East: No. 5 Columbus (8-1) at Girard (4-5)
The first round of the playoffs serves as a Week 3 rematch for the Girard Trojans and the Columbus Titans. That time around, Columbus held off Girard for a 22-6 victory.
Columbus finished second in the Crawford-Neosho-Cherokee League and second in the district after a 21-20 loss to 4A Division II’s top-ranked Frontenac Raiders.
Junior quarterback Ridge Smith has completed 69 of 109 passes for 1,061 yards with 13 touchdowns. Junior Keenan Stanley is the Titans’ leading rusher with 1,212 yards and 15 touchdowns on 141 carries. Senior Peyton Hale has added 573 yards and six touchdowns on 91 rushes. Ridge’s top receiving target is junior Kale Smith with 19 catches for 359 yards and six touchdowns.
Dakota Sears and Kody Robinson pace the defense with four Columbus sacks each.
Girard captured the district title by using a second-half comeback to beat Iola 38-25 last week. The Trojans trailed 12-8 at halftime.
Trojans quarterback Eric Wilson was a part of four touchdowns, including a 65-yard keeper in the second half. Girard took a 30-27 lead with 7:12 left in the game after Wilson found Shane Redfern for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Columbus owns a 5-0 record over Girard since the Trojans beat them twice in 2012.
Columbus 27, Girard 12 (Schremmer)
West: No. 3 Holcomb (8-1) at Scott City (7-2)
The two GWAC rivals meet up for the second time this season. In Week 2, Holcomb won at home, 32-13. Before that game, Scott City was 12-1 in the last 13 matchups against the Longhorns and had won nine straight dating back to 2007.
Since then, Scott City has won seven straight and returned to its dominant selves. Every win has been by at least 28 points, including Cimarron (35-7), Hugoton (35-7) and Colby (42-12). Scott City won the District 7 title, while Holcomb took runner-up in District 8 after a Week 8 loss to Pratt, 35-28. The defeat ended the 16-game winning streak for the Longhorns, the defending 4A-II champions.
The teams are nearly identical in scoring offense at defense. Scott City has a total of 355-96, while Holcomb is at 350-99. They rank second and third in scoring defense and second and fourth in scoring offense in the classification. Top-ranked Frontenac leads the classification in both categories.
For Scott City, senior Bo Hess is in his second year as a starting quarterback, while sophomore Wyatt Hayes and junior Jarret Jurgens have led in the backfield.
Holcomb’s offense has 216 rushing yards and 193 passing yards a contest. Junior Trey Gilbert has played very well in his first year as a starter with 101 for 181 passing for 1,737 yards with 23 scores against six interceptions. The Longhorns have been turnover-prone with 15 miscues but have been excellent at turnover creation with 30 forced. Senior Michael Roth has six interceptions.
In the first matchup, Holcomb ran 65 plays for 422 yards. Scott City had 51 plays for 245 yards. Gilbert passed for 193 yards with a score against an interception. Hess was 5 of 16 for 79 yards with an interception. Holcomb forced three turnovers and finished plus-1 in turnover margin.
This game will likely come down to quarterback play in the passing game and turnovers. While Hess is more experienced than Gilbert, Holcomb has thrown the ball better. The Longhorns have forced at least three turnovers in every game, except the Pratt contest when they forced one.
Holcomb 28, Scott City 24 (Nicholl)
The rest of our 4A-II first-round picks:
Osawatomie (2-7) at No. 4 Topeka Hayden (5-4) – Topeka Hayden
Holton (5-4) at Baldwin (3-6) – Holton
Iola (4-5) at No. 1 Frontenac (9-0) – Frontenac
Clay Center (5-4) at Wichita Collegiate (6-3) – Wichita Collegiate
Nickerson (6-3) at Smoky Valley (7-2) – Nickerson
Colby (5-4) at No. 2 Pratt (8-1) – Pratt
Use your Facebook account to add a comment or start a discussion. Posts are subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment.
