a long-term spot in the top 5 rankings.
Chapman entered the rankings this week at No. 5 after an impressive start to the season. Under veteran Coach Jason Grider, the Irish have wins over Marysville (44-24), Rock Creek (38-13), and Abilene (42-7). That’s a big step forward for a program that finished 1-8 a season ago.
As Coach Grider’s teams typically do, the Irish are getting it done on the ground. Chapman is averaging 313 rushing yards per game and has one of the state’s leading rushers in senior Audiel Becker. Becker has carried 67 times for 617 yards and eight touchdowns through three weeks. That works out to be an average of 206 yards per game and 9.2 yards per carry.
Classmate Kaicen DeWeese has added 172 yards and four touchdowns on 32 attempts, while fellow senior Colton Bell has contributed 112 yards and two scores.
The Irish don’t attempt many passes. They’ve only attempted ten thus far in three weeks. Quarterback Bo Rothchild has passed for 85 yards and a touchdown. The primary receiver is Domonic Krogman who has three catches for 79 yards and the team’s lone receiving touchdown.
The Chapman defense is led by DeWeese who has 36 tackles, while junior Gio Becker is close behind with 32 stops.
They will be countered by a Wellsville team that has yet to be challenged in wins over Iola (35-14), Prairie View (49-0), and Jayhawk-Linn (49-12).
The Eagles finished 6-4 last season and graduated most of their backfield in Armond Graves and Payton Otwell. Those two players combined for more than 1,500 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns last season.
Mike Berg’s team knew it had a veteran presence back at quarterback in Pete Dorsey. Dorsey passed for nearly 900 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and added more than 500 rushing yards and six scores. This fall, Dorsey is well on his way to surpassing those numbers. Through three weeks, Dorsey has passed for 477 yards and four touchdowns and added 436 yards and eight scores on the ground.
Sophomore Hudson Evans and senior Kohen Fouts have emerged as other options having both rushed for more than 100 yards and combined for five touchdowns. There has also been balance in the receiving group with Josh Toman, Trevor McCoy, and Ryker Robertson all having more than 100 yards with touchdown receptions.
Aidan McCoy leads the Eagle defense with 30 tackles, while Jayden Bruce has 18 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
These two teams are similar in that they sort of entered the season as unknowns. Friday’s winner can make a further statement that they are a contender in Class 3A.
Our Pick: Chapman 36, Wellsville 30 (Gilmore)
Beloit (2-1) at 1A No. 2 Smith Center (3-0)
Beloit and Smith Center are an hour apart in north central Kansas and traditional football powers. The two schools see each other often in many other sports, though have not played on the gridiron since 2013. From ’04-13, the squads met six times; Smith Center won the first four and Beloit the last two. Beloit has one losing season (a 5-7 year in 2020 when they made a deep playoff run) since 2004. The powerhouse Redmen went 11-1 last season and have one fall under .500 since 2002.
Normally these are among the top-10 most rush-heavy attacks for all classes, but Beloit has significantly changed its offense this year. Last fall, Smith Center ran the ball 89 percent of the time, third highest in 1A, per the Sunflower Sports Solutions database. Smith Center posted the No. 9 scoring offense in 1A with 34 points per game and finished with an 11-1 record.
Three seasons ago, Beloit ran on 88 percent of snaps, percentage points away from the highest in 2A.
Two years ago, Beloit ran the ball 77 percent of the time, top-10 in 2A. Last year, that number dropped to 53 percent, in the bottom-10 in the classification.
This year, Beloit lost, 24-22, at Southeast of Saline in the annual “Trojan War” in Week 1. Beloit posted a 42-30 win against Concordia and 54-6 versus Minneapolis. Beloit has ran the ball on 60 percent of snaps.
Sophomore Truitt King, a returning starter, has completed 32 of 41 passes for 459 yards with five scores against one interception. Beloit has averaged 153 rushing yards a game and five yards a carry. Junior Paxton Fouts has 47 carries for 200 yards. Seven players have caught a pass.
Smith Center has run the ball 91 percent of the time and has consistently pulled away in the second half. The Redmen defeated Russell (54-22), Phillipsburg (34-22), and rival Norton (44-22). The Redmen have multiple offensive weapons, notably junior Carson McKelvey with 27 rushes for 531 yards and eight scores. Senior Riley Griffin Powers has 39 rushes for 270 yards and four scores. Junior Gunner Nichols has 30 rushes for 202 yards and a score. Smith Center has rushed for 410 yards a game and nine yards a carry.
It’s good for high school football that these teams are facing off again. Smith Center is a major contender for the 1A state title and this is one of a couple tests for the Redmen down the stretch. Smith Center was pushed by Phillipsburg in Week 3 before pulling away. The Redmen’s depth and extremely talented and veteran offensive line could be the difference.
Our Pick: Smith Center 40, Beloit 28 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
5A No. 3 Hays (2-1) at Garden City (2-1) – Hays
Wichita Northwest (1-2) at Wichita East (2-1) – Wichita East
Ark City (2-1) at Andover (3-0) – Andover
Basehor-Linwood (2-1) at 5A No. 4 Spring Hill (3-0) – Spring Hill
Blue Valley North (1-2) at Blue Valley (2-1) – Blue Valley
De Soto (3-0) at KC Piper (3-0) – De Soto
Salina Central (2-1) at Goddard-Eisenhower (2-1) – Salina Central
Eudora (2-1) at Ottawa (2-1) – Eudora
Mulvane (2-1) at 4A No. 4 Wamego (3-0) – Wamego
Paola (2-1) at Tonganoxie (2-1) – Tonganoxie
Girard (3-0) at Riverton (2-1) – Girard
Goodland (3-0) at 3A No. 4 Holcomb (2-1) – Holcomb
Nemaha Central (1-2) at Jefferson West (2-1) – Jeff West
Douglass (3-0) at Haven (3-0) – Haven
Marion (2-1) at Chaparral (3-0) – Chaparral
2A No. 5 Southeast of Saline (3-0) at Marysville (2-1) – SE Saline
8M-I No. 2 South Central (2-1) at Kiowa County (2-1) – South Central
South Sumner Co. (3-0) at Oxford (2-1) – South Sumner Co.
Yates Center (2-1) at 8M-I No. 5 Oswego (3-0) – Oswego
Cunningham (3-0) at Argonia-Attica (2-1) – Cunningham
Flinthills (2-1) at Sedan (2-1) – Flinthills
Stafford (3-0) at 8M-II No. 4 Sylvan-Lucas (3-0) – Sylvan-Lucas
Troy (3-0) at Frankfort (3-0) – Troy
Victoria (1-2) at 8M-II No. 3 Little River (3-0) – Little River
6M No. 5 Otis-Bison (3-0) at 6M No. 2 Tescott (3-0) – Tescott
Wheatland-Grinnell (3-0) at 6M No. 1 Weskan (3-0) – Weskan
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