Ten Takeaways from high school football Week 8
Carroll collects the City League title
Kapaun Mount Carmel seemed close at times Friday to changing its fortune after 17 frustrating years of football battles with Bishop Carroll.
There was the perfect start in which the Crusaders rode the wind to an early 13-point lead.
There were 19 stunning seconds of the third quarter in which Kapaun used a safety and quick touchdown strike to turn an eight-point deficit into a one-point lead.
But Carroll, with an outright City League title hanging in the balance, didn’t lose its cool. The Golden Eagles executed at all the right moments and held off Kapaun 30-22 for its 20th consecutive victory in the series.
Carroll (7-1, 6-0 City League) completed an unbeaten regular-season run in league play to claim sole possession of the title in longtime assistant Dusty Trail’s first season as head coach.
“I’ve liked how these kids have responded all year long,” Trail said. “These guys are resilient. We’ve been put in some tough spots so far this season, but we’ve always bounced back and made plays and given ourselves chances to win.”
Carroll quarterback Braden Howell’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Cade Becker on the first play of the fourth quarter gave Carroll the lead for good at 27-22. After Carson Lee booted a 41-yard field goal to stretch the lead to eight with 6:05 remaining, the Eagles turned Kapaun back on its final two possessions to continue a winning streak over the Crusaders that started in the 2000 regular season.
“We tried to stay positive,” said Howell, who threw four touchdown passes. “It was frustrating at times.
“But I told the guys, ‘We’ve got to stay positive.’ Good things and bad things were going to happen to both teams, and we knew the good things were going to happen.”
Carroll is the No. 2 seed in Class 5A West and will play Arkansas City on Friday. Kapaun, the No. 7 seed, will face Emporia.
Scott Paske
Derby uses big second half to beat Campus
Derby is the defending Class 6A champion. Campus won a total of seven games the previous four seasons.
Derby beat Campus 48-20 on Friday, but it wasn’t simple. Late in the second quarter, Campus led Derby 17-7.
“This isn’t the ‘old’ Campus,” Derby coach Brandon Clark said. “Coach (Greg) Slade has built something pretty special here. They should be proud, and I’ve got a feeling they’re going to win some games coming up here in the playoffs.”
A touchdown with just 13.4 seconds left in the first half provided a catalyst for Derby, then the Panthers used an insatiable offense in the second half to put up 34 points.
Clark said it was a matter of Derby focusing on what it could do, rather than worry about Campus.
“When you start worrying about the other team you’re playing, you start losing focus on the little things you need to do,” he said. “I think that’s what we did. We got caught up in the moment, they had a lot of momentum and we started feeling sorry for ourselves.”
Quarterback Hunter Igo rushed for 231 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 232 yards and three scores.
“He’s just going to get better,” Clark said. “He’s getting more confident, and he’s doing a great job being a leader.”
Derby is the No. 5 seed in Class 6A West and will play Dodge City on Friday. Campus, the No. 10 seed, plays Hutchinson, a team the Colts beat in Week 7.
Lionel Tipton
Northwest’s decision in Week 6 pays off in playoff seed
Northwest coach Steve Martin had an assistant track the progress of playoff scenarios every week this season and that diligence paid off for the Grizzlies.
The assistant told Martin that if the Grizzlies won by at least 12 points against Garden City in Week 6, then they would likely lock up the No. 2 seed in 6A West. So with a 10-point lead with less than 30 seconds left, Martin called a timeout and Josh Benoit converted a 45-yard field goal for a 13-point spread.
It may have seemed strange at the time, but the field goal helped Northwest (85) edge Topeka (84), Manhattan (82) and Derby (74) in the points tiebreaker among 7-1 teams to secure the No. 2 seed after the Grizzlies defeated Southeast 68-8 on Friday.
“Last year we didn’t realize the impact of the points until game five or six,” Martin said. “(The field goal) was huge. Those were the cards that were dealt and I think any other coach would have done the same thing as we did.”
Another benefit of being the No. 2 seed in the bracket is that Northwest (ranked No. 4 in the final 6A rankings) won’t face the top two-ranked 6A teams (Lawrence Free State and Derby) until the semifinals. The Grizzlies will host Southeast on Friday in the opening round.
“I had to do what was best for Northwest High School and kicking that field goal was huge for us,” Martin said. “Being a No. 2 seed is huge because if we continue to win, then we’ll have a home game all the way up until the semis at least.”
Taylor Eldridge
West will host in the playoffs for first time since 2001
Coach Weston Schartz left West after the 2001 season – the last time West hosted a game in the playoffs.
But Schartz, who returned to the West sideline in 2012, has returned the Pioneers to a first-round home game in the playoffs following their 16-0 shutout over East on Friday, which secured a 5-3 record and the No. 8 seed in the Class 6A West playoffs.
“This is going to be just the fourth time we’ve hosted a playoff game,” Schartz said. “ ’96 was the first time we reached the playoffs, so this was gigantic for our program. We wanted to finish top-three in the City League, which we did, and we wanted to host a playoff game, which we did. Our last goal was to win a playoff game, so we’re hoping we can get that done now.”
West will host Junction City (4-3) this Friday, the same team that knocked the Pioneers out of the playoffs last year. Schartz hopes his team can return the favor this time.
“I’m excited to get them again,” Schartz said. “We played them tough last time and we’ve improved our defense. If we keep playing good defense, then I think it’s going to be a really tight ball game against Junction. They’re a great program and we’re excited about hosting them.”
Taylor Eldridge
Defense gives Maize a win over Hutch
Hutchinson’s offense totaled more yards than Maize on Friday night, but the Eagles’ defense stopped the Salthawks down the stretch. After Brody Smith scored a touchdown to cut Hutch’s deficit to one point, Maize swarmed the Salthawks’ special teams and forced Hutch to miss the game-tying extra point with 5:36 left.
Hutch had more than two minutes to get down the field for a final score at the end of the game, but an interception by Maize’s Antonio Espinoza on fourth down sealed 14-13 win.
“We were counting on (the defense),” Maize coach Gary Guzman said. “That’s not a surprise. They kept us in the ballgame. They’ve been doing that all season long. Our kids were wanting to focus on this game and give us a good seeding in the playoffs.”
Dalyn Johnson came up with Maize’s two touchdowns, rushing for 113 yards and averaging almost six yards a carry. Maize held Hutch to seven passing yards while coming up with two interceptions.
Maize will be the No. 3 seed in the 5A West playoffs and will play Topeka West on Friday. Hutchinson is No. 7 in 6A West and faces Campus.
Grant Cohen
Defense stands tall for Conway Springs
Conway Spring’s defense stood tall on Friday night, holding Cheney to 185 yards during its 41-0 win.
“Our defense came to play tonight,” Conway Springs head coach Matt Biehler said. “Every series they came through. Glad to have them on that side of the ball.”
Conway Springs held on four after Cheney got inside Conway’s 10-yard line at the end of the first half.
A 43-yard pass from Cheney’s Micah Grover to Trey Patterson set up Cheney.
However, Grover was sacked twice, including on fourth down to end the drive.
“That stand was huge for us,” Biehler said. “We went into the half with a 14-point lead instead of a seven-point lead.”
Conway Springs outscored Cheney 27-0 in the second half.
Senior Trenton Jones ran for 215 yards and scored three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Colton Terhune rushed for 127.
“Colton is just as dangerous as Trenton,” Biehler said. “We’re lucky to have them in our backfield.”
Charles Chaney
Andover faces danger of playing team back-to-back
Cade Armstrong was extremely pleased with how Andover executed in its 48-13 victory over Valley Center on Friday.
But the Andover coach was a little uneasy later that night when the playoff seeds were determined and he figured out his team would have to make a return trip to Valley Center next Friday in the first round of the playoffs.
“That score doesn’t mean anything,” Armstrong said. “What makes it tough is that we spent all last week putting together a game plan and we just showed them everything. We’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and still take what worked tonight, but we can’t do the same things again next week.”
Armstrong will preach to his team about not falling into a false sense of security against a team the Trojans just defeated by five touchdowns.
“(Valley Center) dropped two or three picks that could have changed that game,” Armstrong said. “I know Caleb (Smith) and his staff over there are going to grind and come up with a different and better game plan, so our kids can’t become overconfident. I still want them going into it with confidence, but they can’t overlook that team because Valley is still a great team.”
Besides the rematch the first round, Armstrong and the Trojans were pleased with the No. 9 seed. Why? Because it means they have a chance to meet up with Goddard, the No. 1 team in Class 5A and No. 1 seed, in the second round.
Andover lost 21-17 to Goddard in Week 3 after leading for the majority of the game and watching Goddard score the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute.
“If we’re lucky enough to beat Valley, then we’re probably going to have the chance to play Goddard again,” Armstrong said. “And I want them again. I love that. That’s just my mentality as a competitor. I really want them again.”
Taylor Eldridge
Class 4A playoff picture update
Andover Central is back in the playoffs, clinching a spot with a 41-8 victory over Augusta on Friday.
After reaching the 4A-I championship game in 2015, the Jaguars missed the playoffs last season with a 2-7 record. Andover Central (4-4) will host Maize South (7-1) this Friday for the District 6 title.
Mulvane secured the District 5 title on Friday with a 35-7 victory over Wellington. Wellington (4-4) will host Ulysses (1-7) this Friday in a winner-takes-all game for the second playoff spot.
McPherson won the District 8 title on Friday with a 47-0 shutout of Wamego, while Andale (8-0) and Buhler (6-2) are the likely qualifiers out of District 7.
In 4A II, Nickerson won the District 5 title with a 48-14 victory over Collegiate. Now the Spartans (4-4) and rival Trinity (4-4) will play with the winner advancing to the playoffs and the loser staying home.
Taylor Eldridge
Cheney-Garden Plain set to determine second 3A playoff berth
In 3A, Conway Springs looks to be superior in District 10 after demolishing Cheney 41-0 to move to 2-0. The Cardinals secured a playoff berth with the victory and can take the district title this Friday against Chaparral.
Even with its victory over Garden Plain, Chaparral (-17) doesn’t appear likely to make up its points to be able to nab the second playoff berth. That creates an interesting scenario for the Cheney (0) at Garden Plain (-24) game.
Cheney can guarantee itself a playoff berth with a win and could still qualify if it loses, but it will come down to the point spread. Garden Plain would have to win by at least 13 points to make up the point differential to leap Cheney in the three-way tiebreaker if the Owls were to win.
Taylor Eldridge
Meanwhile, back East
Shawnee Mission East (7-1) is the No. 1 seed in the Class 6A East playoffs, where only three schools have winning records. SM East’s lone setback came in week 3, a 21-17 loss to Rockhurst (Mo.).
In Class 5A, Kansas City Schlagle (8-0) is the No. 1 seed, and No. 2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas (7-1) is the team to beat. Aquinas’ loss came in week 3, a 27-14 loss to Bishop Miege, the No. 1 team in the Varsity Kansas rankings.
This story was originally published October 21, 2017 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Ten Takeaways from high school football Week 8."