Each Thursday throughout the regular season, The Pick List will feature six of the best match-ups across the state, and make our predictions on a handful of other games.
Feature Games of the Week:
4A-I No. 1 Bishop Miege (2-0) at 6A No. 2 Blue Valley (2-0)
One of the top scheduled match-ups in the state all season features 4A-I No. 1 Bishop Miege at 6A No. 2 Blue Valley. The winner likely gets a head up on the Eastern Kansas League race, but there are still plenty of strong EKL teams to go though.
Bishop Miege returned plenty of talent back from their 2014 state title team including senior running back Dawson Downing. Downing rushed for 1,955 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior last season and earned all-state honors. He began this season with a 254-yard, five-touchdown performance against Blue Valley Northwest, but suffered a wrist injury in last week’s 59-20 win over Gardner-Edgerton that may cause him to miss at least a couple of weeks.
T.J. Goodwin led the Stags with 77 rushing yards and two touchdowns last week, while Cameron Clark has added 109 yards and a touchdown in two games.
If Downing is out, that may place more pressure on new quarterback Carter Putz. Putz replaced all-state quarterback Ryan Willis who passed for more than 3,000 yards last season. Through two games this season Putz, a Notre Dame Baseball commit, has passed for 483 yards and six touchdowns on 24 of 39 attempts.
He has a talented group of receivers led by Jafar Armstrong. Armstrong was a Kpreps All-State selection as a sophomore last season when he posted 1,205 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Armstrong has ten catches for 182 yards and two scores this season. Tight end Nolan Gray has seven catches for 96 yards and a score, while Danny Murphy has 82 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Blue Valley had a key player miss time in Week 2. Starting quarterback Colton McCumber didn’t return after tackled for a safety when the game's first snap sailed over his head and into the end zone. Blue Valley West grabbed the momentum and a 9-0 before Tiger backup quarterback Matthew Dercher settled in and rallied Blue Valley to a 20-9 halftime lead. Dercher finished completing 10 of 14 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for an 18-yard touchdown.
McCumber is believed to have aggravated an existing injury to his non-throwing shoulder and he may return to action on Friday against Miege.
If he can’t go, look for the Tigers to try and establish their two-headed backfield of A.J. Totta and Williams Evans. The speedy Evans rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago, while the bruising Totta added nearly 800 yards and ten scores while averaging nearly seven yards per carry.
Blue Valley holds a slight 4-3 advantage over Miege in the past seven meetings, but the Stags have won the last two. Last season Miege doubled-up the Tigers 42-21, and held off Blue Valley 24-15 in 2013. The Tigers had won three straight prior to 2013.
Our Pick: Miege 27, Blue Valley 24 (Gilmore)
5A No. 5 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (1-1) at 5A No. 3 Bishop Carroll (1-1)
The loser of this game is essentially out of the Wichita City League race after just three weeks. Both squads have fallen to Wichita Northwest and its high-octane, high-paced spread offense. Carroll has never finished outside of the top-2 in the City League in coach Alan Schuckman’s 20 years as head coach.
Carroll has won 16 straight in the Holy War dating back to a 34-8 Kapaun victory in 1999. Four of the last five meetings have been by at least 32 point margins.
The Crusaders received a big game from standout quarterback Brock Monty in Friday’s 49-33 loss to Wichita Northwest. Monty completed 27 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three scores.
Northwest quarterback Kevin Folsom was 11 of 11 for 149 yards versus the Crusaders’ defense. Both teams ran 66 snaps and the game featured 950 yards of total offense, 529 from Northwest.
Bishop Carroll was 36-1 in its last 37 games before the 31-24 loss to Northwest in Week 1. It marked the Golden Eagles’ first loss in 35 regular season contests.
The Golden Eagles bounced back with a 54-7 victory against Wichita East last week. Kapaun defeated Wichita East, 35-20, in Week 1.
Against East, the Golden Eagles rushed for 269 yards, including Adam Theis’104 yards and three scores. Jake Allen finished 9 of 10 for 136 yards and a touchdown after he was 23 of 29 for 239 yards and two scores in the opener.
Kapaun keeps it closer than the last several meetings between the rivals, but Carroll is still better.
Our Pick: Carroll 44, Kapaun 28 (Nicholl)
4A-II No. 1 Holcomb (2-0) at 4A-I No. 5 Ulysses (2-0)
Match-ups featuring Holcomb, Ulysses and Scott City will decide the Greater West Activities Conference title and this is the first of the head-to-head games featuring this trio. Holcomb plays host to Scott City next week, while Ulysses hosts Scott City in Week 6.
Last year, Ulysses held a sizable edge in total yards, but Holcomb’s Trey Teeter kicked an field goal in overtime for a 17-14 Longhorn victory. Ulysses carries a 4-3 mark in the last seven meetings in the series.
This game features two of the state’s best players in Holcomb’s Teeter at quarterback, and a Ulysses running back Ian Rudzik. Both are rare four-year starters.
Holcomb has opened with a 48-8 victory against Cimarron and a 51-6 win versus Goodland.
The Longhorns’ high-octane offense has run 89 plays and delivered 1,001 total yards thus far this season. Teeter has completed 26 of 38 passes for 545 yards with a 5/2 TD/INT ratio. Junior Dillon Williams has rushed 16 times for 202 yards and two scores. Five players have caught a touchdown, including senior Christian Merz with 10 catches for 246 yards and a touchdown.
Ulysses opened with a 38-19 victory against Liberal, and followed that up with a hard-fought 27-21 win over Hugoton. Ulysses is 11-1 in the last 12 meetings versus Hugoton, but Friday marked the closest Tiger victory in that span.
Rudzik is again the focal point of the Tiger offense with 50 carries for 484 yards and six touchdowns already this season. Rudzik, likely a defensive player at the next level, has made defense a focal point in the offseason. He has registered 16 tackles and seven TFLs through two games; both team-bests.
Junior Harrison Creed has paced the offensive line with eight pancake blocks.
Rudzik, as always, will put up big numbers, but Holcomb’s all-around talent and ability to move the ball rushing and passing is the difference.
Our Pick: Holcomb 31, Ulysses 24 (Nicholl)
4A-II No. 2 Andale (1-1) at 3A No. 3 Wichita Collegiate (2-0)
This Week 3 showdown will likely decide the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division IV title.
Andale and Collegiate have played some outstanding games in the past few seasons. The Indians have won the past two meetings in close fashion, while the Spartans won two straight in the series prior to that.
Collegiate led Andale 28-21 late in the third quarter last season before the Indians tied the game on a long touchdown pass, and eventually won it 34-28 on a Hank Eck touchdown run.
Andale held off Collegiate 30-28 to open the 2013 season. Collegiate’s last two wins came 41-27 in 2012 and a 41-0 win in 2011.
Defending 4A-II champion Andale return only four starters on each side of the ball, but talent up front in linemen Mark Hageman, Daniel Bergkamp, and tight end Jeff Ast.
The backfield is new this season after Anthony Capul chose not to play football this season due to an injury. Tristen Dagenais leads the Indians on the ground with 135 yards thus far, while Zach Meyer and quarterback Taylor Richter are close with 129 and 109 yards, respectively.
Richter has completed 4 of 11 passes for 49 yards.
The Indians rebounded from a Week 1 loss to Buhler by shutting down McPherson in a 29-8 win. Andale forced three McPherson turnovers and converted each into points.
Collegiate has yet to be tested in blowout victories of 75-0 over Rose Hill and 77-0 over Towanda-Circle. In each of those games, the Spartans have been dominant in building first-quarter leads of 28-0 and 42-0.
Quarterback Austin Waddell has yet to throw an incompletion on the year. Waddell is seven of seven passing for 283 yards this season.
The speedy Nathan Burgoyne has filled in for the graduated Jaques Williams and rushed for 165 yards on 13 carries.
Waddell has big-play potential with a receiving group that includes tight end Cooper Root, Jack Larsen, and Jacob Pfeiffer.
Our Pick: Collegiate 31, Andale 27 (Gilmore)
Garden Plain (2-0) at Conway Springs (2-0)
It’s been a few years since these two Central Plains League rivals have met while both entering with unblemished records. In fact, 2012 was the last time the Cardinals and Owls were both undefeated coming into this annual showdown of what was year-in and year-out one of the most anticipated games in the state.
While Conway Springs remains a consistent contender in Class 3A, Garden Plain is trying to get back to the success they enjoyed in most of the 2000s. The Owls have undergone multiple coaching changes and have finished just 4-5 and missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.
This year Garden Plain has opened with an impressive 32-7 win over Cheney and a 54-8 blowout of Belle Plaine. In each of those games, the Owls have got off to good starts. Garden Plain led Cheney 14-0 after one quarter in Week 1, and jumped out 40-0 after the first quarter on a depleted Belle Plaine team.
The Owls are led on offense by Alec Becker who has thrown for nearly 150 yards and a pair of scores thus far this season. Several different backs have carried the ball on offense, including Walter Stuhlsatz, Marty Landwehr, Keynan Wright, and Nate Pauly.
Peter Bergkamp and Zach May appear to be early candidates for Becker’s favorite receiving targets.
On defense, the Owls have seven interceptions in two games, although they’re unlikely to see the Cardinals put the ball in the air a lot on Friday.
Conway Springs opened with a 53-8 romp past Leon-Bluestem and a competitive 34-7 win over Medicine Lodge.
Ben Pauly leads the Cardinals with 238 rushing yards thus far, including 153 yards and a score against Medicine Lodge. Quarterback Colton Terhune has added 144 yards on the ground and passed for 175 yards.
Josh Dugan has become Terhune’s main target with six receptions for 108 yards.
Garden Plain hasn’t beaten Conway Springs since 2012 when they did so twice. But the series is tied at seven wins a piece in the last 14 meetings.
Our Pick: Conway Springs 26, Garden Plain 20 (Gilmore)
2-1A No. 2 Sedgwick (2-0) at Ell-Saline (2-0)
During the 2014 regular season, Sedgwick defeated Ell-Saline 44-12 in a Heart of America matchup, their fifth straight victory in the series. Ell-Saline, however, sneaked into the postseason with a 14-13 district victory against Smith Center and traveled to Sedgwick for the first round of the playoffs.
Ell-Saline won that playoff game, 28-20, in the first of three straight upsets en route to a 2-1A runner-up finish.
Sedgwick collected 507 yards of offense on 63 snaps in the regular season meeting a year ago. In the playoffs, Ell-Saline limited the Cards’ big plays and turnovers. Sedgwick ran 80 snaps and finished with just 365 yards.
This season, Sedgwick is again a fast-paced offense even after all-state quarterback Brylie Ware graduated. Sedgwick has run 72 snaps per game and averages 212 passing and 207 rushing yards a contest.
Senior Grant Hilliard and freshman Hooper Schroeder have split time at quarterback. Hilliard has completed 14 of 17 passes for 167 yards with a 2/1 TD/INT ratio. He has rushed 35 times for 237 yards with two scores.
Schroeder has completed 30 of 43 passes for 257 yards with a 4/2 TD/INT ratio. He has also rushed 18 times for 90 yards.
Senior Kyler Summers leads the team with 16 catches, 183 yards and two touchdowns.
Sedgwick has outscored its two opponents 91-36.
Ell-Saline defeated Inman, 41-21, and dominated Moundridge defensively in a 28-12 win. The Cardinals have several experienced standouts, including senior lineman/linebacker Kody Ingalsby, senior running back/linebacker Dakota Came, senior lineman Luke Sheridan, senior quarterback/safety Noah Bradley and junior Jacob Funk.
Bradley broke a finger at the Hutchinson camp this summer, but has played well early. He tossed two touchdown passes last Friday. Bradley had been the junior varsity quarterback the previous three seasons.
Came rushed for two scores against Moundridge, and the defense limited the Wildcats to 118 total yards.
Ell-Saline is the underdog again and should be able to slow down the high-octane Cardinal offense some. However, Sedgwick’s bevy of weapons will prove too much.
Our Pick: Sedgwick 30, Ell-Saline 14 (Nicholl)
The Pick List:
Hutchinson (2-0) at Salina South (1-1) – Hutchinson
6A No. 4 Lawrence (2-0) at Lawrence Free State (0-2) – Lawrence
Manhattan (2-0) at 4A-I No. 4 Topeka Hayden (1-1) – Manhattan
Bonner Springs (2-0) at Basehor-Linwood (1-1) – Bonner Springs
4A-II No. 3 Columbus (2-0) at Galena (2-0) – Columbus
4A-II No. 4 Holton (0-2) at Sabetha (1-1) – Holton
Wellsville (1-1) at 4A-II No. 5 Osawatomie (2-0) – Osawatomie
Wakefield (1-1) at 8M-I No. 4 Hanover (2-0) – Hanover
Central Burden (2-0) at 8M-II No. 3 Argonia-Attica (2-0) – A&A
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