Hayden Barber’s 10 takeaways from an eye-opening Week 2 of high school football

1. North stars

There is no better storyline in Kansas high school sports.

Wichita North has dealt with an extended period of struggle. Now it is 2-0. North beat Liberal on the road 13-6 to become one of six undefeated 6A teams left.

Coach Scott Moshier said most of the kids on the roster had never won a game coming into this season. Now they have two victories under their belts.

“The year before we got here (two years ago), the team was completely dismantled by just about everybody,” Moshier said. “Liberal put 40-something points on us last year, so for us to come out and play so well defensively was just amazing.

“It was amazing to be able to pull that off.”

Yes, North’s two wins have come against less than promising teams in Liberal and Wichita South, but the Redskins’ path to glory — even if they finish with two wins — is one of admiration for any struggling program. Moshier said he can sense his players starting to take the game more seriously after winning.

“It’s not just some big guy you can’t tackle,” he said. “It’s the little things and the mental part of it. It was sure nice to be able to call on that after we played well and won.

“We have their undivided attention now. That’s for sure.”

It is the first time North has started a season 2-0 since before 2004. The Redskins will have a good shot at 3-0, hosting Southeast in Week 3.

2. ‘One of the longest weeks of my life’

In Week 1, Eisenhower lost by 37 to a team that hadn’t won since 2015.

The 44-7 loss at Salina Central was embarrassing for the Tigers. Eisenhower coach Marc Marinelli said as much.

“It’s been probably one of the longest weeks of my life,” he said. “It just cast so much doubt over everything. You start to wonder what’s wrong. We were just counting down the days.”

Friday, Eisenhower beat Andover Central 21-14 to steady the ship. The Tiger offense moved the ball much better against a Jaguar team that prides itself on defense. Because of that, Marinelli said he was proud of his guys’ effort.

“Kids came out ready to play,” he said. “We came out with a wide open gameplan.”

Eisenhower host Andover, a team coming off a 20-3 win against Maize South, for Week 3.

3. Derby

While some teams are looking to put up monster offensive stats, Derby has one of its own.

The Panthers’ starting defense hasn’t allowed a point over two games. Derby beat Salina Central 63-0 on Friday. The Panthers were up 55-0 at halftime.

Derby beat Garden City, a 6A quarterfinalist last year, 49-6. The Buffaloes got a consolation score midway through the fourth quarter after the starters had put their helmets down.

The Panthers have talent at all three levels of the defense, starting on the line with senior defensive tackle Bryce Westmoreland and defensive end Isaac Keener, at linebacker in seniors Cade Lindsey and Jay Fisher and in the secondary with seniors Dax Benway and Hunter Igo.

Derby goes to freshly beaten Newton for Week 3.

4. Golden in the rain

For 61 seconds, the Carroll offense sang like it was in church.

The Golden Eagles beat Wichita Heights 36-20 but buried the Falcons starting with senior running back Jackson Nichols’ third of three touchdowns. He ran 60 yards after slipping through the first layer of the Heights defense.

A minute later after a Heights fumble, senior quarterback Cade Becker took it in again from about 10 yards out to make it 36-14.

“I was seeing the holes,” Nichols said. “The line was going really aggressive. I was just going where they hole was.”

Carroll goes to West, coming off a tough 6-0 loss to Kapaun, for Week 3.

5. Two yards of offense

West scored 55 in Week 1 but couldn’t hit double-digit yards seven days later.

Kapaun beat the Pioneers 6-0 on Friday in an ugly grinder of a football game. The Crusaders held West to two yards of total offense.

“You know where it starts, it’s in the trenches, and we’ve got some guys up there that play football,” coach Dan Adelhardt said. “Hayden Cole is tough. Burton Schindler is tough. Patrick Altenor plays both ways, and Doug Bates does a great job.

Kapaun has been known to be stout under Adelhardt, but two yards of offense is a school record in his 15 years with the Crusaders. And it’s even more impressive given what West did in Week 1.

“I think West is a good football team,” Adelhardt said. “And I think we’re a good football team. I told one of my assistant coaches, ‘I hope that’s what that means.’ “

Kapaun hosts East, coming off a 56-0 loss to Northwest, for Week 3.

6. Off the rails

Newton was rolling after beating Buhler on the road, but Campus cut into the Railers on Friday.

The Colts won 29-20 after Newton threw a last-second 50-yard touchdown. They were up 15-0 with 2:30 left in the first quarter.

Cameron Harvey had a standout game, starting with a touchdown on the opening kickoff, adding an interception and a rushing touchdown to bookend his night.

“We came out big and we didn’t come out shy because we knew Newton was getting ready to play a game of the week, so there’s going to be a lot of people in the house on their home turf,” Harvey said. “We came out ready to fight.”

With the win, Campus is 2-0 for the first time since 2005. The Colts get a high-flying Maize team at home for Week 3.

7. Red Bird Rivalry

Conway Springs seems on its way again.

The Cardinals beat Cheney 28-7 on Friday to clear another hurdle toward a third straight Central Plains League title and a second straight undefeated regular season.

Last year, Conway shut out Cheney by 41. At half in 2018, it was a seven-point game.

The Cheney offense couldn’t find a spark in the second half as the Conway defense suffocated the Cardinals. On the other side of the ball, Conway kept grinding away against an underrated Cheney defense.

Senior fullback Chase Ast gave Conway a 22-7 lead after a 3-yard touchdown, and junior fullback Peyton Winter put the game away with a 67-yard score.

Conway’s next real CPL test comes in Week 6 at Chaparral, but for Week 3, the Cardinals host Hutchinson-Trinity Catholic.

8. Titan up

South had lost to North before, but the gravity behind the Redskins’ win made it seem a lot worse.

Friday, the Titans got back with a 36-7 win over Southeast. Coach Paul Lopez said it was a huge achievement for his players.

“It was really good for us,” he said. “It’s been a lot of waiting. The kids have been working extremely hard, and it’s good to see all of that finally pay off.”

Southeast led with 9:43 left in the first half, but South junior captain Jashun Grant hauled in a 25-yard score before halftime, and senior captain Damion Wells drove the spike through Southeast with a 67-yard touchdown reception.

Seniors Payton Collins and Antwain Scales finished the job for the Titans with a pair of scores.

South goes to Arkansas City in Week 3.

9. Soaring offense

Maize is looking tidy.

The Eagles have outscored their opponents 98-0 over their first two games against Valley Center and Hutchinson on Friday, setting up what could be an awesome Week 3 game at Campus.

Senior quarterback Caleb Grill was on point against the Salthawks, starting the scoring with a 62-yard strike to junior receiver Preven Christon. He added three more passing touchdowns and one rushing to cap a strong night under center.

Junior running back Caden Cox had another solid night as well, adding a pair of touchdowns from inside the 5 yard-line in the victory.

10. Young Trojan winners

Andover has a lot of young, promising pieces in place in 2018. Getting them to work as a unit was the struggle.

Coach Cade Armstrong seems to have cracked that code after a 20-3 win at Maize South. The Trojans started seven sophomores and two freshmen Friday.

“I don’t know this, but I would say we might be the youngest team in 5A,” Armstrong said. “It’s been a growing pain from a Week 1 loss to Great Bend, and we’re just trying to make the kids better.”

Armstrong said he is preaching a 1-0 mentality. Finding that first win was key.

“Peyton Henry ran so hard for us tonight, just kind of that dual-threat kid and an absolute stud,” Armstrong said. “Harper Jonas really stepped up tonight. We had a lot of drops in Week 1, but Harper really stood out tonight.

“And Connor Hall is our 6-foot-5 junior defensive end. He is a stud and was in the backfield all night just disrupting everything.”

Honorable Mention

• Circle loses 17th straight game with 7-6 loss to Augusta. It was the closest loss of the losing streak by 13 points.
• Valley Center rights the ship after 49-point blowout to Maize with a 41-20 win at Garden City. Senior running back Larry Wilson returned a punt 99 yards for a touchdown.
• Collegiate bounces back from 32-point shutout against Wellington with 36-3 win at Rose Hill.
• Pratt tops Halstead 32-16 on the road to lay stake to the Central Kansas League title.
• Hesston survives with a 28-21 win at Larned to stay undefeated in a promising 2018 season.

This story was originally published September 8, 2018 at 5:05 AM.