In our Picks to Click, we feature six players or units from across the state that we feel will have breakout performances on Friday night.
We’ve assembled a team of six media members across the state to each select one player (or unit) each week. We will track the cumulative statistics of our selections throughout the season similar to fantasy scoring.
Check back next week to see our picks for week three, and how the players performed that we picked the week prior. See the bottom of this article for details.
Colton Beebe, LB, KC Piper (Kuplen)
Beebe, a 6-foot-3, 252-pound senior, has been a four year starter for the Pirates with 379 career tackles. He had a breakout performance on Friday with 17 tackles against Lansing. It was a big weekend for Beebe, as he picked up a KU offer on Saturday. Beebe now holds offers from Air Force, Kansas and Minnesota. Although a big time high school linebacker, many schools want him as a fullback in college.
Dawson Downing, RB, Bishop Miege (Clisso)
The Stags running back burst on to the scene in the first week with 225 yards and three TDs in Miege's big win over Blue Valley Northwest. The Stags can score and Dawson is the perfect complement to Ryan Willis and Miege's high-flying passing attack. He could put up big numbers against a Gardner-Edgerton defense that was gashed by Shawnee Mission East last week.
Devontae Goldsby, RB, Quinter (Schremmer)
The senior running back shined in his first game with the Quinter Bulldogs. Goldsby, who transferred from Garden City High School, rushed for 237 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries, while catching one pass for a 38-yard touchdown. Expect Goldsby to have another big game during Quinter’s home opener against Hoxie.
Dylan Haas, LB, Ellis (Nicholl)
Haas played in just the final six games as a sophomore, but recorded 11, five, seven, 16 and 10 tackles in his final five contests. That stretch included two tackles for loss and an interception. Haas, a 6-foot, 200-pound junior, finished with 15 tackles, five more than any other Railer, in a season-opening 46-0 home loss to Norton. On Friday, Ellis plays Thomas More Prep-Marian. The teams are in the same county and separated by about 15 miles, but Friday marks the first football game between the teams since 1953.
Jake Tiernan, QB, Osborne (Gilmore)
Tiernan is on pace to be statistically one of the top quarterbacks in Kansas 8-Man history. The 6-foot, 190-pound junior is an accurate passer with a great understanding of his dad’s offense. A Kpreps 8-Man, Division I All-State selection from a season ago, Tiernan set the state record for completion percentage in a single season at 78 percent. He passed for 1,653 yards and 28 touchdowns against only five interceptions.
In last week’s 52-28 win over then 8M-II’s top-ranked Thunder Ridge Longhorns, Jake completed 18 of 25 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 93 more yards. He’ll need a similar performance as his Bulldogs take on 8M-II’s top-ranked team for a second consecutive week when they travel to Beloit St. John’s-Tipton.
Zac Walter, QB, Lincoln (Baetz)
After accounting for over 2,300 total yards of offense and 36 TDs last season as a sophomore, Zac Walter kicked his 2014 season off in style last Friday. The 6-foot, 185-pound quarterback rushed for 204 yards with four touchdowns, completed 6 of 8 passes for 87 yards and two more scores, and returned a kick 75 yards for a score -- giving him a hand in all seven Leopard touchdowns in last week's 52-6 win over Tescott.
This week the Leopards travel to play county-rival Sylvan-Lucas and a Mustang team coming off a solid season opening victory over Natoma, 46-14. The Mustangs will keep this game close, but a healthy Walter will be counted on to play big in this big game.
Week 1 Picks to Click results (scoring):
Alex Barnes, RB, Pittsburg – Barnes rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns as the Purple Dragons blasted Coffeyville for a second consecutive season in front of a statewide audience on Kansas Channel 22. (Kuplen – 40 pts)
Layne Bieberle, WR, Central Plains – Bieberle hauled in eight catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns as the Oilers beat Victoria 42-24. (Nicholl – 30 pts)
Tucker Horak, QB, Rossville – Horak completed 13 of 15 passes for 150 yards and a pair of touchdown, while adding 58 yards on the ground on nine carries. The Bulldogs beat Clay Center, 41-7. (Gilmore – 32 pts)
Mill Valley Offensive Line – Mill Valley fell 34-24 to St. Thomas Aquinas to open the season, but the Jaguar O-Line produced 341 yards of total offense and three offensive touchdowns. (Clisso – 15 pts)
Aidan Murray, DL, Southeast of Saline – Murray registered 13 tackles and two sacks in the Trojans 54-13 win over Sacred Heart. (Baetz – 34 pts)
Peyton Yandel, QB, South Barber – South Barber fell 48-32 to Pratt-Skyline, but Yandel rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He also passed for 51 yards and another score. (Schremmer – 35 pts)
Standings for the 2014 season through Week 1:
- Chet Kuplen, Kansas-Sports.com & @sportsinkansas 40 points
- Mark Schremmer, The Joplin Globe 35 points
- John Baetz, Kansas Pregame Magazine 34 points
- Matt Gilmore, Kpreps.com 32 points
- Conor Nicholl, Kpreps contributor 30 points
- Dion Clisso, PrepsKC.com 15 points
2013 Picks to Click
- The objective will be to have the most cumulative points over the course of the season.
- Participants may select a quarterback, running back, WR/TE, offensive line or a defensive player each week.
- Everyone must pick a WR/TE, offensive line and defensive player at least once.
- Points will be rewarded only for the player's offensive or defensive stats, depending on how you designate the player that week. For instance, if you pick a running back then you will not receive any of his points for defense.
Scoring system
QBs/RBs/WRs/TEs
- 1 point for every 10 yards passing, rushing or receiving from a quarterback, running back or wide receiver
- 6 points for every passing, rushing or receiving touchdown
Offensive line
- 1 point for every 50 yards gained as an offense
- 3 points for every offensive touchdown
Defensive player
- 2 points for every tackle
- 4 points for every INT, sack or fumble recovery
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