Class 3A
3A East: Wellsville (9-2) at No. 3 Silver Lake (10-1)
This quarterfinal matchup has the potential to be the highest scoring game of the playoffs. Silver Lake is averaging just under 50 points per game, while Wellsville comes in averaging just over 42 points per game. Both teams love the end zone and both defenses have posted five shutouts a piece. Something has got to give.
The Eagles are well balanced on the offensive side of the football. Senior quarterback Ryan Matzke has thrown for 1,860 yards and 22 touchdowns, while the Eagles running game has produced 2,327 yards and 43 scores.
Matzke leads the team in rushing as well with 635 yards and 12 touchdowns, while classmate Zach Boyd has the team lead in rushing touchdowns with 15.
Silver Lake is hard to contain for four quarters. Its players and coaches adjust very well at halftime and eventually figure out their opponents’ schemes and pull away.
Wellsville favors the run over the pass, rushing to 2,629 yards and 39 touchdowns. However, the Eagles offense is hard to describe. In four games this season, Wellsville has scored 12 points or fewer. But in a span of five consecutive games, the Eagles averaged over 58 points.
They escaped to advance to the quarterfinals with an 11-10 victory over Caney Valley. The question is, which Wellsville offense will show up on Friday night?
I’ll favor consistency in this case. I think Silver Lake has the better Eagle on Friday.
Silver Lake 30, Wellsville 12 (J. Wachter)
3A East: No. 1 Rossville (11-0) at No. 5 St. Mary’s Colgan (9-2)
The Rossville Bulldogs and the St. Mary’s-Colgan Panthers meet in the Class 3A quarterfinals for the second time in three years. Rossville defeated Colgan 17-7 in the 2012 quarterfinal round.
The Panthers have been ousted in the round-of-eight in each of the last two seasons.
This year’s matchup will be at 5 p.m. Friday at Pittsburg State University’s Carnie Smith Stadium.
Top-ranked Rossville has dominated most of the season. Except for a 24-14 victory over rival Silver Lake, the Bulldogs have won every other game by more than 20 points.
Rossville junior quarterback Tucker Horak has passed for more than 1,400 yards and has rushed for almost 1,600.
His brother Thatcher Horak has added 822 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, while Nick Reesor has rushed for 463 yards and 10 scores despite missing a couple of games.
Colgan’s only two losses came to Class 4A Division II quarterfinalists Frontenac (14-7) and Columbus (14-12). The Panthers are a young team and have won three games by a combined six points.
The Panthers are giving up less than 12 points per game, and held Jayhawk-Linn to negative six yards of total offense in the first round of the playoffs.
Quarterback Ryan Cedeno passed for 152 yards during the Panthers’ 35-18 win over Galena last week. Andrew Stewart rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
Rossville 35, Colgan 17 (Schremmer)
3A West: Halstead (9-2) at Minneapolis (8-3)
While the Kansas playoffs has some teams left with losing records in Mulvane and Clearwater, perhaps no matchup is more surprising than Friday’s quarterfinal featuring Halstead at Minneapolis.
Minneapolis has already tied the best playoff advancement in school history, while Halstead is a victory away from the school’s first final four since 1980.
The Lions have enjoyed a plus-five win improvement under first-year coach Jhon Haehn. Minneapolis defeated Beloit twice, including in the first round, and needed a touchdown pass with 19 seconds left to beat Hoisington at home last week. Haehn took over for longtime football and wrestling coach Jeff Giles, who passed away unexpectedly in February.
Haehn has put in a spread offense and junior Eric Yoxall has passed for more than 1,900 yards and is Kansas’ best kicker with nine field goals in nine attempts.
The defense, which has allowed just 15.2 points per game, has shown marked improvement under a style gleaned from veteran Sterling College defensive coordinator Chuck Lambert. In the five previous years, the Lions hadn’t allowed fewer than 24.2 points per contest.
Halstead has posted a 9-2 mark and has played very well in the last month after a 30-8 loss to Kingman. Halstead rolled over Garden Plain, 58-0, then defeated unbeaten Hutchinson Trinity, 24-21, to win the district title.
The Dragons then posted playoff wins over Southeast of Saline, 54-13, and Chaparral, 36-27. Halstead has enjoyed a four-win improvement under first-year coach Jason Grider.
Halstead has rushed for 370 yards a game against just 30 passing yards a contest. Junior Blake Beckett has rushed 172 times for 1,845 yards and 22 scores, and junior Eli McKee has 131 carries for 1,198 yards and 17 scores. Halstead has scored 417 points in 11 contests.
Both of these teams have not been on the road in the playoffs, but Minneapolis will play at home Friday. Halstead has beaten several great opponents recently, but the Lions have the home field advantage, have played in several close games and have Yoxall, one of the 3A’s best all-around players. He is the difference in another down-to-the-wire victory.
Minneapolis 24, Halstead 21 (Nicholl)
3A West: No. 4 Wichita Collegiate (10-1) at No. 2 Scott City (11-0)
One of the premiere games in state quarterfinal action will have to wait an extra day. Wichita Collegiate will travel to Scott City on Saturday to decide a spot in the semifinals in Class 3A. Kickoff is set for 4:00 pm.
The Spartans and Beavers have been two of the staples of the Class 3A rankings all season. Scott City sits at No. 2, while Collegiate is ranked fourth.
Scott City is unbeaten on the season having outscored its opponents by an average score of 48-7. The Beavers have impressive wins over Clearwater and Holcomb, who will meet each other on Friday in the 4A, Division II quarterfinals. The Beavers’ biggest challenge came in a 14-7 win against Ulysses.
The Spartans only loss came in Week 3 to 4A, Division II No. 1 Andale, 34-28. Only one other game has been close; a 38-34 win over Wellington in which Collegiate blew a big lead.
The Spartans are led by senior back Jaques Williams who has rushed for 1,484 yards and 31 touchdowns on the season. Junior quarterback Austin Waddell is the team’s second leading rusher with 347 yards and five scores.
Waddell averages only a little more than six pass attempts per game, but has completed 58 percent of those for 605 yards and three scores.
Scott City has been more balanced in averaging 267 yards per game on the ground and 147 more in the air.
Senior quarterback Trey O’Neil has completed 69 percent of his passes for 1,534 yards and 19 touchdowns against only two interceptions. His top targets have been Brett Meyer and Sloan Baker with 494 and 422 yards, respectively. However, Wyatt Kropp and Chantz Yager each have more than 320 receiving yards as well.
Junior Cooper Griffith leads the Beaver ground game with 1,001 yards and 17 scores, while his classmate Kropp has added 943 yards and 14 scores.
These two teams last met in the 2009 quarterfinal where Wichita Collegiate escaped with a 19-17 victory and then won the 3A title two weeks later. The winner of this game is also title worthy, but the edge goes to the Beavers at home.
Scott City 24, Collegiate 17 (Gilmore)
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