The 10 high school football wins and stats you need to know from Friday’s games
Varsity Kansas has you covered with a full list of scores from Kansas high school football Week 4 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. Collegiate’s fourth-quarter comeback tops Hesston, moves to 4-0
Staring down its first deficit of the season entering the fourth quarter of Friday’s game against Hesston, Wichita Collegiate showed why it is considered a Class 3A championship contender.
The Spartans reeled off two straight touchdown drives of 60-plus yards to finish off a 31-21 victory over Hesston to remain undefeated and pick up a vital win in the first week of District 7 play.
Junior running back Carson Phelps punched in both of the fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a 43-yard scoring run that all but sealed the victory with two minutes remaining.
Collegiate finished the game with a pair of 100-yard rushers, as junior quarterback Wesley Fair rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on top of 90 passing yards and Phelps finished with 103 yards.
Hesston, which fell to 1-3, put a scare in the Class 3A No. 2-ranked Spartans with its passing attack. The Swathers essentially gave up trying to run the ball, leaving quarterback Hudson Ferralez to do all of the damage through the air. He finished the game completing 27 of 38 passes for 259 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
All three of his scoring throws went to Jake Proctor, whose 22-yard touchdown grab near the end of the third quarter put Hesston up 21-17 entering the final 12 minutes.
2. Ark City recaptures last season’s magic in upset of Maize
The 2021 season didn’t start according to plan for Arkansas City, which made a spirited run all the way to the Class 4A championship game last fall and returned 15 starters.
The Bulldogs lost to their chief rivals, Winfield, to open the season, then were blanked 41-0 in a loss to Andover in Week 2. It was almost an identical start to when Ark City finished last year’s regular season 2-6 before reeling off four straight road wins to reach the title game.
Ark City rekindled some of that magic on Friday with a stunning 24-17 victory at Maize, a previously unbeaten team led by one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects and ranked No. 6 in Class 5A.
It was an impressive effort from Ark City’s defense, which held Maize without a touchdown for the first three quarters of the game as the Bulldogs built a 21-3 lead on rushing touchdowns from Lucas Barnes and Gabe Welch and then a 37-yard passing score from Welch to Barnes.
It was a nightmare first half for Maize, which had its first two drives end on failed fourth-down attempts inside the Ark City 25-yard line and then lost out on another possession with an early fumble. A pair of three-and-outs highlighted the third quarter, as Ark City controlled the clock with accurate passing from Welch, who finished the game completing 30 of 40 passes for 264 yards. Barnes was his favorite target, hauling in 11 catches for 149 yards.
Maize mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, as a roughing the kicker penalty sparked the Eagles with Avery Johnson capitalizing on a second chance by throwing an eight-yard touchdown to Bryce Cohoon to cut Ark City’s lead to 21-10 with 8:30 remaining.
Ark City took more than four minutes off the clock on its ensuing drive and tacked on a field goal for a 24-10 lead. The game essentially ended when Johnson fumbled and Ark City recovered with 2:56 remaining. Maize was able to tack on a quick score in the final minute, as Johnson ran in from four yards out to provide the final score with five seconds left.
It was a shocking defeat for a Maize team that appeared to hit its stride last week in a 54-10 victory at Newton. Maize (3-1) will try to bounce back next week at Salina South (1-3), while Ark City (2-2) looks to extend its winning streak to three games against Salina Central (2-2).
3. Evan Cantu, Maize South runs past Campus
Defenses know where the ball is going when they play Maize South, but so far no team has been able to slow down senior running back Evan Cantu.
Cantu delivered his best performance of the season for Maize South in a 49-34 shootout victory at Campus, tallying 315 rushing yards on 22 carries for an eye-opening 14.3 yards per carry to go along with five touchdowns.
Campus countered with its own strong rushing attack, scoring a season-high 34 points and racking up more than 300 rushing yards behind Garrett Denning (206 total yards, two touchdowns) and Barrett Roads (101 rushing yards, two touchdowns). After Campus trimmed the deficit to 42-34 late in the fourth quarter, Maize South sealed the victory when Cantu scored from 10 yards out for his fifth touchdown of the game.
After a 5-4 season and early playoff exit in 2020, Maize South is 4-0 this season and currently No. 1 in the 16-team Class 5A West standings thanks in part to Cantu, who already has 915 rushing yards (10.1 average) and 11 touchdowns on the season.
The Mavericks, which play winless Newton at home next week, have been led on defense by Britton Forsythe, Blake McCormick, Ladislao Jaimes III, Conner Neill and Josh Coleman.
4. Andale’s reloaded team keeps 29-game winning streak alive
The machine that is the Andale football program under coach Dylan Schmidt continues to chug along in dominant fashion, despite heavy graduation losses from a team that won the program’s second straight Class 3A championship last season.
Even with a completely new cast of weapons, Class 3A No. 1-ranked Andale is off to a 4-0 start this season following a 58-0 victory over Halstead. It’s rare for Andale’s offensive starters to play past the third quarter.
That was the case again on Friday, as Andale led 52-0 over Halstead at halftime. Andale piled up 200 rushing yards for the game with no starter carrying the ball more than two times, as Cody Parthemer, Logan Spexarth and Wyatt Spexarth all scored rushing touchdowns. The Indians, not known usually for their throwing, even scored two passing touchdowns with Wyatt Spexarth connecting with Wesley Deschner for a 51-yard score and Paxton Spexarth completing a 33-yard scoring throw to Seth Reichenberger.
In his fifth season at the helm, Schmidt has not lost a regular-season game at Andale. In fact, the Indians are 52-2 with a current 29-game winning streak with Schmidt.
5. Northwest imposes its will in City League romp over East
It had been four seasons ago since Northwest had lost a regular-season game and five seasons since the Grizzlies had suffered two defeats in the same regular season, but nonetheless, Northwest sat with a 1-2 record after three weeks of this season.
Northwest responded in a big way against City League rival East in a 56-0 rout that was every bit as dominant as the final score indicated. Junior running back L.J. Phillips rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries, while quarterback Geremiah Moore rushed for two more touchdowns and threw for another.
The performance resembled the Northwest team that many thought would be the favorite to advance to the Class 5A title game from the West region.
After a breakthrough season last year, East has struggled out of the gate to start 2021 with a 1-3 start — with all three losses to state-ranked 5A competition in Hays (No. 6), Kapaun Mt. Carmel (No. 4) and now Northwest (No. 9).
6. The AV-CTL Div. III appears to be as loaded as ever
McPherson and Buhler have long been state-ranked powers in AV-CTL Div. III, as the rest of the division has struggled to keep up.
That appears to have changed this season with Augusta off to a 3-1 start and El Dorado (28-20 loss at Buhler) and Winfield (21-14 overtime loss at McPherson) both showing they can contend with the best on Friday. Circle (2-2) also showed its potential with a 42-35 upset over Augusta last week.
Entering this week, AV-CTL Div. III had three teams ranked — Buhler (No. 3), McPherson (No. 4) and Circle (No. 7) — with the other three teams — Augusta, El Dorado and Winfield — both just off the cut for the top-10 rankings.
Under first-year coach Monty Lewis, a long-time collegiate coach in Kansas, Winfield actually took a 14-7 lead over McPherson into the fourth quarter and had a 44-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation that could have potentially won the game. Instead, the Vikings (2-2) were dealt a crushing defeat when McPherson scored first in overtime and Winfield lost a fumble to end the game.
Winfield quarterback Riley Yingling rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown, while running back Ar’mon Acosta totaled 57 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards and a score. McPherson was led by a game-high 165 rushing yards from Jaytin Gumm, who also added two touchdowns.
Meanwhile in Buhler, it was another big night for senior running back Sam Elliott, who had 219 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 28-20 win over El Dorado.
The Wildcats made it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter and had one drive that could have potentially tied the game, but could not convert. El Dorado (2-2) was led by running back Jaydon Sundgren, who rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown.
7. Dominant defense pitches shutout for third straight Andover win
When Ken Dusenbury took over the Andover football program, he wanted to instill a toughness and grit that made him a big winner in Garden Plain.
In his second season at the helm, the Trojans are beginning to look the part already, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Andover registered its second shutout of the season and won its third straight game in a 19-0 victory over Goddard Eisenhower, which included a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Quinton Born.
Andover’s defense forced three turnovers and limited Eisenhower to less than 240 total yards. Since a 17-14 setback to 5A No. 6 Maize to start the season, the Trojans have reeled off three straight wins, including a dominant 41-0 win over the same Arkansas City team that just beat Maize this Friday.
Max Middleton once again powered Andover’s offense with 162 rushing yards on 30 carries and both offensive touchdowns. With Middleton, who now has 628 rushing yards on the season, leading the offense, Andover’s defense has been spearheaded by linebacker Chandler Goodnight and the secondary headlined by Born, Tayton Klein and Grant Weber.
8. Pair of backups help Carroll to road win, 4-0 start
Missing starting quarterback Chase Smarsh and starting running back Jadonn Williams, Bishop Carroll rallied behind their replacements for a 38-23 road win over a previously-unbeaten Dodge City squad.
The Golden Eagles racked up more than 500 total yards, as junior quarterback Zach Steven stepped in admirably and threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, while senior running back Salvador Fernandez Nyafouna (88 rushing yards, two touchdowns) made the most of his opportunity.
It was an impressive recovery by Carroll, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, following a close loss at 6A No. 1-ranked Derby last week. Senior wide receiver Matt Holthusen continued his breakout season at Dodge City, racking up 166 receiving yards on seven catches and a touchdown.
9. Big game from sophomore Omari Elias keeps Kapaun undefeated
The breakout season of Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore running back Omari Elias continued in the Crusaders’ 42-7 win over Great Bend, as Elias racked up 250 rushing yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns in his season-best performance.
Kapaun is ranked No. 4 in Class 5A and off to a 4-0 start, thanks in part to Elias, who has rushed for 705 yards with seven touchdowns.
If the Crusaders take care of business next Friday against Wichita Southeast (1-3), then the annual rivalry game against Bishop Carroll on Oct. 8 could be one of the biggest games in Kansas this season, determine the City League champion and give the winner a leg-up in the Class 5A playoff seeding race.
10. Flinthills tops Oxford in triple-overtime game with 138 points
In an 8-man classic, a 275-pound lineman-turned-fullback ended up saving the day for Flinthills in a 70-68 triple-overtime win at Oxford.
Brandon Gleason, a 275-pound Flinthills senior, moved to fullback after halftime due to injuries and delivered three touchdowns, including two in the first two overtime periods, and the game-winning two-point conversion in triple overtime.
Flinthills took its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter on a touchdown by Taylor Brown, followed by a two-point run by Gleason, for a 50-42 lead. But Oxford would rally to tie the game and force overtime on a touchdown pass from Kyan Morris, who finished with nine touchdowns, to Peyton Rush plus a two-point pass again from Morris.
After each team traded touchdowns with failed two-point attempts in the first two rounds of overtime, Oxford scored — once again a pass from Morris to Rush — but again failed on its two-point try. Flinthills won the game when it answered back with a 10-yard touchdown run by Hunter Lowemaster, then Gleason barreled into the end zone for the conversion to lift Flinthills (2-2) to its most promising start to a season in more than a decade.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
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