10 Takeaways from a fully loaded Week 5 slate across the Wichita area

From historic stats to matchups of undefeated teams, Friday had it all.

Here are 10 takeaways from Week 5 of the high school football season across the Wichita area:

1. ‘Unbeatable’

Wichita Northwest trailed Kapaun for a little over a minute.

The Grizzlies fumbled the opening kickoff. Kapaun scored shortly after, and Northwest’s Breece Hall scored one of his five touchdowns to answer. That was the first time Northwest has trailed since Week 1 at Bishop Carroll.

The Grizzlies didn’t trail again in their 55-26 win over the previously undefeated Crusaders on Friday.

Northwest’s offense is improving every week, and coach Steve Martin said with a transfer quarterback in Reagan Jones, the offense is only scratching the surface.

“It’s game 5 in this offense for him,” he said. “Every day is a learning thing. Every Sunday after my coaches meeting, he comes over to my house and watches film with me. A 16- or 17-year-old kid wants to come over and hang out with his head football coach is pretty impressive.”

Penalties helped propel Kapaun’s offense to the end zone as often as it reached it, but Northwest was in control throughout. And that gave Hall some fighting words for the rest of Kansas.

“It all just has to do with consistency and work ethic,” Hall said. “I think if we do all of those things, we’re unbeatable.”

2. And still

Maize is the only defense in Kansas that hasn’t allowed a point in 2018.

The Eagles extended their scoreless streak to 20 quarters Friday in their 27-2 win over Goddard on Friday. The Lions’ points came on a safety.

Entering Friday, Maize and Scott City were the only two defenses left that hadn’t allowed a point. Russell lost 56-7 to Scott City but ended the Beavers’ streak.

Maize coach Gary Guzman said he was proud of his defensive effort against a team that reached the 5A semifinals last season. He said his guys “freaked out a little bit” in the first half, so halftime was a bit of a turning point mentally.

“I told them to be patient,” he said. “I said have fun and go win the game.”

3. Great bend don’t break

It was a trap game, and Carroll almost fell in.

The Golden Eagles traveled to Great Bend and came out with a 36-33 win Friday. They lost their starting quarterback Cade Becker on the first drive of the game to a shoulder injury, but sophomore Aiden Niedens came in and didn’t just hold it together.

He helped win the game.

“He was making plays with his feet, extending plays and making good throws,” Carroll coach Dusty Trail said.

Trail said Becker is questionable for Carroll’s Week 6 game at Kapaun.

Great Bend had its way with the Carroll defense through three quarters. Late-game adjustments made the difference after defensive end Brady Bockover came in and scored his first touchdown with about two minutes left to go ahead after trailing 33-21.

4. Plaine good

For the second straight week, Belle Plaine was the epicenter of high school football theatrics.

After winning with 10 seconds last week against Cherryvale, the Dragons took Neodesha to double overtime before winning again 33-27.

Belle Plaine got the ball to start the first overtime but turned it over on downs. Neodesha needed a point to win but was stopped at the 4 yard-line. A Dragon touchdown and defensive stop won it in the second overtime.

Coming off a six-touchdown performance last week, senior quarterback Bo Gooch was on fire again. He accounted for four scores in the win.

5. High Pfeifer

Junior receiver Braden Pfeifer scored his first high school touchdown Friday.

He did it with 39 seconds to go in Maize South’s 21-20 road win over Andover Central. The Mavericks got the ball with about 1:10 to play after a crucial blocked field goal attempt. Two plays and two Pfeifer catches later, they scored.

Even better: Pfeifer is the coach’s son.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” Maize South coach Brent Pfeifer said. “He ended the with two catches for 80-something yards. ... It was a pretty proud dad moment.”

The win is huge for the Mavericks, who have now won two straight after starting 0-3. Pfeifer said his group is emotional, and a victory like Friday’s will go a long way in their confidence.

“Sometimes we make a few mistakes and you can see our heads drop,” Pfeifer said. “But tonight was the first night where we had some adversity, and we stepped up to it.”

6. Valley of life

AVCTL II is up for grabs, and Valley Center is in the thick of it.

The Hornets earned a hard-fought 13-10 win over Andover - the team that ended their season last year - and moved to 2-1 in league play.

Andover snagged an interception in its own red zone and ran it to the other side of the field. Valley Center’s Larry Wilson ran the play down after trailing it 15 yards. Hornets coach Scott L’Ecuyer said it was an amazing effort.

“He was on his way for a pick six,” he said. “The kid’s a player. It was just a man on a purpose.”

The Valley Center defense held Andover out of the end zone and the Trojans missed a potential game-tying field goal.

After Goddard’s 27-2 loss to Maize, the Lions are clearly beatable. And Valley Center should smell blood in the water ahead of its Week 6 home game against Goddard - the league-leaders at 3-0.

Hornets coach Scott L’Ecuyer said Friday’s win was important in keeping pace in the league.

7. League championship set?

Collegiate travels to Andale in Week 6 in what could turn out to be the AVCTL IV championship game.

Collegiate came from behind for a 28-7 win over Cheney on Friday, and Andale rolled Trinity Academy 56-0 for its third straight shutout.

The Spartans started their comeback with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Fisher to Paxton Meares. The Cheney defensive back tipiped it, but Meares looked it in. Soon after, Fisher forced a fumble, and sophomore Michael Fair scooped and scored.

Andale won the league last season on its way to a Class 4A-Division I title game appearance. But Collegiate came third in AVCTL IV to Mulvane. The Spartans took care of the Wildcats earlier this season.

Collegiate coach Mike Gehrer said he is looking forward to the opportunity.

”The guys at Andale are just cranking,” he said. “They do what they do. Not a lot of surprise. They’re going to run the ball right at you and be physical. ... But our kids are going to be up for it. This is why you do it.”

8. Biting down on a title

The path looks clear.

McPherson appears to be on a carpet ride to the AVCTL III title after disposing of Buhler with a 46-7 win Friday. The Bullpups are undefeated and are now a game up on the Crusaders and Winfield in league play.

McPherson’s last three opponents are Augusta, Rose Hill and Circle - three teams that have two wins combined.

If the Pups win out, they will likely be the No. 1 seed in 4A entering the postseason.

9. West’s world

West did what Heights could not.

The Pioneers traveled to Dodge City and came out with a 27-14 win Friday. This is West’s first win at Dodge since before 2004.

West capped the win on a fumbled punt that gave the ball back to the Pioneers deep in the Red Demons’ territory. A few plays later, senior running back Tre Vaunte’ Hunt was celebrating in the end zone with 3:19 to play.

Senior quarterback Zion Parks had a monster game with a pair of touchdowns and a 71-yard sprint that was called out at the 1 yard-line.

10. No Coffey

Coffeyville had to travel over two hours to Mulvane to come up a touchdown short.

The Wildcats held off the Southeast Kansas foes 28-20 on Friday for their second straight win, but it wasn’t pretty. Mulvane, coming off what coach Daniel Myears called the FILL IN, struggled to put Coffeyville away.

Golden Tornado senior quarterback Jaylen Logan caused problems all night, and finally Myears decided to use a pair of linebackers to spy Logan.

“He was not a very big fart either,” he said. “When we went through the line, I was thinking, ‘Man, this kid is tiny,’ but he kept a lot of plays alive with his feet and was hard to tackle.”

Coffeyville drove the ball down to the Mulvane 1 yard-line late in the fourth quarter. The Nados would have needed a two-point conversion, but an illegal formation penalty kept them out of the end zone.

With the win, Mulvane moves to 3-2 and stays third in AVCTL IV.

Honorable Mention

• Wichita East coach Ene Akpan earns his first win with a 28-12 victory over North.
• Garden Plain is no longer undefeated after losing 20-7 to Hutchinson-Trinity Academy.
• Salina Central defends home field with 48-17 win over Campus. Mustangs are 4-1 for the first time since 2011.
• Newton earns its first win since Week 1 with a 42-35 victory over Hutchinson.
• Clearwater wins back-to-back games for the first time since 2015 with a 49-12 victory at Haven.
• Pratt earns third straight shutout with 42-0 win at Kingman.
• Wellington wins its third straight with a 38-7 victory at Rose Hill.
• Eisenhower earns much-needed 49-29 win at Arkansas City.
• Wichita Heights wins second straight with 49-14 victory over Southeast.
• After two straight shutout losses, Hesston gets back on track with 38-22 win over Halstead.
• Sedgwick offense explodes again after loss with 51-6 win at Marion.

This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 3:05 AM.