Statements made: The five high school football games from Friday you need to know
Here are the five high school football games that mattered the most in the Varsity Kansas coverage area on Friday:
Andale blows out Collegiate in battle of 3A unbeatens
Here’s something to consider following Andale’s 43-14 victory at Collegiate:
- Andale has now won 20 straight games, the longest current winning streak in Kansas. Dating back to 2017, Andale is 43-2.
- In its last 20 games, Andale has outscored opponents 1,021 to 166. That’s an average margin of victory of 42.8 points.
- Andale has won all but one of its last 20 games by at least 19 points.
As the Class 3A playoffs are set to begin next week, Andale (7-0) once again is the favorite to win its second straight championship.
“It’s become the standard and expectation around here, which is fun,” Andale coach Dylan Schmidt said after the Indians dismantled Collegiate (7-1) by 29 points.
“The kids on this team know what it takes because they were apart of it last year. It helps when you have those veterans.”
On Friday, Andale was leading 14-0 late in the second quarter when the game broke open. With under two minutes remaining and near midfield, Collegiate gambled by trying to drive against the wind to score points before halftime. The plan backfired, as a deep pass was caught up in the wind and Andale’s Noah Meyer came up with the interception and returned it deep into Collegiate territory.
A few plays later, Meyer scored a touchdown and Andale scored a two-point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff, Collegiate fumbled and Andale scooped and scored and then tacked on another two-point conversion for a 16-point barrage in the final minute to extend its halftime lead to 30-0.
“That’s been a staple of our team’s success is good team defense and guys flying to the ball,” Schmidt said. “The biggest thing we always stress is taking the ball away. If you can win the turnover battle in those big games, that makes a huge difference.”
Andale (7-0) will host Larned (3-5) next Friday in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs, while Collegiate (7-1) will host Pratt (2-3).
In two straight weeks, Bishop Carroll blows out Miege, Aquinas
Maybe no team in the state has more impressive performances the last two weeks than Bishop Carroll, which won 56-35 at Bishop Miege last week and then knocked off St. Thomas Aquinas, 35-14, on Friday.
Since a 3-2 start against one of the toughest schedules in the state, Carroll has since knocked off a six-time defending state champion and one of Class 5A’s top teams.
“We’re gaining confidence in what we’re doing and that’s showing on the field,” Carroll coach Dusty Trail said. “That’s always exciting as a coach when you see that. Hopefully that continues and we can keep it going moving forward.”
The game was tied at 7 at the end of the first quarter, but it was all Carroll after that.
Carroll quarterback Aiden Niedens scored three rushing touchdowns in the second quarter alone and finished with 71 yards on the ground to push Carroll to a 35-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Running back Hunter Trail finished with 139 rushing yards on 17 carries, as Carroll piled up 290 yards on the ground and averaged 8.1 yards per carry.
“My philosophy has always been you’ve got to be able to run the football,” Dusty Trail said. “We’re just very consistent right now in how we’re running the ball and how we’re throwing the ball. That makes it tough for people to defend us.”
Despite a 5-2 record and being ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, Carroll will be the No. 7 seed in the West bracket and host Valley Center (5-3) in next Friday’s opening round.
Hutchinson ends Maize’s perfect season, wins league title in final minute
Thanks to an onside-kick recovery and a touchdown with seven seconds remaining, Hutchinson rallied from behind to knock off Maize, 32-28, to win its first AV-CTL Div. I championship since 2012.
Maize looked to be in control of maintaining its perfect season early in the fourth quarter when it scored two touchdowns in less than one minute to build a 28-20 lead. Avery Johnson converted a fourth-down run for a 4-yard score, then Hutchinson fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Maize’s Josh Sanders scored less than a minute later for a 28-20 lead with 7:48 remaining.
Hutchinson responded with a touchdown drive of its own, as Jalen Barlow scored from 21 yards out. But the two-point conversion failed and that left Hutchinson trailing 28-26 with 3:50 remaining.
That’s when Hutchinson lined up for what looked to be a normal kickoff. But Alejandro Martinez caught Maize off guard when he sent the ball skidding to the right side and Hutchinson easily recovered.
Hutchinson won the game when 6-foot-7 quarterback Myles Thompson plunged into the end zone from a yard out for the 32-28 lead with 7 seconds remaining.
Hutchinson ran for 375 yards with Alec McCuan (139 yards) and Zach Hogan (121) leading the way, while Sanders added 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
After back-to-back 2-7 seasons in his first two years in Hutchinson, coach Mike Vernon has restored the Salthawks to among the state’s best again this season. Hutchinson (7-1) is the No. 2 seed in the Class 5A playoffs and will host Newton (2-6), while Maize (7-1) is the No. 3 seed and will host Liberal (2-5).
Derby bounces back with demolition of Maize South
Derby hasn’t lost three regular-season games since 2011 and it made sure not to end that streak with a 48-10 trouncing of Maize South in Derby’s first home game of the season.
Following a one-point loss at Maize, 36-35, that dropped Derby to 3-2 on the season, the Panthers responded with one of their finest performances of the season to beat a good Maize South (4-3) team by 38 points.
Derby dominated on the ground, as running back Dylan Edwards ran for 237 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Lem Wash added 187 yards and another three touchdowns. The Panthers led 27-0 at halftime and led 48-3 entering the fourth quarter, as they handed Maize South its worst loss since 2011.
Derby (4-2) earned the No. 4 seed in the Class 6A West bracket and will host Wichita Southeast (1-5) on Friday, while Maize South dropped all the way to the No. 11 seed in the Class 5A West bracket despite a winning record. The Mavericks will travel to Hays (5-2) on Thursday in the first round in a rematch from two weeks ago when Maize South won 21-20.
Conway Springs survives shootout to knock off unbeaten Sedgwick
In a battle of two of the top teams in Class 1A, Conway Springs had to survive some nervous final moments to hand Sedgwick its first loss of the season in a 41-35 victory.
Conway Springs was in control, up 35-14 heading into the fourth quarter, but soon learned that no lead is ever safe with Sedgwick’s explosive offense. Sedgwick scored its last touchdown to pull within 41-35 with 4:48 remaining, but never touched the ball again as Conway Springs was able to successfully run out the clock for the road win.
“Our guys grew up a lot tonight because we played a good football team,” Conway Springs coach Matt Biehler said. “We were a little concerned with our conditioning because (the starters) hadn’t played a full game since Week 1. But we had some horses there at the end to put it away.”
The main horse was senior running back Jonathan Wright, who piled up 295 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 20 carries. Conway Springs rushed for 531 yards with quarterback Heath Hilger (126 yards, two touchdowns) and running back Cole Schulte (107 yards, one touchdown) also eclipsing 100 yards.
“It was impressive watching (Wright’s) second effort,” Biehler said. “He didn’t stop on the first hit. He kept his legs driving and powered through some runs and turned short gains into big ones. He had himself a big night. He was just not going to be brought down by one tackle. They had to gang tackle him to bring him down.”
Sedgwick did make things interesting in the fourth quarter, digging into its bag of tricks to keep the ball moving against Conway Springs.
Quarterback Lance Hoffsommer combined for 283 yards and four touchdowns, including all three in the fourth quarter for Sedgwick. After running for a score, Hoffsommer put the pressure on Conway Springs when he found Henry Burns for a 45-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 41-35 with 4:48 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But Sedgwick could not stop Wright and Conway Springs on the ground.
With the win, Conway Springs (7-1) won the Class 1A, District 4 title and will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs. Sedgwick (7-1) will host Ellinwood (0-8) in the first round next Friday.
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 1:13 PM.
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