10 Takeaways: Upsets and resignation headline first round of playoffs

Week 9 brought more drama than expected.

From a No. 13 seed winning its first playoff game in more than a decade to a coach resigning after six seasons in the Wichita area, here are 10 takeaways from the first round of the 2018 Kansas high school football playoffs:

‘Eisenhower through and through’

After Eisenhower’s season ended with a loss to Salina Central on Friday night, Marc Marinelli looked at his players and told them he loved them.

Marinelli resigned as the Tigers’ football coach after their 20-7 loss in the first round of the 2018 Kansas Class 5A playoffs. He said it was a decision that has been in the works for several weeks.

“I felt like I had taken the program as far as I could,” Marinellis said. “I’m disapppointed in my performance as a head coach. I feel like this is the best thing for Eisenhower football.”

The Tigers finished the 2018 season 3-6, and Marinelli finished his six years as coach with a 22-38 record. He took Eisenhower to two regional championships, one sectional title and a semifinal appearance in 2015.

“It was tough,” he said. “My kids go to school there, my wife teaches there. I’m Eisenhower through and through.”

Marinelli said he started having conversations with his administration and fellow coaches after the Tigers’ 49-29 win at Arkansas City in Week 4. Eisenhower was 2-3, but Marinelli said he didn’t like how he felt after that win.

Marinelli said going to practice was his favorite part of every day, whether the Tigers were winning or losing. The players’ positive attitudes always shined through, he said.

Being a head coach immediately isn’t necessarily in the works, Marinelli said. He would like to spend more time with his four children and refine his coaching acumen before making another run at it, he said.

Ark City upsets No. 4 seed

It was the upset of Kansas.

Arkansas City, No. 13 seed in Class 4A West, beat No. 4 Mulvane 29-26 on Friday. No higher seed in the state’s top three classes is moving on to the regional round.

With three minutes left, Arkansas City punched in the go-ahead score, and the Bulldogs’ defense held.

Mulvane starting sophomore quarterback Tab Creekmore suffered a compound fracture to his leg on the first play of scrimmage, and despite the Wildcats’ gritty effort, they couldn’t top Ark City.

The Bulldogs will go on to play No. 5 Coffeyville (5-4) on the road in the regional round.

Bishop Carroll escapes

It wasn’t pretty at times, but Carroll is on to the 5A regionals.

The No. 4 Golden Eagles beat No. 13 Newton 40-34 on Friday. It was Carroll’s second-tightest margin of victory in the past two seasons.

Carroll was up 27-7 with 4:10 to go in the third quarter, but the Railers mounted a comeback as Newton senior quarterback Colton Davis threw for four scores after that point.

With 4:39 left, Carroll sophomore quarterback Aiden Niedens fired a deep ball to senior receiver Gunner Lynch that went for 42. Seconds later, Niedens broke a 41-yard touchdown run. Carroll led 40-27, and Newton couldn’t snag another late score.

With the win, Carroll moves on to the 5A regionals against No. 5 Salina Central.

Rivalry set in regional

Maize-Maize South is set, but it was close.

The No. 7 Mavericks beat No. 10 Andover 21-17 after a defensive stop with about three minutes to play. Coach Brent Pfeifer said his group didn’t play like it had been coming into the postseason.

“We weren’t very good tonight,” he said. “We’re fortunate enough to get a win. We made a lot of mistakes but maybe not as many.”

The win was a bit of redemption after losing to the Trojans 20-3 in Week 2. Now the Mavericks get No. 2 Maize in what should turn out to be one of the more electric regional games.

Maize beat No. 15 Liberal 56-15 on Friday. The Eagles will be looking for their first win in school history against their crosstown rival.

A grain of salt

Hutchinson was up 28-6 on Topeka.

The No. 13 Salthawks lost the lead and lost the game 45-43 to the No. 4 Trojans. Topeka is expected to be one of the contenders for the Class 6A state championship.

Hutchinson opened the game with a 1-yard score and followed it with an onside kick recovery and another touchdown.

In the second half, Topeka came out with a different fire, scored quickly and got a defensive stop on fourth down that led to a second touchdown.

After a lot of back-and-forth in the rest of the third and fourth quarter, Topeka kicked a game-winning field goal and earned its 500th win in school history.

The Trojans will face rival Washburn Rural in the 6A regionals.

Kapaun goes role reversal

Kapaun is a defensive team but not Friday.

The No. 6 Crusaders got into a track meet with Hays, finishing with a 48-28 win to advance to the 5A regional against No. 3 Great Bend.

Coach Dan Adelhardt said it was a wild game.

“It was just having all kinds of ebbs and flows, turnovers, big plays, extended drives, a lot of everything, tipped balls, just craziness at the end,” he said.

Kapaun finished the win off after senior offensive lineman Patrick Altenor recovered a fumble and ran in from 20 yards out.

“He told me that was the highlight of his life,” Adelhardt said.

Adelhardt said his group is starting to click in several facets, and the Crusaders are motivated to have reached the regional round.

“I don’t think they’re ready to be done playing football,” he said. “I would have taken a 1-point win. We’re fortunate to survive and move on.”

Hesston upsets on the road

Hesston proved to be one of the toughest first round underdogs in Kansas on Friday.

The Swathers traveled to Collegiate and handed the Spartans a 42-28 loss to advance to the 3A regional round against undefeated Smoky Valley.

Hesston’s offense was explosive Friday, answering every time the Collegiate gave it reason to doubt.

The Swathers came in with the worse record and lower seed in their final district standings. Coach Tyson Bauerle said that’s OK.

“The adversity that we faced this year, we had a lot of injuries at the beginning, we’ve been underdogs since the beginning, that’s just how we felt,” Bauerle said. “It’s nothing new.”

‘I like our chances’

Coming into Friday, Halstead had played two undefeated teams and lost by 22 points combined.

Andale changed that. The Indians beat the Dragons 35-0 in a defensive showcase that proved Andale is on another level in Class 3A.

Coming in, the Indians had historically struggled in the postseason when moving down to 3A, but coach Dylan Schmidt said he saw an impressive focus and energy Friday.

“That’s the most physical game we’ve played all year; very impressed with our kids,” he said. “If we can play with that same intensity and focus every week, I like our chances.”

Andale moves on to face Chapman (7-2) on Friday.

One for the ‘ville

Campus won its first home playoff game Friday.

The Colts beat Wichita South 57-7 in what coach Greg Slade called a special moment for the Haysville community.

“The support our administration has given us, the players’ time and effort, the coaching staff, the teachers, it has been amazing, and this is for all of them,” he said.

The game was a bit of a reunion for Campus senior quarterback Evan Kruse, who transferred out of South heading into the 2018 season after starting for two years for the Titans. Slade said he tried to keep Kruse’s emotions in check.

“I told him to treat it like any other game, to not get too high or too low,” Slade said.

Falcons fall

Heights had almost none of the momentum coming in.

Emporia beat the Falcons 35-17 in the first round of the 5A playoffs. Heights’ last road win outside of Wichita came Sept. 16, 2016, at Dodge City.

Heights hung in with the Spartans through halftime but struggled to keep up and ended the 2018 season 4-5 with three straight losses.

Emporia moves on to face No. 1 Wichita Northwest in the 5A regionals.

To see the full playoff brackets for Classes 6A, 5A and 4A, click here.

This story was originally published October 27, 2018 at 8:58 AM.