The 10 high school football wins and stats you need to know from Friday’s games
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Varsity Kansas has you covered with a full list of scores from Kansas high school football Week 2 games on Friday.
Need a quick run-down of the important wins and performances from Friday’s games? Varsity Kansas has picked 10 games and statistical outputs that fans in the Wichita area need to know about.
1. Kapaun completes come-from-behind win to top East
It came down to the final minutes of a City League tilt between two title contenders and it was Kapaun who escaped with a 29-22 victory. The Crusaders trailed 22-14 entering the fourth quarter, but netted two touchdowns in the final quarter, including the go-ahead score on an athletic grab by Will Thengvall for a 18-yard touchdown with 2:01 remaining, to secure the come-from-behind win. Kapaun quarterback Dylan Hamilton threw touchdowns to Henry Thengvall, Will Thengvall and Isaac Schmitz, while Omari Elias and Will Doolittle combined for 165 rushing yards. East was led by sophomore quarterback DaeOnte’ Mitchell, who threw for 174 yards and rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown. The win moves Kapaun to 2-0 on the season and sets up an even bigger City League showdown next week against Northwest.
2. Evan Cantu up to 450 rushing yards through two games for Maize South
The senior running back has been a true workhorse for the Maize South offense, as Cantu rushed 18 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns in the Mavericks’ 51-14 victory over Salina South. In Maize South’s dominant 2-0 start, Cantu has 42 attempts for 450 rushing yards and four scores.
3. Northwest gets back on track with City League win over Heights
There was no hangover from an opening-week loss to Bishop Carroll for Northwest, which rolled to a 62-40 victory over Heights in an important City League showdown. The Grizzlies had their full arsenal going on Friday with quarterback Geremiah Moore and running backs L.J. Phillips and Cencere Thompson having big days to lead Northwest to a bounce-back victory.
4. Derby’s Dylan Edwards nearly tops 300 yards in 2021 debut
After a summer where he exploded on the recruiting scene and racked up multiple Division I offers, Edwards had a big start to his junior campaign in Derby’s 50-17 win over Newton. The junior running back finished with 291 rushing yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns, including a 63-yard score in the final seconds of the first half on a fake end-around play that saw Edwards out-run the entire Newton defense down the sideline. The defending state champions had the first week off, but looked like they hadn’t missed a step in their first game of the season.
5. Augusta picks up road win in rivalry game with El Dorado
The Butler County rivalry swung back in favor of Augusta after El Dorado claimed last year’s game with the Wildcats prevailing this year in a 21-14 victory. Augusta sophomore quarterback Gavin Kiser ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score to lead the Orioles to a 2-0 start, spoiling a chance for El Dorado to begin the season 2-0 for the first time in more than two decades.
6. Late pick-six gives Hillsboro first win over Hesston since 2012
Hesston was driving for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes. Instead, Hillsboro senior defensive back Frank Wichert came up with an interception and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown to seal Hillsboro’s 25-14 victory over Hesston — to snap an eight-game losing streak in the Central Kansas League rivalry. Hillsboro is off to its first 2-0 start since its 10-1 season in 2012. Wichert also caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Potucek, while Jamari Harris and Potucek added scores on the ground for Hillsboro and Garrett Helmer and Tristan Rathbone led the defense.
7. Andover’s defense pitches shutout against last year’s 4A finalist
After limiting Maize quarterback Avery Johnson in Week 1, Andover’s defense scored a touchdown and finished with a shutout in a 41-0 victory at Arkansas City against an offense with many of the same players that played in the Class 4A state championship game last season. An interception returned for a touchdown started the scoring for Andover, which set the tone for a dominant performance. Senior running back Max Middleton took 26 carries for 197 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Brady Strausz also connected with tight end Matthew Rudy for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
8. Chaparral equals 2020 win total in first two games of 2021
The Roadrunners are off to a 2-0 start under first-year coach J.C. Zahradnik following a 22-14 win over Hutchinson Trinity. Jackson Swartz caught five balls for 125 yards and a touchdown from quarterback Wyatt Drouhard, while tailback Austin Clark rushed for 118 yards and a score and senior linebacker Dalton Blair finished with 3.5 tackles for a loss to lead Chaparral to the win. With a pair of winless teams coming up on the schedule, Chaparral is poised to push for its first winning season since 2018.
9. Caldwell’s Keiondre Smith stuffs the stat sheet
The junior quarterback is one of the most dynamic players in 8-man football and he showed why in Caldwell’s 72-26 win over South Haven to improve to 2-0 this season. Smith scored four touchdowns, including a 28-yard fumble recovery for a score, in the first quarter alone and finished with 130 passing yards and two scores on five completions, 263 rushing yards on 22 attempts and five more touchdowns. And that was just on offense. On defense, Smith added two interceptions and a forced fumble on top of his fumble return for a touchdown. After losing in the 8-man Div. II quarterfinals the last two seasons, Smith has No. 7 Caldwell believing this could be the year it breaks through.
On the topic of 8-man football, two of the best Division I teams in Kansas battled with No. 2 Little River hanging on for a 14-6 victory over No. 7 Clifton-Clyde. The defending state champions flexed their strength on defense, led by Grant Stephens, Braxton Lafferty, Kyle Bruce and Kaden Shafer, as they improved to 2-0 this season.
10. Medicine Lodge off to 2-0 start for first time since 2008
Medicine Lodge came out on top of an overtime thriller, a 48-42 road victory over Pratt Skyline, to improve to 2-0 for the first time in more than a decade in coach Jacob Bjostad’s second season at the helm. Medicine Lodge senior Theron Wedel made a highlight-reel interception in his own end zone near the end of regulation to force overtime, then the Indians scored overtime’s lone touchdown for the win.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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