The weather finally held off and there were some great games in Week 4. We had at least one ranked team lose in each classification on Friday night. It wasn’t a good night to be ranked No. 3 or No. 5. The No. 3 ranked team in four classifications lost this week, while the No. 5 ranked team lost in five classes.
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Blue Valley pulls away from Mill Valley in Game of the Week
After five lead changes in the first half, Blue Valley scored 28 consecutive points to power past Mill Valley, 45-28. The Tigers entered the game ranked second in Class 6A, while Mill Valley was No. 1 in Class 5A.
After an early Blue Valley field goal, Mill Valley’s Brody Flaming connected on a pair of touchdown passes to Ben Hartman to give the Jags a 14-3 lead.
Blue Valley quickly responded with a pair of Matthew Dercher touchdown passes to give the Tigers a 17-14 lead mid-way through the second quarter.
The Jaguars then marched 99-yards on their next drive resulting in a Brady Garrison touchdown reception and a 21-17 lead with 2:35 remaining in the half.
Blue Valley responded as Dercher hit William Evans out of the backfield for a 58-yard score and a 24-21 lead. The Tigers would later miss a field goal attempt as the half ended.
The Tigers’ lead grew to 31-21 in the third quarter as Dercher hit Harrison VanDyne on a 45-yard touchdown pass. The lead stay at 10 points until Evans scored from 1-yard out to make it 38-21.
After a Mill Valley interception, Evans once again reached the end zone on a short run to push the lead to 45-21. Mill Valley added a late touchdown with less than two minutes remaining.
Dercher passed for 340 yards and four touchdowns, while Evans had 67 rushing yards, 63 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns.
Cimarron upsets Meade, 20-14
Cimarron senior quarterback Nick Ast rushed for three touchdowns as the BlueJays defeated Meade for the first time since the 2005 season.
Meade, ranked No. 3 in Class 2-1A, led 14-7 in the first half when Ast broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run. He scored again in the second quarter as Cimarron led 20-14 at halftime. The teams went scoreless in the second half.
Cimarron looked to run out the clock, but a late fumble gave Meade new life. Ast then intercepted Meade quarterback Lawson Luetters to seal the victory for the Blue Jays. Ast had two interceptions in the game.
Top-ranked Derby pulls away from No. 5 Hutch, 46-20
Derby converted three Hutchinson first-half turnovers into touchdowns to build a 25-14 halftime lead, and eventually pulled away in the second half for a 46-20 win.
The Salthawks scored out of the locker room on a Conor Craig touchdown run to cut the Panther lead to 25-20 in the third quarter. Derby would respond almost immediately as quarterback Dan Dawdy hit Michael Littleton on their third touchdown connection on the night to extend the lead to 32-20.
Derby would go on to add a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns as Dawdy passed to Kenyon Tabor and Brody Kooser rushed for his second score of the night.
Kooser rushed for 170 yards to lead the Panthers, while Dawdy passed for nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns. Littleton caught eight passes for 83 yards and three scores.
Hutchinson was led by Joseiah Galindo’s 155-yard rushing night. The Panther defense held Salthawk backs Brody Smith and Tracy Harris to a combined 28 yards on 14 carries.
Clifton-Clyde outlasts No. 4 Rural Vista, 74-72 in double overtime
Keep in mind that these teams won’t hit the hard wood for another two months. On Friday night, Clifton-Clyde “upset” No. 4 Rural Vista 74-72 in double overtime. Both the Eagles and Heat entered the contest at 3-0.
Rural Vista looked to be in control for most of the game. The Heat raced out to a 24-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The two teams each scored 20 in the second quarter as Rural Vista took a 44-28 lead into halftime.
Clifton-Clyde began to chip away in the fourth quarter. The Eagles pulled to within 58-44 with around eight minutes remaining, and 58-52 with 5:30 left.
The Eagles tied the game at 58 a piece with just 30 seconds remaining in the game.
Clifton-Clyde scored first in overtime to take a 66-58 lead, but the Heat tied the game at 66 on their first overtime possession.
Rural Vista go the ball first and scored in the second overtime, but the Heat could not convert the two-point conversion. Clifton-Clyde score and did convert for the 74-72 win.
Playoff pressure will now begin to build on the Heat as District 3 is ultra competitive with unbeatens Herington, Clifton-Clyde, and No. 3 Burlingame joining the Rural Vista to compete for two playoff spots.
Buhler bounces back by beating No. 3 Maize South
After getting blown out by Wichita Collegiate last week, the Buhler Crusaders had something to prove.
Buhler topped Maize South 21-14 in a turnover-plagued game that saw all the scoring come in the first half.
After Maize South took an early lead on an Ethan Richardson touchdown pass to Preston Seiler.
Buhler responded with a pair of Dalton Brown touchdown runs to grab a 14-7 lead. The Mavericks would tie the game in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Richardson.
After a Maverick turnover, Buhler took the lead late in the first half on a Ethan White 75-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Smyres.
Brown led Buhler with 115 rushing yards and two scores. Maize South struggled running the ball as the Mavericks rushed for only 36 yards on 28 attempts. Buhler held Maize South back Jacob Perez to nine yards on seven carries.
Smith Center outlasts Norton in overtime, 20-17
Smith Center and Norton went into overtime tied at 14 in a key Mid-Continent League showdown on Friday night.
The Bluejays got the ball first, but could only muster a field goal to take a 17-14 lead.
Smith Center made the most of its opportunity by punching across a touchdown on fourth down to claim the 20-17 overtime victory.
Safety allows Junction City to avoid upset, top Rural 22-21
Junction City entered Friday’s Centennial League game at Washburn Rural ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, but the Blue Jays were on the ropes.
Washburn Rural stormed out of the halftime locker room and scored three times to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 21-7 lead for the Junior Blues after three quarters. Quarterback Preston Williams threw touchdown passes to Collin Wilson and Khalfani Scroggins sandwiched around a Ben Harrison touchdown run to put Rural in the lead.
But Junction City would respond in the fourth quarter, and get a little bit of luck.
Baylor Wilkey’s touchdown run pulled the Blue Jays within 21-14, and Ryan Henington hit Johnnie Jones on a long touchdown pass. Junction City went for the two-point conversion and the lead, but Rural stopped the Blue Jays short to preserve a 21-20 lead for the Junior Blues.
With more than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Washburn Rural lined up to punt from deep in its own territory. A botched snap went into the end zone and punter Ross Boyd kicked the ball through the end zone surrendering the lead, but giving his team a chance by avoiding giving up a touchdown. Rural, however, couldn’t muster another score and fell 22-21.
Mulvane throttles Collegiate, 35-7
One week after giving up 61 points in a shootout loss to Andale, the Mulvane Wildcats clamped down and held high-powered Collegiate to one touchdown in a 35-7 win.
Quarterback Jayden Price rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns to lead Mulvane, while Keaton Shoemaker added 105 yards and a score.
Mulvane intercepted Collegiate quarterback Cody McNerney three times including a 75-yard pick-6 by Brett Nelson.
Collegiate was led by Juston Flowers’ 74 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Top-ranked Troy survives test against Perry-Lecompton
Troy, ranked No. 1 in Class 2-1A, remained unbeaten with a 25-22 win over Perry-Lecompton.
The Kaws jumped out to an early 6-0 lead thanks to the first of three Michael Kellum touchdown runs. In each case, however, the Trojans would answer right back. The first response was a 10-yard touchdown pass from Reid Greaser to Cuttar Huss to tie the game at six.
After Kellum’s second scoring run put Perry-Lecompton up 13-6, Greaser hit Brody Winder on a long touchdown pass to pull the Trojans within 13-12.
Troy took an 18-13 lead into the half after a Greaser pass was deflected into the hands of Tyler Franken for a touchdown.
The Trojans extended their lead to 25-13 in the third quarter as Greaser hit Huss on another long touchdown pass.
Perry-Lecompton scored nine points in the fourth quarter to pull within 25-22, but the Trojans were able to run the clock out to preserve the three-point win and likely their No. 1 ranking.
Belle Plaine blasts Northeast-Arma to snap long losing streak
The Belle Plain Dragons went on the road and claimed a 48-0 win at Northeast-Arma on Friday night.
The win snapped Belle Plaine’s 31-game losing streak dating back to October 19, 2012. The Dragons’ last win came 19-14 over Douglass.
Ruff runs wild for Schlagle again
KC Schlagle raced past KC Washington 65-20 on Friday night behind another big performance from senior running back Cornelius Ruff.
Ruff rushed for 361 yards and four touchdowns as the Stallions improved to 3-1 on the season.
In four games this season, Neil has now rushed for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Hanzlick breaks 4,000 yards rushing, Hoisington rolls
Entering Friday’s ranked match-up between Class 2-1A No. 5 Washington County and Class 3A No. 3 Hoisington, Cardinal senior back Hunter Hanzlick needed just 40 yards to break the 4,000-yard mark for his career.
Hanzlick broke a 40-yard touchdown run early in the game as part of his 181-yard night in the Cardinals 47-6 win.
Cam Davis added 167 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and had more than 50 receiving yards and another score.
Hoisington led 21-6 at halftime, but pulled away to defeat the Tigers for the second consecutive season. The Cardinals beat the Tigers 50-6 in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs last season.
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