East: Burlington (7-3) at No. 3 Topeka Hayden (6-4)
Two teams that struggled early in the season will meet in the quarterfinals of the 4A D-II playoffs when Burlington travels to face Topeka Hayden.
Burlington was 3-3 after its first six games but is currently on a four-game winning streak. Hayden struggled with a 2-4 record in the large-school Centennial League but has also rebounded with a four-game winning streak.
Burlington opened the first round of the playoffs with a 22-21 win over Columbus, which was ranked No. 1 in the classification earlier in the season. Burlington trailed 13-8 at halftime but scored twice in the second half to secure the win.
Senior Connor Jeffers leads Burlington’s potent rushing attack. He’s rushed for 1,855 yards and 29 touchdowns on 230 carries. Jeffers has passed for 637 yards and six touchdowns.
Sophomore Cael Johnson has also rushed for 555 yards and six touchdowns on 54 carries. Senior Garrison Fielder has recorded 15 catches for 263 yards and two TDs.
Senior Tucker Whitworth leads the defense with 104 tackles and two sacks.
Hayden is coming off a 48-6 win over Prairie View. Sampson Huston passed for 181 yards and three touchdowns in the win. DeShawn Hanika caught five passes for 131 yards.
Last year, Hayden fell to Pratt in the state championship game.
Hayden 28, Burlington 8 (Schremmer)
West: No. 2 Holcomb (9-1) at No. 4 Smoky Valley (9-1)
A hard-nosed Holcomb defense against Smoky Valley’s physical ground game battle in a rare matchup between these two teams. This is the first contest between the two since at least ’04.
Holcomb coach Kent Teeter enjoyed some success at Hays High and Goodland before he has led Holcomb to the best run in school annals. Teeter is 40-7 with Holcomb with final four showings in ’14 and ’16 and the school’s first state crown in ’15.
Smoky Valley’s Tim Lambert, a former standout Smith Center quarterback, had a long run of success at St. Francis and turned around Concordia before arriving in Lindsborg. Lambert went 2-7 his first year with the Vikings before 8-3 and 9-1 the last two. Smoky Valley is into the quarterfinals for the second straight season. It marks the Vikings’ furthest advancement since ’98.
Holcomb has outscored its opponents 272-100 and ranks second in scoring defense in 4A-II behind rival Scott City. The Beavers are the only team to beat the Longhorns this year. Smoky Valley has a 316-120 margin against an easier strength of schedule, though held off Wichita Collegiate, 12-2, in the first round in a high-profile contest. Holcomb bested conference foe Colby, 46-15, for the second time this year.
Holcomb has been very balanced with 169 passing and 172 rushing yards a contest. Senior Trey Gilbert has again performed well in his second season as the starter with 113 of 200 passing for 1,686 yards with a 21/5 TD/INT ratio. Senior Kaden Tichenor has 120 carries for 713 yards and five rushing scores. Senior Chance Rodriguez has 36 carries for 526 yards and nine TDs. Holcomb is plus-5 in turnover margin. The Longhorns average 55 plays a game and 6.2 yards per play.
Smoky Valley averages 54.3 plays and 5.9 yards per play. Senior Kyle Anderson, who had 1,436 rushing yards last season, has 190 carries for 1,317 yards and 18 scores this year. He has cleared 100 yards in eight contests. The Vikings average 49.4 rushing attempts a game.
In its key wins against Cimarron (15-12), Pratt (19-14) and Colby in the playoffs, Holcomb’s run defense has allowed the opponent running back to have a big game. Against Cimarron, Josh Seabolt ran 31 times for 189 yards. Versus Pratt, Travis Theis had 31 carries for 169 yards. Last week, Colby’s Calvin Stapp had 14 carries for 143 yards.
However, the big difference has come in the passing game. Cimarron and Pratt combined for 4 of 11 for 36 yards. Last week, Colby was 4 of 14 for 11 yards with an interception, and Gilbert completed 67 percent of his passes for 168 yards with two touchdowns against no interceptions.
Anderson, like Seabolt and Theis, is an all-state caliber back. However, the difference will likely come on whether Smoky Valley can make a critical play or two in the passing game. Senior Brett Heitschmidt has completed 27 of 48 passes for 462 yards with a 4/1 TD/INT ratio, much improved numbers from ’16.
Anderson has another big game, but Holcomb’s balanced attack proves too much in a physical battle.
Holcomb 23, Smoky Valley 14 (Nicholl)
The rest of our 4A-II quarterfinal picks:
Frontenac (7-2) at No. 5 Holton (7-3) – Holton
No. 1 Scott City (10-0) at Clay Center (7-3) – Scott City
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