10 takeaways from a historic Week 4 of high school football in Wichita
On its face, Week 4 was about rivalries.
When the dust settled, it was about history. Here are 10 takeaways from Thursday and Friday’s high school football action around the Wichita area:
1. Green is magic
The Derby defense is as advertised.
Last season, the Panthers relied on their offense to pull them through big games. Friday, they proved their defense is what they will hang their hat on in 2018 with a 24-6 win at Bishop Carroll on Friday.
The game was mounted as a clash between the Class 5A champion and 6A runner-up. And as Carroll’s offense continued to hit the tracks without any rhythm, the Derby student section had a message.
“This is 6A,” they chanted.
Derby’s defense held the Golden Eagles scoreless in the second half, and Carroll’s six points were the fewest since the 2010 season-opener.
“Our goal is to always put up a goose egg, but we knew Carroll,” coach Brandon Clark said. “We didn’t expect to stop them. We didn’t expect to score a ton of points on them. We kind of knew it was going to be a defensive battle, and it was.”
2. Still perfect
Only two teams in Kansas haven’t allowed a point in 2018.
Maize is one of them after a 45-0 win over Newton on Friday. Scott City is the other.
The Eagles are coming off a 21-0 win at Campus in Week 3, but Friday was a special performance. Junior running back Caden Cox finished with four touchdowns in the win.
The Maize defense is one of the great stories in the Wichita area this season, and with Derby continuing its path to greatness, the Maize-Derby meeting in Week 8 is shaping up to be must-see football.
Maize is off to its best statistical start in school history at 4-0 with a plus-164 point differential.
3. Roar on 54
For the second straight week, Goddard was on upset alert.
Eisenhower was the culprit. The Lions pulled out a 12-3 win over their crosstown rival Friday, but the game was closer than the final score appeared.
The game started with an Eisenhower safety after a failed snap flew over the punter’s head. After a Tigers field goal, the halftime score resembled more of a baseball game at 3-2.
Goddard scored midway through the fourth quarter as sophomore quarterback Kyler Semrad hit junior Carter Morrow for his second late touchdown in two weeks.
Another field goal with 3:10 to go wrapped it up, but the Goddard offense was by no means impressive in the win, Beason said.
“It was nutty,” he said. “That’s all we play evidently is nutty ball games. But if we were a better ball club offensively — and that’s a direct reflection of me and my staff not having them ready — we could be dangerous, but we’re just not there yet.”
4. East side story
Midway through the second quarter, Kapaun trailed by 12.
The Crusaders came back to win 33-26 over east-side rival Andover on Friday and remained undefeated. Senior Scott Valentas was the difference.
Valentas, a Columbia verbal commit, scored three times in the win.
He opened the scoring in the first half with a 31-yard run. But the Kapaun defense was the story, forcing Andover sophomore quarterback Eli Fahnestock into two interceptions and a fumble.
Senior Parker Manning ran back a pick-six at the end of the third that put the game out of reach and sent Andover to 2-2.
5. Coming full Circle
Circle hadn’t won a game since Sept. 9, 2016.
So when the Thunderbirds beat Rose Hill 20-10 at home Friday, they celebrated like 742 days had gone by.
Coach Logan Clothier said it was an emotional night for him and his players.
“After losing the Augusta game in the opener 7-6, it took a toll on us,” he said. “This week in practice, we really urged, ‘We’ve got to win every day.’ Each day at practice, we weren’t trying to win on Friday but win in our preparation.”
The win was Clothier’s first as coach and the program’s second since he was a college freshman in 2012, he said.
Circle was down 10-6 at halftime, and Clothier said there was a change in mindset Friday that won the T-Birds the game.
“Sometimes your kids don’t know how to win, but I think we’re starting to turn a corner where we’re not intimidated by anyone,” he said. “We had to break that habit of thinking we were going to lose when we went down 6-0. Tonight they went down 10-6, and they rallied the troops at halftime.”
6. A Maverick path
Maize South won its first game of the 2018 season Friday with a 24-17 victory over Arkansas City. Coach Brent Pfeifer said it was a relief.
“Those kids are starting to figure out how to win and not be afraid of it,” he said. “This was definitely our best game of the year.”
Allowing big plays has been one of the Mavericks’ biggest faults this season with two 99-yard touchdowns against them through the first three weeks. Pfeifer said they only gave up one to the Bulldogs.
That — and powerful running from junior Mason Edwards — was what did it. Edwards finished with more than 30 carries for over 200 yards.
“I think each week we’ve grown up a little bit,” Pfeifer said. “And hopefully this is another step to improving and moving forward.”
7. Clear as could be
Cheney is 0-4, and Clearwater is the reason.
The Indians beat Cheney 21-7 on Friday. It was the first time the teams had met since 2009.
With 3:54 left in the first quarter, Cheney’s Riley Petz scored from a yard out. After that, Clearwater didn’t budge.
The Indians broke off touchdown runs of 51 and 42 yards, taking the lead with 5:12 to go.
Coach Jeremy Scheufler said Cheney’s four turnovers changed the game.
“If you have two more turnovers than the other team, you have a 75 percent chance of losing the game,” he said.
8. Conway down Broadway
Conway Springs hasn’t lost a regular-season home game since Oct. 15, 2015, and that streak didn’t die Friday.
The Cardinals hosted Hutchinson-Trinity Academy and stomped any chance of an upset with a 22-8 win. Conway forced four turnovers and handed the Celtics their first loss of the season.
“It was just a battle back and forth, and I’m very proud of our boys,” coach Matt Biehler said. “We just have to continue to take this one game at a time.”
Junior fullback Peyton Winter scored twice in the victory and added a two-point conversion on the final touchdown.
With the win, the Cardinals extended their regular-season winning streak to 13 games — one of the longest marks in Kansas. It also gives the Cardinals a strong start to district play over a team that beat Ell-Saline 8-6 in Week 3.
9. Flipping the switch
Andover Central hadn’t scored more than 20 points on a 5A team or better since Oct. 9, 2015.
The Jaguars topped Valley Center 27-17 on Thursday in a deep-ball showcase from the Central offense.
Junior quarterback Shomari Parnell and junior receiver Xavier Bell connected on one of the greatest touchdowns of the 2018 season, skying over the Valley Center defense.
Later, Parnell hit Matt Macy at the pylon to ice the game.
Toward the end of the first half, Valley Center blocked a punt and returned it for a score and followed it with an interception from Larry Wilson into Jaguar territory. But the Hornets got only three points out of it.
“It really could have blown up there,” he said. “But I was proud of the way our kids hung in there and fought through it.”
10. Back to earth
Sedgwick had the most explosive offense in Kansas before Friday.
The Cardinals were taken down Friday with a 27-13 loss to Ell-Saline. It is Sedgwick’s third loss to Ell-Saline in the past two seasons.
Standout senior quarterback Hooper Schroeder and coach Jeff Werner’s spread offense was held in check, and as they tried to mount a comeback late in the fourth quarter, Ell Saline’s Luke Parks snagged a game-sealing interception.
With the loss, Sedgwick falls to 3-1.
Honorable mention
- Campus gets back in the saddle with 22-7 win over Salina South after shutout loss to Maize.
- Wichita South tops Wichita East 21-20 with late comeback.
- Collegiate runs past Trinity Academy 56-20 in battle of Wichita private schools.
- Wellington continues hot start with 35-14 win over Augusta.
- Mulvane gets back on track with 39-29 road win at Buhler after loss at Collegiate.
- Garden Plain beats Remington 42-12 to remain undefeated.
- Wichita Southeast edges Liberal 14-8 for second straight win.
- Smoky Valley beats Hesston 28-0 and hands the Swathers their second straight shutout loss.
This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 3:19 AM.