Historic playoff wins and wild finishes: the 10 football games you need to know about

Here are the 10 games from around the Wichita area that you need to know about from the first round of the Kansas high school football playoffs.

1. East picks up first playoff victory since 1983

It’s been nearly four decades since the last time the East Blue Aces won a state playoff game. That changed on Friday when No. 7-ranked East made easy work of Campus in a 46-6 home victory in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs.

East has steadily improved under coach Ene Akpan, going from three wins in 2018 to five wins last season to a 6-1 record in Akpan’s third season. The Blue Aces will host No. 10-ranked Manhattan (6-3) in next Friday’s second-round matchup in the 6A playoffs.

On Friday, it was senior Daylan Jones who was the star of the game. He ran for a touchdown, threw a touchdown and caught a touchdown. East led 8-6 after the first quarter, then scored the final 38 points of the game for a blowout victory.

2. Heights keeps season alive thanks to dramatic kick return by Randle Jr.

Maybe Heights isn’t playing football next week if the kick off bounced out of bounds. Instead, Andover’s kick-off after taking a one-point lead in the fourth quarter on Thursday stayed in bounds and rested at the 1-yard line.

That’s where Heights sophomore John Randle Jr. picked the ball up and the top-50 Class of 2023 recruit went to work. Randle Jr. picked the ball up near the right sideline and immediately darted across the field, then made a devastating cut that left Andover’s coverage team grasping at air as Randle Jr. marched 99 yards for what would become the game-winning touchdown with 5:04 remaining in Heights’ 28-22 victory.

It was a deflating turn of events for Andover, which had just grabbed the momentum back after letting a 14-0 halftime lead go to waste. Instead of trying for the game-tying kick following a one-yard touchdown run by Ashton Ngo (109 rushing yards), Andover went for two — and the lead — and converted when Brady Strausz connected with Ngo.

But the lead would last for less than 10 seconds, thanks to Randle Jr.’s magic. He finished the game with 110 rushing yards, while Heights rallied with four touchdowns in the second half for the victory. Lafayette Washington and D.J. Dingle both scored rushing touchdowns, while Dingle found Adrian Patterson for a 45-yard touchdown pass.

Heights (5-2) won its third game in a row and advanced to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs, where it will get a rematch with No. 1-ranked Northwest (7-0) in a City League rivalry game.

3. Cheney rallies for last-minute score to preserve perfect season

Cheney’s undefeated season faced its most perilous moments on Friday, as the Cardinals had to rally from a fourth-quarter deficit and then score the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds left in a 40-34 victory over Halstead in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs.

After Halstead scored to tie the game at 34 with 2:48 remaining, Cheney quarterback Harrison Voth directed the No. 4-ranked Cardinals on a clutch, game-winning drive capped by an eight-yard pass to Dayton Higgs in the end zone for the game-winning score.

The tough game wasn’t a surprise to Cheney coach Shelby Wehrman, who knew Halstead’s 4-4 record entering the game was deceiving.

“We knew Halstead was a physical and very good football team,” Wehrman said. “Just because you’re 4-4 doesn’t mean anything. Look at what district they’re coming out of. We had to come out of that same one last year, so we’re familiar with how tough it is. Those Halstead boys are just tough to stop from running the football. They just keep coming at you.”

Cheney gained the first separation of the game when Voth connected with Luke Grace for back-to-back touchdown passes for a 20-14 halftime lead, then Garrett Jacobs scored on a six-yard run early in the third quarter to break open a 26-14 lead for Cheney.

But Halstead proved resilient, piecing together back-to-back touchdown drives for a 28-26 lead with 8:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. Voth and Grace hooked up for their third Cheney touchdown for the lead, but Halstead answered back with a touchdown of its own to tie the score up at 34 with 2:48 remaining.

“It ended up being more thrilling than I wanted it to be,” Wehrman said, laughing. “There’s no easy games anymore. You’ve got to love that kind of competition and play your hearts out. Looking at my guys at the end of the game, I could tell they played their hearts out. I haven’t seen them look that exhausted all season. It was definitely a blessing to come out on top.”

That set up Voth for the game-winning drive, which advanced Cheney to the second round of the 3A playoffs where it will face No. 6-ranked Collegiate (8-1).

4. Late stand helps Goddard top Eisenhower in rivalry

Goddard coach Tommy Beason tries to stay unbiased when it comes to his son, Reese, a senior linebacker for the Lions, but he had a proud-dad moment on Friday.

That’s when Reese Beason made arguably the biggest play of Friday’s Class 5A playoff game against cross-town rival Eisenhower, stopping the Tigers on an open-field tackle to prevent the game-tying two-point conversion. In the end, Goddard held on for a 28-26 victory to advance to the second round of the 5A playoffs to face No. 8-ranked Kapaun Mt. Carmel next Friday.

“I thought for sure when Eisenhower reversed the field (on the two-point conversion), they were going to tie it up,” Beason said. “But my kid made the game-saving tackle. That was huge for us.”

It didn’t look as if Goddard would need late-game theatrics to pull out the victory when quarterback Kyler Semrad scrambled in for a 22-yard rushing touchdown for a 21-7 lead in the third quarter. After Eisenhower scored, Goddard answered right back with another Semrad rushing score for a 28-14 lead going into the fourth quarter.

But Eisenhower’s defense was able to successfully shut down Semrad’s favorite target, Jake Shope, and the Tigers scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Eisenhower actually missed the extra-point attempt on its first touchdown, which forced it to go for two on the second touchdown — the one where Reese Beason made the tackle.

While Shope was shut down on offense, he still found a way to help his team win by coming up with the game-sealing interception on defense.

“We knew Eisenhower was going to be throwing bombs, so we put Jake in and he’s never played defense for us,” Beason said. “He only had one catch on offense all night, but then the most important play he made for us all night was him playing defense. That was pretty exciting to watch a senior finish out his career with a big play like that against his rival.”

Beason said while the rivalry is fierce on the field, the two programs are friendly away from football.

“Me and (Eisenhower coach Darrin) Fisher, we actually bowled together this summer,” Beason said. “So the two staffs are still friends. I really enjoy playing them, but I knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re much better than what their record says. You throw in the rivalry game and I knew it was going to be a tough one. I’m proud of how our kids battled.”

5. Maize South earns road win for another shot at Maize

One of the best games of the season will be getting a chapter two, courtesy of Maize South’s impressive 33-12 win at Hays on Thursday.

That will set up a rematch between bitter rivals No. 6-ranked Maize (8-1) and No. 10-ranked Maize South (5-3) in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs next Friday. Maize won the regular-season matchup, 42-38, in the final minute on Oct. 9.

In order to earn a shot at redemption against Maize, the Mavericks first had to take care of business on a long road trip against a talented Hays team that it nearly beat Maize South if not for a failed two-point conversion in a 21-20 game just two weeks ago. The second meeting was much less stressful for Maize South.

The Mavericks led 23-0 at halftime and that was stretched to 30-0 midway through the third quarter, thanks to a pair of touchdown receptions by senior receiver Jake Johnson and a rushing score from Evan Cantu.

Maize South is looking for its first win in the rivalry game with Maize since 2015, as the Eagles have won the last three games with two coming in the playoffs to end Maize South’s season in 2019 and 2018.

6. No. 15 seed Newton goes down swinging against Hutchinson

Newton wasn’t the typical No. 15 seed this season, armed with one of the most potent offenses in Class 5A despite its two-win record.

The Railers once again topped 40 points on Friday — for the third straight week and fourth time this season — but it wasn’t enough in a 46-41 loss at No. 5-ranked Hutchinson (8-1).

Sadly for Newton, losing shootouts to state-ranked competition was the theme for this season. The six teams that Newton lost to this season all won their first-round playoff games and have a combined record of 40-9. Newton lost five of those games by 12 points or less.

“I think our kids knew that we were a pretty good team, despite our record,” Newton coach Chris Jaax said. “We played a lot of teams close that we’ve never played close before. We were right there in a lot of those games, we just came up short.”

That was again the case on Friday, as Newton led 17-14 in the final minute of the first half only to fumble and watch Hutchinson return it for a score for a 21-17 lead. The Railers even held a fourth-quarter lead on the road at Hutchinson, the No. 2 seed in the 5A West playoffs, a 35-34 advantage with 10:53 remaining. But Hutchinson scored back-to-back touchdowns in less than a minute to push forward to the victory.

Newton’s offense tallied nearly 500 yards of total offense, as Ben Schmidt threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns and Kenyon Forest rushed for 115 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Peyton Maxwell (10 catches, 141 yards) and Xzavion Martin (six catches, 158 yards) combined for 16 catches and 299 yards and three touchdowns between them.

Trailing 46-41 in the final minute, Newton’s defense nearly forced a fourth-down stop that would have given the offense one final chance to win the game. Hutchinson converted by “a centimeter,” according to Jaax.

“The ref stared at the chain for like three straight seconds because he couldn’t figure it out,” Jaax said. “It came down to a centimeter. I’m so proud of our kids though. They showed so much heart this season.”

Meanwhile, the win sets up a highly-anticipated showdown next Friday when No. 5-ranked Hutchinson (8-1) hosts No. 3-ranked Bishop Carroll (6-2) in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

7. Kapaun delivers record-setting performance in Schartz’s first playoff game

Kapaun Mt. Carmel has had nine state championship football teams in its history, but it’s never been able to accomplish what the Crusaders did Friday in their 74-0 victory over Salina South in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.

It set the record for most points scored in a game for Kapaun, as well as the biggest win in school history. Not a bad opener for first-year coach Weston Schartz, as the No. 8-ranked Crusaders improved to 7-1 and will host Goddard (7-2) in a 5A second-round game next Friday.

The rout was on from the opening minutes, as Cale Curtis returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown in the first 90 seconds of the game. From there, Kapaun’s ground-control offense went to work. The Crusaders pounded their way for 351 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, courtesy of Andrew Gimino (128 yards, touchdown), Curtis (57 yards, three touchdowns), Austin Ruda (53 yards, touchdown) and Kai Kunz (51 yards, touchdown).

Kapaun will look to advance to its first quarterfinals playoff game since the 2013 Crusaders reached the 5A semifinals.

8. Rose Hill wins first playoff game in nine years

Since winning the state championship in 2011, Rose Hill has been unable to find playoff success. That changed on Friday when the Rockets defeated Mulvane, 30-13, to advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs where it will host Buhler next Friday.

The program has made improvements in coach Lee Weber’s third season. After winning one game his first season, Weber led Rose Hill to three wins last season and the Rockers improved to 6-3 this season with Friday’s win. It is also the first winning season at Rose Hill since 2011.

Rose Hill has been led this season by senior quarterback Bryson Evans, who has thrown for more than 1,600 yards with 17 touchdowns. Senior Spencer Nolan has rushed for more than 900 yards with 17 touchdowns on the season, while senior receiver Bryson Bischler has nearly 700 receiving yards and eight touchdown.

“When I took over, I knew those sophomore kids were going to be pretty good,” Weber said. “I knew it would take a few years to turn it around and the kids have bought in and done a really good job. Guys have stepped up and a lot of them have had really big years their senior years.”

Weber said the turning point of the season actually came when Rose Hill lost its third straight game to open the season, a 34-31 overtime loss at Collegiate. While it put Rose Hill at 0-3 on the season, the game showed Rose Hill how close it is to beating a state-ranked opponent. The Rockets led by 14 points in the game and nearly won the game in overtime with a touchdown.

Rose Hill has rattled off six straight victories since the Collegiate loss.

“We saw flashes of what we could be,” Weber said. “I think the kids got a taste of it and then they decided we weren’t going to be satisfied with just a taste. We knew we were close, so we just kept battling and the kids have just inched closer and closer ever since.”

In order to keep the season going, Rose Hill will have to do something it hasn’t been able to do since 2006 — beat Butler.

9. Haven wins first playoff game since 1976

The 44-year drought is over, thanks to a 42-21 victory at Kingman in a battle between a pair of teams ranked in the top-10 battling in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.

The turnaround under co-head coaches Drew Thalman and Thomas Cooprider has been swift. Haven was 10-44 in the six years before they took over, but Thalman and Cooprider led Haven to a 4-5 record last season and improved to 7-2 on Friday with a win over No. 10 Kingman (6-3).

No. 9 Haven will travel to No. 6 Hutch Trinity (8-1) in the second round in a rematch of a game played three weeks ago when the Wildcats handed Trinity its only loss of the season with a 20-18 victory.

The first half on Friday was a back-and-forth affair, as the teams traded three touchdowns each and Haven took a 22-21 lead into halftime. After a wild first half, Haven took control in the second half and pitched a shutout. Quarterback Darby Roper scored three of his four rushing touchdowns in the second half to push Haven to victory.

Haven’s Nathan Schmidt carried the ball 43 times for a game-high 237 rushing yards and a score, while Roper finished with 77 rushing yards and 126 passing yards on 9 of 12 throwing with a touchdown. Kingman was led by its passing attack from Nolan Freund, who threw for 201 yards, and wide receiver Mason Munz, who hauled in 13 catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns.

10. Clearwater knocks off No. 7-ranked Holcomb in dominant 3A win

Clearwater played its best game of the season to register a 31-15 victory over No. 7-ranked Holcomb on the road in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Holcomb entered the game with a 7-1 record, its only loss a last-minute, 31-28 defeat to Cheney. But Clearwater handled Holcomb from start to finish, as the Indians led 25-0 on the road going into the fourth quarter.

The highlight of the game came when Clearwater star quarterback Tanner Cash intercepted a pass on defense and returned it the length of the field for a touchdown.

The victory vaults Clearwater (7-2) into the second round of the 3A playoffs, where it will get a rematch with No. 1-ranked Andale (9-0), the defending state champions, next Friday. Andale won, 40-21, the regular-season meeting on Oct. 16, although that has proven to be Andale’s closest game of the season to date

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

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Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.